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ATEI 2009 report

ATEI 2009

Last year, several exhibitors complained about the high price of stand space and visitors' lack of interest towards their products. Therefore they announced that they would not exhibit again at ATEI. This lead to the creation of a smaller alternative show: Intergame Expo. ATEI organizer Clarion Gaming had to react and it was done this year with a space reorganization and a complete split of the amusement and gaming shows. So it's under a climate of uncertainty that the 2009 edition opens its doors...

ATEI 2009

Welcome to ATEI 2009 - First choice everytime!

ATEI 2009

This year, ATEI is limited to the upper floor, the lower floor being reserved to the IGE (including both ICE and ICEi shows).

ATEI 2009

English distributor Crown Direct's big booth is facing the entrance.

ATEI 2009

A wide range of machines is featured including latest Elaut cranes, pushers, ...

ATEI 2009

slots, kiddie rides, ...

ATEI 2009

and the latest video games.

ATEI 2009

As usual, JNC Sales Export showcases many used games.

ATEI 2009

Like this Pump It Up NX2 dance machine released last year. While series' latest Pump It Up NX Absolute appears on UDC booth.

ATEI 2009

Opposite is RLMS Sales which distributes most well-known gaming brands but also pushers, vending machines and other jukeboxes.

ATEI 2009

Newly released Return of the Jedi completes the Barcrest trilogy of Star Wars themed games.

ATEI 2009

It's showtime with this 5 players bingo allowing prizes up to £1000!

ATEI 2009

As usual Photo-Me showcases its latest photobooths.

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On another stand, Korean manufacturer Daeseung exhibits its latest creations like the Free Style photo sticker but also Pentavision's music game DJ Max Technika which attracts many visitors.

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Strength tester manufacturer X-Line distributes other Polish products like Tiny Fireman by Kaja Company.

ATEI 2009

On plushes side, ITM Leisure presents its whole Disney range including Bolt the dog and his friends.

ATEI 2009

Wholesaler Huggables offers numerous traditional soft toys among which a real life looking Border Collie.

ATEI 2009

Bandai and its Gashapon are represented on FIAM Automazione's booth which is their Italian distributor. Obviously, FIAM products are also there.

ATEI 2009

Another Italian company; Genna Group exhibits its Play-On cabinets which can host both JAMMA boards and consumer video game consoles.

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Unlike Genna Group's system, Quasimoto's Game Gate VU is licensed for commercial public use. Players pay on playtime basis. Game Gate VU is available in Europe through Sega Amusements. On their stand, you can try out Halo 3 running on Xbox 360.

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Sega hosts its own bar where you can discuss new games, make good deals or simply relax a bit.

ATEI 2009

Sega's spacious booth features STS and Sega Prize Europe divisions as well as Triotech products. On the other hand, no sign of Sega Kids this year.

ATEI 2009

Let's start with Rambo, the latest shooting game by Sega. Unlike Japanese version that uses UZIs from The House of the Dead 4, the European cabinet keeps the assault guns which made Ghost Squad popular.

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No surprise, players fire at will under Colonel Trautman's command! Action scenes are punctuated by clips from the first three movies. A "rage" gauge makes the player invincible and overpowered for a short period. A good old shooter unfortunately suffering of sub-par graphics.

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This one needs no introduction, Sega Rally 3 is available in deluxe and twin formats. Driver's seat of the deluxe version follows the car's movements.

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This is the most beautiful racer on the market today. Exotic scenery differs from the usual urban night theme of most drivers nowadays.

ATEI 2009

In Missfits, you have to stop the reels at the right time to match the character and win tickets.

ATEI 2009

Hummer, Sega's new attraction retakes the dual driver system from OutRun2 SP SDX but looks more convincing this time. On Game Over, the duo's teamwork level is evaluated.

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This is a motion cabinet and the bumpy tracks make players restless. Drivers are able to adjust the vehicle tilt during jumps using the accelerator pedal. Landing on all four wheels speeds you up. Up to four Hummers can be linked-up.

