Arcade Belgium - EAG International 2013 report (en)

EAG International 2013 report

EAG International 2013

Fourth edition of EAG opens under snow. These bad weather conditions affected transports and led to presage the worst. Fortunately, impact was limited and visitors didn't miss the rendez-vous on January 22, 23 and 24 at ExCeL London.

Let's begin with Bandai Namco Games that was the stand not to be missed notably because of the new horror shooting game Dark Escape 4D. The aim of the game is to scare the players by making them face their fears such as necrophobia (fear of death), achluophobia (fear of dark), agoraphobia (fear of crowd) and entomophobia (fear of vermin). Means used are quite convincing: absolute darkness, HD graphics, 3D display (usage of 3D glasses), Dolby 5.1 sound system featuring 7 speakers and a woofer, multiple air canons and vibrating seat. Sensors in controller handles (the same as the one of Deadstorm Pirates) measures the player's pulse and the game displays on screen if the player is panicked or not.

Dark Escape 4D is a total success, the player is completely absorbed in this world of horror. It's the most immersive zombie game ever created. It only misses more blood... Special mention to the exterior of the cabinet that draws attention. The size of the machine (2.44m long) won't fit all locations but if you can, don't hesitate!

Dead Heat is showcased in 42" version beside Pac-Man Battle Royale deluxe. Already seen at EAG Expo 2011, other returning Pac-Man cabinets were Pac-Man's Arcade Party in cocktail, upright and upright cabaret versions offering 13 arcade classics: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Galaga, Galaga '88, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Mappy, Xevious, Rolling Thunder, Dragon Spirit, Rally-X and Bosconian.

Talking about Dead Heat, a nice surprise was awaiting us with Dead Heat Riders, a motorcycle version of Dead Heat with the same tracks (New York, San Francisco, Chicago and London) and 5 bikes to choose from. Nam-Cam (displaying your face in the game) feature is retained but not the PIN code system.

Made in Japan for American and European markets, the game is basic but well done targeting a large audience. The handling is very easy unlike more technical games such as Nirin. The machine presented at the show was a prototype so changes may still occur before the game release. Although less fanciful, it already looks better than Super Bikes 2.

Deadstorm Pirates 3D attraction comes back as Deadstorm Pirates 4D+. It's exactly the same game and it's still very enjoyable. Highly recommanded to amusement parks. Kind move from Namco; Pac-Man plush toys were given to players. Other versions of the game are of course still available: super deluxe deluxe, deluxe (pictured) and upright.

For children loving to collect cards (which is nearly all of them), Animal Kaiser and its animal fights comes in version 3 with more than 81 cards to collect! Only available in English language unfortunately.

New from Raw Thrills: Winter X Games SnoCross. A snowmobile racing game which is a spiritual successor of Arctic Thunder (air blower returns). The vehicle shakes between your legs (a "motion" version also exists) making the game lively.

Aside the usual "NOS" and "view change" buttons, a "snowball" button is used to throw snowballs at your opponents. The cabinet is equiped with a numeric keypad for PIN codes and QR codes are displayed after each race for players to share their score via Facebook. An online ranking is also available. The 7 tracks feature many air time moments when you can perform crazy tricks. A season game that changes from the usual car racing games. Fun, especially in multiplayer (up to 8 players)

Terminator Salvation in 42" version with mounted guns (the only cabinet not yet shown at the show). Super Bikes 2 is once again present.

Dirty Drivin' and a new game: Big Buck HD. As its name implies, it's the first game in the series in 1080p providing realistic graphics.

All Big Buck HD games are played online, it allows an automatic share of scores via Facebook and Twitter as well as tournaments entry. Now, dangerous trophy animals like lions and tigers may attack you. Useless to say that this is the most beautiful hunting game on the market.

Pac-Man Smash! is an innovative air hockey table: after each goal, the puck is automatically put back on the table to the correct side. There are two kind of pucks: one large with a 100 points value and 24 smaller ones (10 points value) which are drop simultaneously on the playfield! Pac-Man Smash! can be played with 2 or 4 players. An optional ticket dispenser can be fitted. A must!

