Apple Industries says has been getting a lot of attention for their new Product Fulfillment Program, the most recent accolade an AMOA Innovator Award at the Amusement Expo in March. Recently, they announced that it would roll out to operators through a software update late in spring of this year. This new merchandising program, formally Face Place Smile 2.0 Product Fulfillment, lets customers transfer the photos they take in Face Place photo booths on custom-made coffee mugs, phone cases and keychains. The photo booth is effectively turned into a digital retail store, giving operators the chance to increase revenue on…
Author: Casey Minter
Major League Baseball’s Opening Day — April 4 this year — has long been considered a national holiday of sorts, harking back to our country’s long history of loving baseball. Now Face Place and the MLB are hoping that customers will continue the tradition and share photos of themselves wearing their favorite team’s caps. And Apple wonders what better place to share that photo than from a Face Place photo booth? Fans are encouraged to caption their photos with #capson to participate in the national promotion, and can win prizes for their pictures. For more information and to see what…
Pennsylvania’s Miele Manufacturing has hired Jeff McGinness (pictured at left) as the company’s compliance officer. McGinness has spent the last 25 years working for the Pennsylvania State Police and recently retired as a District Office Commander for the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. He also worked as a criminal investigator, a vice/narcotics unit supervisor and a station commander. McGinness is currently finishing an internship to obtain a legal studies degree from Pennsylvania College of Technology. He hopes to use these studies and his extensive background to answer questions concerning the intricacies of skill-based gaming in the state. He will also…
The BullShooter tournament is headed to finals (set for May 26-30 in Chicago) now after successful tournaments wrapped up in Georgia and Nebraska. The Georgia Regional was held Feb. 26-28 in Atlanta, and was co-sponsored by Arachnid distributors Betson Southeast, Brady Starburst and Legacy Coin. Players came from all over the state, as well as from Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Missouri. Nebraska’s was the final regional tournament for the 2015-2016 BullShooter season. It was held March 18-20 and was co-sponsored by Greater American Distributing, Central Distributing and NTS Dart-Tech. Players came from Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota. South…
A CNN feature recently celebrated the hey-day of arcades with an interview from video game record holder Billy Mitchell. The short video also featured a famous LIFE Magazine photo from Ottumwa, Iowa, that depicted the top 20 players from the era. Mitchell describes what’s happened to competitive gaming and the video game world since the “Golden Age of Arcade Games,” making the point that games back then couldn’t rest on the laurels of breathtaking graphics and massive, multi-million dollar budgets. Instead, they had to have quick, addictive, skill-based, easy-to-learn but impossible-to-master gameplay that forced players to keep pumping quarters through…
It’s a common problem: An operator sets up a new TouchTunes jukebox, hands the remote control to the bartender and, what seems like minutes later, gets a call from the location saying that remote has been lost (or even destroyed when the bartender accidentally dumps it into the sink full of dishwater, for example). Of course, TouchTunes sells replacements. But now, way back on the recent Amusement Expo exhibit floor, a company called Press On Products debuted its own TouchTunes-compatible remote which reportedly got a lot of attention from some operators and distributors. Press On already makes and markets its…
Earlier this month, Firestone Financial honored manufacturers, distributors and operators in an awards ceremony during the Amusement Expo. The company also made a contribution to the Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation in honor of its Platinum Partners, who are chosen for their “innovation, leadership and support” of Firestone. “I am so grateful to our customers for their dedication, support and loyalty,” said Firestone VP Jim Hines. “This has been a year of change and growth for Firestone, as we celebrated our 50th anniversary and we became part of the Berkshire Bank team. Our customers have supported us through our transition and we…
Intercard Inc. recently completed an installation of its i3 Readers at Fantastic Park, a new FEC located in the Sputnik shopping center in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The 22,000 sq. ft. establishment opened at the start of this year and features ten different rides for families and children, an arcade and a toddler’s play area. “Fantastic Park is the newest indoor park in Kazakhstan. Here, the children not only play, but also develop their skills in important areas such as imagination, logic, teamwork and motor skills,” said Damir Blyalov, Director of Rides & Games LLP, the company that designed, realized and manages Fantastic…
TouchTunes will begin a promotional campaign on April 1 to push R&B singer Lukas Graham’s new self-titled album. Graham has achieved massive popularity overseas and rose to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Charts in 2015. He is praised for his soulful delivery and honest lyrics that tell stories of family strife, poor decisions and the celebration of life. Graham and his band – Mark “Lovestick” Falgren on drums, Kasper Daugaard on keyboard and Magnus “Magnum” Larsson on bass – are also heavily influenced by their homeland, Denmark. Many of the group’s songs are entwined with their years spent in Christiana,…
PayRange Inc., maker of mobile payment solutions for amusement and vending machines, was recently issued two additional patents that cover inventive portions of their technology. The first patent covers their “Offers” platform, a method for providing different offers on vending machines via the PayRange app and barcodes. The second covers a method for retrofitting offline machines in order to allow them to accept electronic payments without the need of being connected to a network. PayRange says these patents, plus the 24 other filed and/or issued patents it has pursued, demonstrate sustained innovation within the company. “The ability to retrofit existing…