ATEI 2009

For the second time in a row, Simuline's compact simulator Mini Rider 2 is featured on Sega booth.

ATEI 2009

The brand new racing game from the blue hedgehog company: R-Tuned.

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One more street racer with a neat realization: 24 cars (Mustang GT, Pontiac GTO, Subaru Impreza, Honda NSX, ...) and 16 courses through cities of New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo (Shinjuku and Shibuya). Players can of course customize their car and all races occur at night which is not surprising either. More original: the boost function is unlimited!

ATEI 2009

Shoot This Win This is still available, this time Sega suggests packs of tickets as prizes. Why not...

ATEI 2009

12 years after L.A. Riders, here's Harley-Davidson's return with King of the Road!

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

This game's particularity comes from the fact that the bike inclines automatically while you turn the handle bar. Up to four machines can be linked-up for a good laugh between friends! We remember the lack of interest of L.A Riders's standard version because of the unmoving bike. That's why only the deluxe version of King of the Road is distributed in Europe. Wise decision!

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

Here comes the show's most original video game: Brick People! You have to build up blocks against the screen to allow little characters to catch food. This game is marvellous! Unfortunately, due to the lack of respect some European players show, Brick People doesn't fit all locations unless you want to find yourself with an empty block box quite quickly.

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

In the budget range, Sega Clay Challenge exists as a universal conversion kit for all Jamma cabinets or as an upgrade kit for Atomiswave games like Extreme Hunting, Ranger Mission, Sport Shooting USA, ...

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

Another Atomiswave title: Sega Bass Fishing Challenge. The famous fishing game exchanges the rod to a trackball. This game is designed to replace Golden Tee Golf and Silver Strike Bownling but also exists as a universal conversion kit and as a dedicated cabinet.

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Still available: dinosaur hunting game Primeval Hunt in standard and deluxe versions as well as the very good Ghost Squad Evolution.

ATEI 2009

Sega Total Solutions just added Raw Thrills kits to it spare parts offer.

ATEI 2009

Content idea for your UFO Catcher cranes: clothes!

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Three main Sega Prize Europe licenses: Sonic X, Hello Kitty and Paddington Bear.

ATEI 2009

Complete range of Hello Kitty official soft toys is showcased, many more models will be available in the forthcoming months.

ATEI 2009

Of course, Sonic and his friends are there too!

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MP4 players are still very popular and Sega also has its own model named the ''Sega Vision''. Besides playing video and MP3, Sega Vision is also a portable television, a voice recorder, a camera and a video recorder.

ATEI 2009

There's a queue to experience the 4D XD Theater from Triotech.

ATEI 2009

Typhoon simulator makes you live your favourite ride movie through its vibrating seat.

ATEI 2009

Disney licensed kiddie rides are still so popular!

ATEI 2009

Well known in Belgium, Caroline Verheyden manufactures your personalized posters and plastic tokens but also plastic pipes for shooting. She hits the mark for her first time at ATEI with the only music featured booth (which was predictable)!

ATEI 2009

Pusher development specialist, Belgian company Van de Wege began to create redemption machines during couple last years. Its latest creation: the Big 7!

ATEI 2009

Bowling specialist Qubica diversifies with Skiller, a target shooting stand where realistic electrical weapons fire small plastic balls at captors.

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

Qubica distributes the Belgian Goolfy blacklight mini-golf. The concept is born in Canada in 2003 as ''Shankz''. It was imported in Europe by Goolfy three years later. People play in the dark with blacklights as only light source which highlight the scenery's fluorescent colours. Each course has its theme: jungle, pirates, Space, ...

ATEI 2009

Occupying less than 4 sqm, its size and ease of use are the strong points of this excavator simulator for kids made by Ritter.

ATEI 2009

Spanish company Giocos has been manufacturing all kinds of vending machines for more than 20 years like these pinball-like bouncing balls vending machines.

ATEI 2009

Effeci's remotely controlled lighting palm trees are ideal to catch attention.

ATEI 2009

Toyvend - Charlier-Brabo's booth manages to gather the whole commercial chain on one stand: you can meet there the Irish bubble gum manufacturer Zed Candy, Charlier-Brabo who manufactures the bubble gum vending machines and its English daughter company Toyvend who distributes and operates them.