Two other new games in the Pac-Man series: the Pac-Man Ghost Bowling compact alley roller and the Pac-Man Basket basket game with its horizontally moving basket that harders the game. For both titles, several machines can be linked-up.

In Jackpot Jungle from Five Star Redemption, you must shoot balls at targets. A very well themed machine. New: Goal Line Rush by Bandai Namco Games. A rotating plate is filled with American football balls, a football player is standing in the center. When the player pushes the button, the football player rushes and pushes some balls to the end zone. The player wins the amount of tickets equal to the total value of all balls.

Drop the Hook's concept is simple: the player have to drop down the plunger into one of the six shapes (triangle, square, heart, star, diamond and clover) to drop the hook of the corresponding prize. The operator can set the machine to "winner every time" mode or add a ticket dispenser.

Two cascading balls machines: Triple Drop with multiple chutes and Cascading Balls which becomes Ball Spectacular. The game is still the same. This machine's originality is that by falling through a moving gate, the ball releases 5 other balls that cascade down the play field for more tickets. When reaching the jackpot zone, up to 50 balls simultaneously come down from the top, hence the name Ball Spectacular.

The Crompton Coaster is a classic pusher accepting big prizes thanks to its large play field. The machine has a modular design so it can welcome up to 12 players.

The classic Dunk Tank Prize returns; the player must land the plunger on a switch. In the machine, one can see the new "Nam-Gear" range from Namco Prize Europe: Android 4 7" tablet and NetBook as well as a Full HD camcoder. A digital camera, a smartphone, a bluetooth speaker and an HD Android TV Box complete the range.

Many Pac-Man licensed products are available: remote control racers, speaker, headphones, alarm clock, money box and key chain with sound, stress balls, bottle opener, ice cube tray, mugs, magnets, egg cups, salt and pepper pots, key covers, stapler, sweet dispenser, paper clips, note book and sticky notes.

Brent Electronic supplies many spare parts for all kinds of machines (not limited to Namco) but also offers a wide range of redemption prizes, customised tickets, audio and video solutions, change machines and pool clothes thanks to their long standing partnership with Hainsworth.

Go to Sega with their eagerly awaited new game: Dream Raiders. Developed by Gamewax and Sega Amusement, this hybrid between shooting game and simulator ride is half convincing. The cabinet is very well done, players are shaken in all directions and sensations are there. The concept is ambitious: dreams exploration. This allows for a wide variety of themes within one game (9 very different stages).

Unfortunately, the fast action is confusing; most of the time you don't know what to shoot. Despite this, the game is so easy there is virtually no challenge meaning the player gets no satisfaction at the end of the level. The adventure continues the time of a bonus stage if the player is not too bad. RingWide powered, graphics quality is lower than current productions which is a shame for a game supposed to make you dream. In short, the impression is more that of an interactive ride than a true shooter, especially as the script and back story are non-existent. Dream Raiders will surely please the general audience but won't appeal to arcade fans.

Virtua Tennis 4 is back in a deluxe version reminding Pac-Man Battle Royale. 4 players compete in a more comfortable way than with the standard version despite being further away from the screen. Players choose between 19 tennis stars. Virtua Tennis 4 is the best tennis game.

Operation G.H.O.S.T. in 42" version. This Ghost Squad sequel will please special ops fans. A twin of the GRID racing game is seen behind.

Born from a Sega and Superbooth Inc partnership, Superbooths allows the player to choose one of the five funky photographers who will provide him instructions on "how to pose". The machine dispenses 9 photos.

The concept of Snakes & Ladders is very simple: pull back the snake's tail to makes the points scroll down the ladder. Effective but the tail seems to be a bit fragile.

Double Spin! doubles the fun with its two wheels and controllers. The first wheel reads the number of won tickets and the second wheel multiplies that number or grants the super bonus if the "bonus" and "super" symbols are aligned.

Developed by the manufacturer's Londonian team, Pirates of Monster Island is a redemption shooting game where the player must sink pirate ships.

