James Anderson

Hello Mr. Anderson and thank you for this interview.

You started your career in 1999 at Konami, what made you decide to join this company?

Technically, I started my career a long time before this as my family was in the business, so I have some very fond memories of going to trade shows and arcades at a very young age and playing the games...  I worked for the family business on school holidays and weekends and then went to university.  When I returned, I was looking for an opportunity in the business and applied for the job at Konami.

You joined Namco in 2010, how did you go from Konami to Namco?

I left Konami and came to Bandai Namco in order to manage the sales in the Prize Dept.  I was looking for a new challenge and had at the time believed that I wanted to get away from the machine sales business.  This was only temporary as I was promoted to handle both the prize and machine sales after a period of time!

After spending 11 years at each company, what differences have you noticed between the two companies?

Too many differences to mention!

The area covered by Bandai Namco Amusement Europe is very large as it covers not only Europe but also the Middle East and Africa. Are there big differences in the needs of these three regions (for example, the type of machine required)?

Actually the sales region of Bandai Namco Amusement Europe is bigger!  We handle sales all over the world for our lines of locally developed products like the DC Comics branded pushers and air hockey tables.  There are regional differences and laws for nearly every country in the world, and then there are the differences in the players and their desires etc...

At the moment, Namco is mainly distributing Raw Thrills games in Europe. Which Namco games do we have a chance to see released here? I'm thinking of the Gundam games which is a licence that is becoming more and more popular in Europe, could they be released here?

We distribute products for the leading 3rd parties including Raw Thrills, Adrenaline Amusements, Andamiro, TKM, Apple Industries, etc... We also handle the sales of products developed by our sister companies Bandai Namco Amusement America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Japan.  We are in constant communication about products, brands, trends, licenses and legislation whilst looking for more opportunity to bring market leading games into the regions.

Will there be any games created for the western market by Namco in the near future?

As above, our US sister company are working on a number of products for the mass markets in North and South America as well as "across the pond and beyond".  The pandemic has slowed us down in terms of testing, but we are currently ramping up again.

In America, there are currently an increasing number of FECs opening. In Europe, we have seen the opening of new locations like Gamestate in the Netherlands. Do you think this phenomenon will increase in Europe?

Yes, I believe it will.  There are a number of FECs opening across the region all of the time.

What do you think about the flat-rate freeplay arcades opening lately (Arcade Club, The Heart of Gaming, ...)?

I think these offer a different type of entertainment to the traditional locations. They tend to cater more for the core fans in the market with niche titles that are not widely available. These unique titles may not generate enough income in a traditional location which monitors income per game, but nonetheless offers a good attraction and appreciation in these types of clubs enabling them to get a core following where they perhaps ordinarily wouldn’t have the opportunity.

What machines do you recommend to operators for the re-opening?

There are a number of titles that I don’t think achieved the sales success they should have done in 2020.  We try to get samples games from suppliers as early as possible and then test them extensively in our operations before releasing them for sale.  There are other titles that are "evergreen" like the Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, I am still amazed at the number of units we produce a year and struggle to keep up with demand on this title. I think it just appeals to such a wide demographic!

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

Other titles that spring to mind are, Super Bikes 3 and Nerf... These games were launched in the middle of 2019 and we got some initial orders and did some testing and then expected great sales in 2020. If fact we achieved the goods sales at EAG 2020 and were in the process of shipping the games to the UK to send out to customers across Europe when the world stopped. From Adrenaline Amusements, there is the RabbiDs and Ladders game using the famous consumer software IP to make a quick and slapstick game of "snakes and ladders" that we all know and love. The company also launched Hot Wheels, in both 4 player and 6 player format. The brand is synonymous with boys and the striking cabinet draws them in. Both of these titles were in late testing before the pandemic struck but when sites did open they proved themselves.
From Andamiro, Pump It Up seems to have a new lease of life this year and a lot of interest and another title that has been affected by the pandemic is Jurassic World Island Escape. The game play is simple and intuitive and the income shows it!
The big new title for 2021 we have just launched is King Kong of Skull Island from Raw Thrills.  We have shipped to markets that are open and the income is very positive beating the competition. Finally, from a new company we are working with (TKM) there is Ball Madness. This game is an eye catching machine and suitable for adults and kids. The income has been unbelievable for this title beating a lot of the high income redemption machines.

King Kong of Skull Island VR

I guess the pandemic has not allowed a measurement of the impact of Brexit on game distribution in Europe, but do you think that sales will suffer?

The main issue at this time is really an increase in paperwork on shipping of orders of machines, parts and prizes.  There was an issue late last year where the EU imposed a 25% tariff on a number of goods coming to the EU from the US including coin operated games and also parts.  Earlier in 2021 when Biden became president, the EU and US agreed on a temporary lifting of the restrictions, however there is unconfirmed talk of it coming back this summer which is a concern.  We have been working with other stakeholders to discuss options to reduce the possible impact of this.

Do you think VR is a natural evolution of video games that will become the norm or is it a complementary branch?

I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying that it is the evolution of video, but there are many facets of video games and I feel VR is another attraction that a location can offer. The progression of this market sector is reliant on technology improvements.  The latest headsets used on King Kong of Skull Island are a lot lighter than previous ones and also higher resolution - over time you would expect these to get even smaller, lighter and cheaper.
Because VR is a complex and immersive experience that relies on mind-trickery to perform well, some of the cheaper products can make people motion sick. Our concern is that operators are attracted to these products due to the pricing, these games then make their players sick, the income is not strong, the repeatability is non-existent and then for the long-term they are completely averse to the VR sector, refusing to try other games due to one bad experience.

How do you see the amusement market evolving in Europe?

This is the million-dollar question... If I could see this, I would retire! I hope there are more opportunities out there in various markets for ticket redemption which is great for player loyalty and positive for economies creating jobs and therefore taxes.

Thank you very much for your time.