ATEI 2009

English distributor of Elaut cranes and spare parts, John Fergusson Spares presents Giga Techno cranes giving away tickets as consolation prize.

ATEI 2009

Mexican manufacturer ATR is looking for European distributors for its Arión digital jukeboxes.

ATEI 2009

On Cosmic Video Amusements booth, Global VR is one more time the main attraction with an update to NASCAR Racing adding two new tracks (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International) and many new drivers and cars. Dogfight simulation Blazing Angels can also be seen.

ATEI 2009

On year after Asian Dynamite, beat'em all are back with Justice League - Heroes United.

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Choose your favourite super hero among Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl & Green Lantern and fight your worst villains in this cell-shading beat'em all with confusing gameplay.

ATEI 2009

Shooting game Paradise Lost is now available in a cabinet similar to the deluxe version of Aliens Extermination featuring a 42" LCD monitor.

ATEI 2009

Here's Need For Speed Carbon, the latest title in this popular urban racer series (deluxe version shown).

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Eight tracks and more than fifty cars (Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Porsche, ...) are included in this driving game. Players can of course customize their car and save their progress. Need For Speed Carbon is available as standard and deluxe cabinets as well as an upgrade kit for NFS, NFS GT and NFS Underground. Four machines can be linked-up for mutliplayer.

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NanoTech Entertainment, another American company distributed in Europe by CVA presents a prototype of its first racer: Xtreme Rally Racing. Players can challenge opponents worldwide and the game is updated over the internet.

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To all SMS fanatics (and God knows they are many), LAI Games (from Singapore) offers Textminator! A game where you have to type words then sentences as fast as possible using a keypad! You can even compete with a friend!

ATEI 2009

Sea Wolf - The Next Mission (here in upright version) is the follow up to the successful redemption game by Coastal Amusements where you must sink ships to win tickets.

ATEI 2009

Dynamite Man tests your strength.

ATEI 2009

Other strength testing machines on the booth of Polish manufacturer Kalkomat.

ATEI 2009

Small and soft toys wholesaler FraVend from Ranst. "Low pricing and great customer care" is his motto!

ATEI 2009

Latest Photo Play terminal attracts many curious people on NSM Music's stand where the company also exhibits two brand new jukeboxes: Icon II and Icon III.

ATEI 2009

Namco presents Razing Storm, the new shooter made by the development team behind Time Crisis series.

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A nervous and varied gameplay coupled with a proven pedal system and awesome graphics make it the best shooter of the show! Originality: everything on the screen can be destroyed and enemies have an artificial intelligence making them unpredictable. A future hit!

ATEI 2009

Released in 2006, Raw Thrills's The Fast and the Furious Super Bikes is facing challenge with the arrival of...

ATEI 2009

Nirin, the latest motorbike racer from Namco powered by System ES1.

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Nirin introduces bikes into the urban street racing by night. "Turbo" gauge charges up in every turn. Fast and fun, this game features five tracks ranging from the snow-peaked Higashiyama resort to the heart of Metropolitan City and five tuned bikes (from the manoeuvrable Cruiser to the imposing Super Motaro). The machine is fitted with a high resolution 42" screen and four units can be linked-up.

ATEI 2009

Planned for an April release, H2Overdrive by Specular Interactive successfully brings powerboat racing up to date.

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This worthy successor to Hydro Thunder has beautiful graphics and renders the sensation of riding on water quite well. Powerups and jumps are numerous in this very fun game. Highly recommended!

ATEI 2009

Complete Big Buck range of hunting games including the brand new super deluxe version of Big Buck Safari featuring a projector and a giant screen.

ATEI 2009

Chris Bell, Amutec's general manager (Namco Europe's kiddie ride division) presents the brand new Postman Pat Gyrocopter.

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Amutec also distributes video games like Pump It Up Jump from Andamiro which initiates younglings to dance games.