New available in multiple colours and as a 2-player deluxe version, Key Master offers player the role of locksmiths. They must align the key with the desired hole to push the prize that hangs behind.

Products of the Sonic Allstars series are still available such as this 4-player air hockey table themed afer the famous hedgehog. The ticket dispenser is an option.

Beside its own machines (such as this Sonic kiddie ride), Sega distributes ICE products. Find the effect of crazy mirrors on your photos with House of Mirrors.

Arcade adaptation of popular mobile games seem to be the the rage these days with Cut the Rope where the player must land a vacuum in the center of a candy shaped target. 42 official "Cut the Rope" prizes are included with the machine for a jump start.

Downloaded 15 millions times sur iTunes App Store, Doodle Jump games comes to arcades as Doodle Jump Arcade. It's a redemption game where you have to jump from platform to platform while avoiding enemies. Reach the top of the level to get the super bonus.

Plateforms have different ticket values. Some disappear while others contain a trampoline which makes you jump higher. Useful bonuses exist such as the jetpack.

There are 3 different themes to choose frem: classic, space and jungle. The player may receive a gift card at the end of the game. Doodle Jump Arcade is quite fun for a redemption video.

Also from ICE, Harpoon Lagoon is a fishing table redemption for 4 players where the players must catch the most valuable fishes in a limited amount of tries. The game is quite beautiful.

In Milk Jug Toss, players must shoot balls at holes. A simple carnival game. Frogger redemption is still available.

Treasure Quest and Ice Age, two sure bets when it comes to redemption.

Andamiro's Color Boyz 5 Heroes is a cascading ball redemption. The balls must land in colored holes, black holes must be avoided. It lights up squares of colour aligned in columns, the jackpot is granted when a complete column is lit.

We didn't expect to come across Hero of Robots on Sega's booth. And yet... This trading card game for kids by Taiwan company IGS is presented in its 2nd version.

The concept is classic for this kind of game: The player gets a card, scans it and fight using the robots that appeared on screen. He then attacks his opponent using the "melee" or "shooting" button. His enemy tries to block using the same buttons, the challenge is to guard against the right type of attack. During each fight, the robot gains energy. Once its gauge is full, the player can use a lever to perform a super attack. There are three card types to collect: robot, power and skills. We wonder why Sega chose to distribute a game from another company while they manufacture similar games such as: Bakugan Arcade Battlers, Transformers Animated, Dinosaur King, Little Princess, ...

A good old shooting gallery is always popular. Here's The Sideshow by Pan Amusements in a compact 1-player version. Since the closure of London Sega World, Sega tried several times to bring the concept back in Europe during the ATEI era. They are now seeking investors for a project named Sega Infinity. A concept similar as Tokyo Joypolis and Sega Republic in Dubai. Hopefully it will materialize!

In addition to last year's licenses, Sega Prize Europe! offers the following plush toys: Sonic, Artist Collection The Dog, Happy Snacks (lovely food shaped plushes: ice creams, hot dogs, hamburgers, donuts, French fries, ...) and Lovely Nest (patchwork owls) as well as the latest products from their Tokio brand and Thorntons chocolate bullions and coins.

No new Konami game on Electrocoin stand this year. On the other hand, Incredible Technologies is faithful to the appointment with Golden Tee Live 2013. This new version offers graphics improvements, 2 new sets of clubs and 3 new ball types as well as 75 new clothes and accessories to dress up your golf player. But the most important additions are the 5 new courses: Coconut Beach (and its ancient temples), Jack Rabbit Junction (in the desert of Arizona), Bear Lodge (at the base of Alaska mountains), Cape Haven (dunes in Nags Head, NC), Sequoia Grove (heart of a sequoia forest). Other new feature: CupCam. The camera centers to your ball as it approaches the hole so you lose nothing of that decisive moment.

A new Taito game: Trickloose. It's a redemption game using the Kickthrough Racers controller; a kick scooter. The player starts at the top of a hill reminiscent of ski jumping, he must gain speed to be projected on a giant wheel and win the number of tickets shown on the zone where he lands. He can catch bonus balloons during his flight. This is a good redemption machine despite shameful graphics for a recent game. Of course, we would have prefered to see Kickthrough Racers instead.

