UNIS & emoji Introduce emojiPlanet

Intercard CEO Shares His Vision for the Sector and His Company

by Matt Harding

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, UNIS is making its latest industry splash with the emoji brand. The two companies have been working on games with each other since fall 2022. Now, they’re exclusively developing emoji-branded entertainment centers under the name emojiPlanet with locations coming stateside in early 2025.

UNIS explained that the family entertainment industry is increasingly shifting toward IP-based centers and that “emojiPlanet enters this competitive landscape with a unique edge – leveraging the global popularity of emojis to create a space that is instantly relatable and universally appealing.”

WOW! This emojiPlanet prptotype shows what a powerful statement UNIS and the emoji company are making with that immensely popular brand. From flooring leading (yes, even outside) to games (and there are already 16 of those) to merchandise, it’s all emoji!

Already introduced to China, emojiPlanet offers operators a recognizable brand and a slew of different options to keep things fresh. UNIS is currently in talks with operators to bring the concept to North America and elsewhere next year.

Thus far, UNIS and emoji have created 16 games and counting, plus attractive merchandise and theming to go with them.

“We can sell games, we can sell merchandise, and also have zones in someone’s FEC. We can have pop-ups in shopping malls with 20 to 30 games – fully themed,” explained Steven Tan, general manager of UNIS. “It’s a very flexible concept.”

What’s also nice about the brand is how utterly well-known it is. Tan said, “emoji has such a broad audience. It’s part of the fabric of society. We intend to grow with this brand over the next decade-plus. It’s a very relatable brand and with Gen Z soon having the highest spending power in our industry, they dictate what the future brings.

“But ultimately – every generation uses emojis,” he said.

The company emphasizes that the brand is an integral part of daily life and communication for many people, with more than 10 billion emojis used each day. (That’s 3.65 trillion a year, if you can believe it!)

“We’ve launched redemption arcade machines such as emoji Roller, emoji Frenzy and emoji Party, and UNIS secured global distribution,” said emoji CEO Marco Huesges.

“Due to this success, we’ve embarked on another exciting journey, creating emojiPlanet, a groundbreaking concept that will truly redefine location-based entertainment around the globe.”

He added: “Working with Steven and his team is truly amazing. His dedicated team works with professionalism and passion, and the execution of projects is truly second to none.”

Enter emojiPlanet!

All of their emoji offerings culminated in the idea behind the emojiPlanet location concept. Tan explained that UNIS will provide turnkey solutions for operators no matter what their own plans for an emojiPlanet center may be.

He said an emojiPlanet facility can range from a 1,500-sq.-ft. micro FEC on up to a 20,000-sq.-ft. center. “Scaling up is no problem,” Tan said. With both player card and merchandise sales as options, he says operators can easily host birthday parties and events, as well as serve food and beverage to customers.

It’s all about finding innovative ways to present the iconic emoji brand, whether it’s a full-scale fun center, a suite of emoji games or an emoji section of merchandise in your redemption counter.

“We couldn’t have found a better brand to work with,” Tan added. To learn more, email the company at [email protected] or pay them a visit at the upcoming IAAPA Expo in Orlando.

emoji™, emoji – the iconic brand™, the emojis™ and emojiplanet™ are trademarks and / or copyrights of the emoji company GmbH. ©2015-2024. AII rights reserved.

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UNIS’s emoji Game Lineup

The first game introduced by UNIS in conjunction with emoji was emoji Roller at IAAPA Expo Europe in 2022. Since then, a whole bunch of brightly-lit, eye-catching machines have rolled out alongside emoji Roller.

The games UNIS has introduced includes emoji Prize Box, a series of cranes that come in various options (1-player, 4-player, LCD and XL). Most of the cranes are designed for large plush toys (specifically, emoji toys, of course). For four players, there are two options. One is a compact cabinet with four smaller player stations that’s set up for small plush toys and keychains. The other 4-player crane is a large, flat-top cabinet, where players can lean in and hover over the playfield in hopes of grabbing the emoji plush of their dreams.

You’ll also find emoji Find a Key, made with The Really Big Crane Company. It offers the same cool concept of Find a Key with the emoji twist.

In redemption, there’s emoji Catcher, emoji Prize and emoji Timer. The latter two offer up a mega-sized grand prize for winners.

Rounding out the rest of the arcade games are the aforementioned Roller, Frenzy and Party, plus emoji Hoops and emoji Power Puck.

Roller is a 1- to 2-player pusher with exciting bonuses and mini games; Frenzy is a 1- to 4-player game with a rotating marquee in which players aim to capture emojis as they rotate around the playfield; Party is a 1- to 2-player pusher designed for kids; Hoops is the company’s basketball game with a 65” interactive LCD backboard and expectedly vibrant graphics; and Power Puck is a multi-puck take on air hockey.

But wait, there’s more!

UNIS has also introduced a series of vending games – emoji Balloon, emoji Cotton Candy and emoji Ice Cream.

You can’t have prize games without merchandise and the company has gone all-in on that front as well. UNIS, with their worldwide emoji distributing rights, has hundreds of merch items available.

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UNIS Technology’s worldwide partners and customers gather for a celebratory picture during the anniversary event in China.

Celebrating Three Decades of Entertaining the World’s Players

Mr. Louis Lu, CEO and founder of UNIS, addresses the audience.

On Sept. 9, UNIS celebrated its 30th anniversary at the company’s head office and factory in Zhongshan, China. The event welcomed more than 200 guests from around the world, including operators, distributors, partners and customers, all of whom have played vital roles in the company’s success.

Attendees were treated to exclusive previews of new products, with the highlight being the grand debut of the emojiPlanet store concept, developed in collaboration with the emoji brand. This exciting new venture underscores UNIS’s commitment to innovation and its focus on bringing fresh, engaging experiences to the market.

The celebration continued with a banquet, where top-performing distributors, operators, and partners were honored with awards in recognition of their significant contributions to the company’s growth over the years.

“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us throughout our journey and to those who traveled from near and far to join this special celebration,” said UNIS general manager Steven Tan. “Your dedication has been key to our success. As we move forward, we remain committed to creating fun and bringing joy to people worldwide through our games and innovations.”

UNIS’s Louis Lu with Raw Thrills/Play Mechanix friends George Petro and Eugene Jarvis.

Steven Tan gave a presentation of new games and concepts planned for UNIS Technology’s next generation of games.