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But also touchscreen redemption game Buster Bubbles and Nicktoons Nitro Racing staring SpongeBob SquarePants which reminds of Looney Tunes Space Race.

ATEI 2009

At Brent, one finds spare parts for Namco games but also change machines and ticket eaters (shown here: Deltronic Labs's Dual Ticket Eater).

ATEI 2009

Konami is in shape this year with no less than five new titles! Let's start with GTI Club Supermini Festa!

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With GTI Club, no more big cars, here comes the compact models like Mini, Peugeot 308 and VW Polo! Small but nervous, ideal to quickly climb up and down steep hills of Italian, French, English and American streets. Fun is the word here with the series classic ''Bomb Tag'' mode where players keep exchanging a bomb, the car which owns the bomb when timer reaches ''0'' explodes and his driver loses the round. For football fans, ''Car-Football'' mode is also featured. Less serious than other driving games, this third episode of GTI Club is a breath of fresh air! The game is still being developed and unfortunately, we'll have to wait for a September release.

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

When saying Konami, famous Dance Dance Revolution dance machine automatically comes to mind. To celebrate the series tenth anniversary, the cabinet receives a face lift and ditches its ''Dancing Stage'' European name to return to its original title: Dance Dance Revolution X. This anniversary edition includes many new features and a huge song collection comprising many classics from the previous games as well as lots of brand new tracks. Out in May.

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Let's continue our tour of music games with the latest sensation from Japan: jubeat (renamed UBeat in Europe). Very well done, this compact cabinet received the Arcadia Award of Best Design. Concept is very simple, the player chooses a popular song and must touch the little screens in rhythm while following the sequence. It's harder than what it seems! Up to four machines can be linked-up.

ATEI 2009ATEI 2009

We're now in front of an interesting case: Guitar Hero was the home adaptation of Konami's GuitarFreaks arcade concept. Due to its popularity, Guitar Hero now appears in an arcade format by Raw Thrills under the name: ''Guitar Hero Arcade''. It's justice. As most Raw Thrills titles, this cabinet hosts a Dell PC and features more than 400 pulsating LEDs which won't fail to attract players. The two included Enduro-ax guitars are stronger than their home counterparts.

ATEI 2009

The game includes more than forty fierce rock titles that players play through one of the eleven rock-stars on one of the nine different stages.

ATEI 2009

Staring Gashaaaan funny characters, here comes Byon Byon!

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Combining video game and redemption is not easy but Byon Byon successfully passes the test! Players win tickets through nine mini games with various objectives like breaking bottles, find the object that doesn't belong/the intruder or select the good ingredients to make a cocktail. Commands are original since you have to squeeze both handles to shoot (imagine holding a bellow). Coloured and funny characters, a high amount of humour and simultaneous two players play will attract a wider audience than usual redemption machines. We love it!

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''Superb!'' is the word that comes to mind when we think about this arcade iteration of Castlevania! Two players can enter this black box reminding Silent Hill. There they find two whip handles featuring two buttons: the first to select secondary weapons and the second acting as a trigger. Secondary weapons can be holy water vials or throw knives, the handle's top switching colors according to the selected weapon. And you'll need them when facing enemies like Dracula and The Death!

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Moving the handle in the air results in whip blows on screen. It becomes quite quickly exhausting for your arm but the overall quality of the production (magnificent graphics and atmospheric setting) makes you wanting to continue your adventure. On the sound side, series fanatics will be in heaven with a good 5.1 sound system serving many great remixes of well known themes. An awesome and original game sporting a production quality level rarely seen in arcade games these days. Testing still has to be done to estimate if European players are liable enough to enjoy this machine without damaging it... Hopefully it will be OK!

ATEI 2009

Konami's new master distributor, Electrocoin also provides Stern pinballs. Latest tables being there: Batman and CSI but no sign of 24.

ATEI 2009

Also on this stand: Blazblue - Calamity Trigger, the new fighting game from Arc System Works (Guilty Gear).

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Coupling 2D characters with 3D backgrounds on a hi-res 16/9 screen, this beautiful game features an interesting storyline set in a graphically detailed universe. Although complex, gameplay basis stay approachable to beginners. Being the only fighter officially released in Europe this year doesn't make it less valuable since it's one of the best title in this genre.