Already showcased last year, Real Puncher 2 returns with ticket dispenser option. On the left, one can see Power Truck, the truck racing game by IGS. It supports up to 4 players.

What's new at Stern this year? X-Men pinball table and the brand new The Avengers.

Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black widow and Hawkeye are all there. Special mention to the big Hulk animated figure that hits the playfield with his fists, he can also capture and release the ball. This pinball table is very well designed and very fun to play!

Touch Hits presents its digital jukebox conversion kits. The kits includes a PC with TouchHitsAV software and a credit board. This homemade software offers an high definition video music playback and a bautiful interface with 3D effects and advanced search feature.

Why operate simple capsule vending machines when you can have Kitty Chicken? This machine manufactured by Avranches Automatic features cycling colours LEDs and above all, a big chicken that spins, flaps its wings and cackles when a coin is inserted. We bet kids will ask for money just to see this.

We find After Dark by Universal Space on the stand of distributor Instance Automatics. It's an horror themed shooting game with a Van Helsing looking guy fighting werewolves. The gameplay reminds Deadstorm Pirates a lot (especially the steering wheel presence and the combined shots needed to kill some of the beasts). The atmosphere and staging are great and actions varied.

After Dark could have been a good game, unfortunately the technical aspect ruins everything. Graphics are from another era. The gameplay is bad because there's a terrible delay between what you actually do and what happens on screen (input lag). It's especially striking on the standard model (featuring a 47" screen). On the deluxe version (55" screen), not only the seats move but the whole back of the cabinet! It's quite impressive when seen from the outside. As we tested that version, a bug disabled guns in the middle of a level. In short, this game looks like it's unfinished. Too bad.

Other Universal Space productions: Pirate's Hook is a 2-player fishing game. Catch the biggest fishes for more tickets. What's funny is that bigger is the fish, harder is the resistance felt in the reel.

In Fruit Mania, the player must shoot rotating fruits to empty their health bar. Once dead, the fruit turns into a treasure box and falls on the platform below. If it lands on the "prize zone", it activates the "prize wheel" allowing the player to win more tickets.

And there's Arka, an interactive and educational kiddie ride for young kids. There are 8 animals in the cabin, a button is associated with each one of them and give it life (motion, sound and name of the animal) while the boat sails across the ocean.

Two new products on Adrenaline Amusements stand: Black Out where the player must paint the totallity of a planet using a transparent touchscreen (you see the prizes through it) and Fast Lane Extreme, the arcade (redemption) port of an iOS/Android game developed by Fractiv. In this game, the player rides a bike through traffic, he has to avoid cars and drive the longest time possible without crashing.

We talked about it in the news recently, Mocap Games was present at the show for the first time. Mocap Games is part of Animazoo, a company specialized in animation and motion capture. To interact with the two showcased games (Sci-shooter and Vertigo), players are equiped with a visor displaying the action and wear a suit covering the upper body. They sit on rotating seats. Sci-shooter is a robot game supporting up to 6 players while Vertigo is a mountain climbing simulation.

As usual, Crown Direct/Deith Leisure showcases a large number of video slots (category B3, C and D) from multiple manufacturers such as Barcrest's T8 and its HD screen featuring the Star Wars A New Hope, Rocky, Rainbow Riches Pots of Gold and Rainbow Riches Free Spins games. They offer other kind of products like Rock n Reels (a pusher with a ticket dispenser) and Klobber the Robber (a redemption whacker).

They naturally also distribute video games such as Dream Raiders by Sega and Urban Skater, a Ubuntu powered skateboarding game featuring a vertical monitor.

Pinball Heaven exhibits The Wizard of Oz pinball by Jersey Jack Pinball. It's a classic table with the particularity of being equipped with a 26" HD screen showing movie clips and other animations for an ever animated backglass. So popular that we couln't get closer to it.

Last year, JNC Sales purchased the stock of the defunct Funland (Trocadero). Some machines from the lot are still available at good prices. In other news, JNC Sales just puts its new website on-line with live stock view.

