The show floor was still lit up with hundreds and hundreds of games and rides as IAAPA attendees wandered about on the Expo’s final day. With record breaking numbers, solid sales reported and a variety of new, engaging concepts and machines, you’d be hard pressed to find a person who didn’t call this year a success.
Creative Work’s Hologate VR experience had a constant line during the show. Attendants estimated around 1,200 people tried the experience, averaging 32 players per hour for the 5-minute experience.
For FECs looking at adding attractions, all eyes were on laser tag and free-roam VR. The multitude of laser tag companies brought all sorts of fun new additions that are proving to reinvigorate that traditional attraction. The biggest names in free-roam VR – Zero Latency and VRstudios – both had an expansive presence at the show.
The action didn’t end when the show closed! At the Fernandez dinner party during IAAPA, Linda Fernandez (50th State Coin-Op and the Fun Factory) shines brightly with guests Coastal Amusements’ Lenny Dean and Sal Mirando, Player One’s Jon Brady and 50th State’s Warren Asing (right).
Triotech and Bandai Namco brought similar, small footprint, modular VR rooms. Bandai Namco’s WePlayVRfeatured two different games, one that took you through a Mayan temple and another that pitted you against an alien enemy. By utilizing innovative game design, WePlayVR takes a 10-foot by 10-foot area and turns it into an expansive, impressive landscape.
Creative Works also entered the VR fray with the well-refined, beautifully rendered Hologate system. Hologate is a one- to four-player system that takes up around 300 sq. ft., features an impressive 90 FPS HMD, modular components and both player vs. environment and player vs. player gameplay.
For those looking for the latest photo booth, the show certainly provided. Between Digital Centre and Apple Industries, there was a lot to choose from. Apple Industries’ Share in Time Square feature, which allows users from around the nation post their own pics on a billboard in Times Square, had the whole show buzzing. Digital Centre’s Grand Palace photo booth/redemption combo also got a lot of attention, combining the firm’s brilliant lighting effects with several games that players use their pictures to play, potentially winning tickets on top of their photo.