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This year editions of popular Incredible Technologies trackball games series: golf simulation Golden Tee Live 2009 and Silver Strike Bowling Supreme.

ATEI 2009

Introducing Power Putt, the new miniature golf game with crazy courses.

ATEI 2009

On Taito side, no new game reached our continent this year. Only this good old Chase H.Q. 2 from 2007 can be found.

ATEI 2009

Also at Electrocoin, Battle Fantasia running in a Delta 32 cabinet by RS Co. equipped with a second screen playing movies from a Compact Flash card.

ATEI 2009

Target Zero is a redemption game where you have to destroy enemy planes.

ATEI 2009

Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6 games are featured on the booth of Australian distributor Highway Group.

ATEI 2009

Two games that are very popular among players despite not being officially distributed in Europe (pictures by KWP).

ATEI 2009

Distributor UDC sells products refurbished in its workshop to professionals and consumers.

ATEI 2009

A redemption classic: Sonic Spinner.

ATEI 2009

Panzer Elite Action is back in a new cabinet simulating tank's movements and brings you back to World War II. Two machines can be linked-up for head-to-head warfare.

ATEI 2009

IGS' Battle Stations puts you in command of a submarine armed with missiles and torpedoes. Your goal is obviously to annihilate entire fleets.

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Help Snork to lighten his ship load by sucking up the prizes and then blowing them out of the ship in order to let it take off. A funny and original concept by Family Fun Co.!

ATEI 2009

On AMG booth: an 8 player Star Trek pusher designed after the original series.

ATEI 2009

Let's finish by a small visit to IGE where movie licenses are still popular as Star Wars on IGT's AVP platform.

ATEI 2009

But also Back to the Future...

ATEI 2009

Indiana...

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Jones.

ATEI 2009

And more surprising licenses such as this jackpot themed after Sega video games (Virtua Fighter 4, The Key of Avalon, Quest of D and Altered Beast).

ATEI 2009

F2 System from Korea presents its number 1 gambling title: Royal Grand Prix Derby (On Air)

ATEI 2009

Polish company Gamesystem knows how to showcase its products. These are Laxus machines loaded with MaxCASH 2 software which includes twelve different games.

ATEI 2009

Sega hostesses wardrobe haven't changed much since last year...

ATEI 2009

Unfortunately the only mascot we came across...

ATEI 2009

On ITM stand, Sulley from Monsters Inc invites you to take a picture with him. Money is given to the MacMillan Cancer Found.

ATEI 2009

At Merlin Technologies, charming hostesses demonstrate darts products.

This edition was a good surprise with better products line-up than 2008 resulting in more sales for exhibitors. This is also a consequence of current pound sterling low exchange rate. Regarding video games, best racers of the show were H2Overdrive (out in April), GTI Club - Supermini Festa! (planned for September), Sega Rally 3 Deluxe, Harley-Davidson Deluxe and Hummer. On shooting games side, our favourites are Castlevania - The Arcade (undetermined release date) and Razing Storm (available in March). Meanwhile, Rambo and Ghost Squad Evolution are still good purchases. For music heads, eagerly awaited DanceDanceRevolution X will attract lots of dance fans upon its release in May. Guitar Hero Arcade and DJ Max Technika are also good choices. BlazBlue, the only fighting game officially presented is also a good bet. Brick People is a very original game but unfortunately reserved to monitored locations... This year, redemption games have been improved in many ways with varied concepts. Among these, Konami's ByonByon will certainly become popular while Deal or no Deal released last year is still a good investment.

Reorganization consequences are that many "small" exhibitors disappeared in favor of major companies which have bigger stands as well as a clearer sectors separation with gaming on ground level and amusement on first floor. Positive rating for ATEI 2009 which manages to erase shortcomings of the previous edition with a smaller but more efficient trade show. Next edition will take place from 26th to 28th of January 2010.


Text / pictures: Sophie & Nomax.
All rights reserved.

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