Here you see a Fast & Furious SuperCars machine converted from a Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 cabinet. The conversion is in progress and the final aspect may differ a bit.

It shows up in many tourist sites: the Hurricane Simulator. This is a cabin for up to 4 people. It exposes visitors to winds of the strength of a class 1 hurricane for 1 minute. It's mind-blowing!

Jabro Games presents 3 new types of cabinets for video slots of category B3A, B4 and C.

World of Rides needs no introduction. This company manufactures kid leisure rides for 43 years. On stand are showcased themed 24v cars and bumper boats.

Polish manufacturer Fox Games brings kiddie rides and its "Cyclone" redemption.

Innovative Leisure is back with its DigiWall in a fully operationnal form. They also make high ropes courses, mobile and stationnary zip lines and Water Wars, an attraction where players launch water balloons at each other using catapults.

Show visitors could register on Euroslot stand to get a free magazine.

ToyVend is the British subsidiary of Charlier-Brabo Group. As such, they are the exclusive distributors of Zed Candy sweets and sells the latest Tomy Gachapons from famous licenses by Disney (Mickey Mouse, Lion King, Toy Story, Cars), Nintendo (Mario, Pokémon, Animal Crossing) and the Smurfs. They also distribute Beaver vending machines.

Digital Centre unveils its new Expression 3.0 software and the new QR-PHOTO phtobooth. The QR code given to the user allows him to get his picture on the net and share it on social networks. Shown here: Mega Strip and New Generation Black v2.0 photobooths.

Besides spare parts, Suzo-Happ Group now offers an on-site repair service. They also present a new product: the Celebration Topper which creates a huge confetti explosion when the player wins.

Redemption Software Company presents the lastest version of "Ticket Manager" management software with touchscreen support and many useful features (e.g. unredeemed tickets can be returned to the customer as codebar ticket or transfered to his loyality card)

Italian magazine and newspapaer JAMMA is famous for its detailed information on the latest gaming and gambling products.

New boxers from Kriss-Sport are now equiped with LCD monitors which allow players to choose the game and prizes. When the machine is unused, the operator can use the monitor to display advertisements. Furthermore, boxers distribute tickets.

Basé dans le Worcestershire, Eden Contract Furnitures designs and manufactures interior and exterior furnitures. Every product comes with at least a 1 year warranty.

In addition to spare parts and changes machines, E-Service sells new economic LED lightning. Service is very fast as 98% of orders are sent the same day. Repairs are covered by a 90 days warranty.

Fiam Automazione now has Disney license for capsule toys. They also offer mini chewing-gum pinballs and have a large selection of bouncing balls, tattoos and stickers.

Antrim Contract Carpets brings their new Vegas Nights collection. It still manufactured using pure new English wool. This one completes their portfolio of more than 100 different designs.

Wessex Coin exhibits the latest models of cat. B3, B4, C and D video slots, SWPs and lottery terminals but also pinball tables, pools and jukeboxes.

Leisure Engineering distributes Sela Cars products: Sela Hurricane, Sela Formula Junior and Sela Big Disco Boat.

Many new products at Kiddy Rides (Northern Leisure Group): Peppa Pig Rocket, Olly the Little White Van, Joey JCB, Humpty Dumpty See Saw and Kiddy Ride Bus but also Helicops and I Claw from Leisurematics and a Disney ride by Merkur Kids.

Innovative Technology presents its latest products: the NV11 (compact note recycler), the SMART hopper and the SMART payout.

The Ultimate Fan distributes all kinds of new and used amusement and gaming machines (slots, jukeboxes, pool tables, football tables and SWP). They also provide licensed merchandising from the biggest UK football clubs such as Celtic, Rangers and Chelsea.

Jukebox needs? Check Sound Leisure! They have a wide range of various styled jukeboxes (from classic to modern). Soundwave, their lastest digital jukebox, offers many side features to users: calendar, bingo, quiz, news and dynamic picture display.

Novelty World is the capsule vending and crane prizes specialist. They offer HUGMEEZ plush toys in exclusivity.

Coloured kiddie rides from Kupper-Automaty.

SAM Leisure exhibits its latest pool and air hockey tables.

No video games at United Distributing Company this year except for Fruit Ninja FX. But many other products were presented like Black Out, also from Adrenaline Amusements, Spin Paradise! (a kawai redemption by Tecway), Cyber Transformer, Hitty Mouse, Dream Balls and many kiddie rides. There was also this Angry Birds prize game where the player must stops the spinning light on time.

Fair Games comes with its new category C and D Slimline range that allows to maximize available space of a location. This year sees the launch of the brand new sales division: Blue Monkey Gaming.

Heywood Pool distributes Supreme pool tables and Roberto Sport football tables.

Syndicate UK sells tickets, wristbands, tokens and bingo supplies.

Taiwan Slot magazine publisher Game Time International reminds you that next GTI Asia Taipei Expo trade show will take place on 9-11 of May and GTI Asia China Expo will be held on September 24, 25 and 26, 2013.

Salysol manufactures canned dry nuts ands sweets. They can supply their own vending machines or adapt their products to fit customers machines.

Besides the usual slots, RLMS Sales offers The Vortex. It's a cylinder with tickets flying inside, the player has to catch as many tickets as possible before time runs out.

As seen on RLMS Sales booth, the Skillball Zingy popular SWP is also shown at Regal Arcade, Neil Peters' company. The latest Super Nova product is also featured: a crossbow themed shooting SWP going by the name "Pharaohs Gold". Also there are the electrifying classics Generator and Shocker.

The young company PW Sales that just starts its 3rd year, still improve its product range with the Rainbow Riches B3A terminal and the brand new Crystal category C machine.

Spanish company Discapa manufactures toy vending machines, kid toys under license from Disney, Nickelodeon, Hello Kitty and Fiesta, bouncing balls and gum balls.

Famous Belgian crane manufacturer Elaut showcases the Mistral, an innovating and fully automatic pusher where the player inserts coins and notes to receive a credit of tokens. The player launches tokens at the playfield using a joystick to push the plastic plates worthing points off the edge. This pusher features a bonus that rewards the player with between 5 and 50 extra tokens. The latest cranes in the E-Claw series are also featured.

ITM Leisure sells Me to You, Disney, Looney Tunes and generic plush toys as well as prizes for bingos and redemptions and remote controlled cars and helicopters.

Carnaby Gaming Machines showcase its Wild Cash 5 reels gaming machines featuring Intellireels and E.M.M.S. technologies. The video jackpot system allows the display of the various jackpot bonus values on external screens to attract players.

On Harry Levy's stand, there's Sea Wolf 55, the deluxe version of Sea Wolf from Coastal Amusements. Besides the 55" screen, this new version features a machine gun to take down attacking planes. Available with or without ticket option.

Adaption of a smartphone game, here's Temple Run also by Coastal Amusements. The player controls an Indiana Jones-like adventurer using a trackball. The guy must run in temple ruins finding treasures while avoiding obstacles. The game is quite fun but the graphics could have been better. A ticket dispenser is available as an option.

Harry Levy of course exhibits its own pushers such as the Roller Coaster in 8-player round and straight versions.

Other new machines from LAI Games: the colourful crane Toy Zone and Balloon Buster where the player must pop balloons to free the hanging prizes.

Crank It! Revolution and Pig Out! by Bay Tek Games. In the later, the player must handle the shovel to send the balls falling from the top into the pig's mouth to win tickets.

In Dizzy Chicken, the player must launch a ball up a spiral ramp using a lever. He must control his strength for the ball to reach the last lit up light without exceeding it. Not easy!

PMS International has prestigious licenses: Here are pretty Star Trek soft toys.

Taito arcade games are honored with Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble plush toys. A good surprise!

Others celebrities: Slimer and the Stay Puft marshmallow man from Ghostbusters, daleks from Dr. Who and Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix from the famous Franco-Belgian comic book series.

NSM Music digital jukeboxes offers the "adverts" feature. Ads are provided via the NSM network server. The operator earns extra money if the ads is displayed for at least one month.

Surprising discovery on this stand, a Supercade cocktail table offering many emulated classic arcade games.

At All Things Nice Vending, one finds kiddie rides, capsule toys, sweats, tatoos and vending machines. The latest novelties: Maya and Muppets polyurethane balls and Disney Princess keychain projectors.

Formula-K International offers a wide range of coin-operated mini-cars for children.

New category C games at Empire Games: Jumping Jack Cash, Sky's the Limit, Clockwork Oranges, Crazy Coggs and Roll Up. There's also Juicy Fruit, a category D community game.

Astra Games releases a special edition of Party Time for the 15th anniversary of the game. Other new machines are Star Prize and Magic Games IV.

JK Henderson distributes more than 20 brands of watches and jewels since 1976.

Starline Project supplies machines deaturing in-house developed software as the category B3 Volcano.

Sacoa sells a debit card reader adaptable to all types of machines: simulators, redemption, video games, kiddie rides, ...

Ritter always delight children with its mini excavator and mini crane.

VdW International presents two new pushers this year: Astro which is a budget of the Zodiac and Las Vegas. This one distributes tokens itself if equiped with a note acceptor. It automatically places chips on the playfield. Once the bonus is reached, the player may take his winnings or risk them to win more and maybe get the jackpot.

Based in San Marino, Cool Things imports capsule toys for vending machines. They have the following licences: Barbapapa, Maya, Pulcino Pio, Hot Wheels, M&Ms, Flintstones, Looney Tunes, ...

You need to send personalized text messages to your customers? SMSTexter from Tabella Systems allows you to do it easily! You may even send them unique redeemable vouchers thanks to SMSTexter Plus. You may also use SMSTexter Mem Plus to manage a complete membership system.

RH Trading (Richard Harvey) supplies prizes for pushers, redemption, bingos and cranes, including toys from Disney, Hello Kitty and Peppa Pig.

Concept Games presents a Wizard of Odds slot machine with ticket payout.

The Won is a crane control processor by Lotelle. It's self-adjusting and fully automatic and we're promised a 30% increased revenue. The LED dance floor is back with its changing patterns. Patterns are selectable in real-time using a touch screen. It can be of any shape and size. The customer can create his own custom patterns with ease. Disco time!

Regent Carpets design and manufactures carpets of all colours and materials. The pattern can be designed in collaboration with the customer. They also take care of the installation. Their customrers are mainly casinos, arcades, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and golf clubs.

SB Machines sells Italian kiddie rides and distributes VdW International products in the UK and Ireland (hence the Astro pusher presence).

Wexel's Bingo Plus is a network bingo system supporting several bingo variations, AWP and tournaments. It can be connected to the Blis network.

Magic Play unveils Can Knockdown 2 Arcade Edition. An arcade port of a smartphone game by Polish developer Infinite Dreams. The cabinet is equiped with a 42" vertical HD multitouch screen and a ticket dispenser.

Whittaker Bros presents its new Coffee Cup carousel, a boat themed video kiddie ride and a new version of its horse carousel.

online-leds.com is an online shop selling LED strips from 50cm to 5m in length. They also supply various types of drivers and controllers.

As usual Valley Dynamo showcases its flagship products: the Champion Shuffleboard, the Tornado soccer table and the Dynamo air hockey.

Kiddie Kraft supplies low cost merchandising and Disney products.

Intermatic is back with its cotton candy vending machine. The machine cooks a delicious cotton candy before your eyes. We love it!

Cummins Allison provides everything needed for money handling from notes counters to coin sorters. New: CoinMax marketing graphics for The Money Machine and JetCoin self-service counters.

The Raid, the latest laser maze from Zone Leisure Technology recreates scenes from Mission: Impossible, Ocean's Twelve and Entrapment movies. The Begeara Black Paw is a mini laser tag for children that doesn't need sensors. The Rift Blaster and Nexus are still available.

Taiwanese companyPaokai Electronic manufactures cranes, basketball machines, redemptions, change machines and video slots.

This year, Jaybox launches its brand new Jaybox V3 that brings some new features: a new software, a new start and restart system to avoid damages to the components, Intel technology, custom fascias, an expanded cashbox,...

Jolly Roger presents among others the Candy Van equiped with 18 sweet dispensers, 2 capsule toy dispensers and a bag supplier. Other novelty: the Camper Van that will bring back good memories to parents...

Spanish company Vending Sabadell sells capsule toys, bouncing balls and vending machines.

Polish WIK manufactures and distributes billiard tables, air hockey tables (including Shark and Skate waterproof models), electronic darts and football tables. Their latest creations are the Little Ghost whack-a-mole and Street Basketball.

New machines at Kalkomat this year are Comboboxer which combines boxing machine and football kicking machine and Boxer Dragon. Besides 4 game types and a 6-player tournament mode, this boxer features special effects: the dragon spews smoke and the ball lights up.

Merkur Kids offers Disney kiddie rides including a touch screen equipped small interactive cabinet for children. They also provide simulators and classic kiddie rides.

Jakar produces strength machines, air hockey tables, kiddie rides, boxing machines, etc... They also sell a ready-to-use trailer filled with skill games. Convenient!

MapleMoose surprises everyone with a real fully functional restaurant on its stand. Here you can taste their specialties: crepes, waffles, milkshakes, ice creams, coffee, slush drinks and american pancakes. The one time franchise is £6,000 only and the mascot is nice!

Affordable Leisure sells Arión digital jukeboxes. Their latest creation is the small and compact Bire Jukebox. Each month, Arión Music offers the Top 40 albums and 100 charts hits.

Kinderball manufactures metal and plastic vending machines. They dispose of a wide range but can also create a custom design for large orders.

EAG 2013 sees the premiere of Tool Billiard's new billiard cloth: the Eurospeed 70 Super Pro. Available in 4 colours, this cloth is specially designed for tournament use.

On Pan Amusements stand, one finds The Sideshow compact shooting gallery and Beat The Clock. It's a game of skills where the player has to push the 4 balls into holes using a water jet canon before the time runs out to win tickets.

Whitehouse Leisure provides many plush toys under license: Angry Birds Star Wars, Despicable Me 2, Furby, Disney, ...

Special Game is an Italian company that supplies kiddie rides and capsule vending machines as well as the needed merchandises.

EAG is famous for its free seminars held during the show. This year, some of the covered subject were: how to make more money with ticket redemption equipment, prize center, merchandise dispensers (by Michael Getlan, Little Smiles PDC) and how to manage and motivate your staff to welcome guests.

Is she a Pac-Man Power Girl?

Austin Powers himself teaches you how to pose in the Superbooths.

It is clear that the redemption sector is going well with many new products. The current trend is clearly the arcade adaptation of smartphone games as evidenced by Black Out, Can Knockdown 2 Arcade Edition, Doodle Jump Arcade, Fast Lane Extreme and Temple Run. It is worrying that the arcade games that were once making players dream with their advanced graphics are now reduced to adaptations of mobile phone games. This may be the kind of games that the public is used to today, but arcade games must continue to make a difference with titles featuring quality content and technical superiority, which unfortunately is not often the case with current Western productions. Fortunately, there are still some luxury games like Dark Escape 4D which is arguably the best game of the show.

Notably missing this year is Konami which was totally absent from the show while we usually found its latest titles on the stand of its European distributor Electrocoin. On the same booth, Taito showed Trickloose only, a simple redemption. Where are Kickthrough Racers, Darius Burst Another Chronicle EX and especially NESiCAxLive games? No new racing game from Sega, not even K.O. Drive which was showcased at DEAL and IAAPA 2012 trade shows (not good enough?). Needless to say, the hoped titanic battle between Sega's Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AA X and Namco's Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4 has not occurred at EAG 2013. Are these machines considered too expensive for European operators?

According to the organizer and exhibitors, EAG International 2013 was a success despite the bad weather and travel problems it has caused. Indeed, the audience was mainly composed of interested buyers, which is confirmed by the high number of sales contracted during the show. The next edition will be held at ExCeL London from 21 to 23 January 2014. See you there!

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