Apple Industries is using this year’s IAAPA to launch an unquestionably wild and crazy idea: they can display the booth user’s photo on a giant electronic Times Square billboard in New York City! The billboard sits at one of the world’s most visited intersections (Broadway and 42nd Street). Here’s how it works: First, the customer pays the regular vend price to take a photo in any Face Place booth that’s networked with the company’s Smile 2.0 platform. Then, for an additional fee, that photo can actually be splashed for a short time on the billboard along with a caption written…
Author: Casey Minter
Lara Newberry of Venco Business Solutions is the winner of AMOA’s early bird Hesch drawing this year. Newberry’s ticket was drawn recently during AMOA’s On the Road program in Denver, and she won a $500 Amazon gift card. AMOA was quick to remind readers that there’s still plenty of time to have the opportunity to win one of three grand prizes that will be raffled at the end of 2018’s Amusement Expo International. The association is giving away a trifecta of prizes including two Yamaha Zuma scooters and a Can-Am Outlander ATV. The raffle is part of an annual fundraising…
Apple Industries has a new license to use in their global network of photo booths: the Three Stooges (Larry, Curly and Moe). Customers will now be able to take pictures with the Stooges and print them out or share them online. C3 Entertainment, owners of the Three Stooges brand, announced the partnership and had glowing words for the photo booth firm. “The advancements that Apple Industries and Face Place have made with photo booths is amazing,” says Ani Khachoian, C3’s EVP of licensing, merchandising and distribution. “With the Three Stooges’ massive online and social media presence, I believe fans will…
Sega reps put a spin on their IAAPA promotions this year with a variety of tournaments on the firm’s new games that ran throughout IAAPA week. To keep things exciting over at booths 1506 and 1606, the company offered a number of tournament events that ran during the first three days of the show. Winners of the events were announced on Thursday, Nov. 16, and got a variety of prizes. Sega’s first IAAPA tournament was on the company’s new Hoopla game, developed with ICE. Players at the show tried to toss a hoop on all seven of the games’ hooks…
The bowling mavens at QubicaAMF have a new product that’s getting bowlers and bowling center owners alike quite excited. After nearly three years of research and testing, the firm has announced HyperBowling, which they call a “revolutionary” new product. Those attending the IAAPA Expo were able to tell for themselves at the company’s booth. HyperBowling blends software, advanced physical materials, mechanical design, futuristic user interfaces and new electronics and sensors to offer a new bowling experience. “With HyperBowling you don’t need to be a bowler to win,” the company says, likening the new product to a “physical video game on…
Jukebox fans rejoice! TouchTunes announced the beginning of another celebration marking National Jukebox Day. The company’s huge juke network featured unique artists, jukebox fan stories and a sweepstakes with a $2,500 shopping spree on the line. Juke fans could automatically enter to win once a day from Nov. 1 – 22 by playing any song via the TouchTunes app. Fans could also enter the sweepstakes by signing up on TouchTunes jukes nationwide. Back in 2016, the Registrar at National Day Calendar, along with TouchTunes, declared the day before Thanksgiving as National Jukebox Day. This year’s special day landed on Wednesday,…
After two years at Moss Distributing, Eric Hatfield has taken a job as WIK Games’ U.S. director of operations, bringing his expertise in FEC sales, setup, design and ongoing support to this European-based game maker. According to Hatfield, WIK is seeking a larger presence in the U.S., with his hiring being the beginning of a continued expansion pursued by the company. The make air hockey tables, basketball hoops and novelties. On top of the new job description, Hatfield has already begun warehousing a lot of WIK equipment. He expects this to improve service on WIK games with a U.S.-centric schedule…
Pinballz Lake Creek FEC recently collaborated with the members of the Killer Queen Austin team for a 16 hour, non-stop gaming marathon, all in the name of charity. Using the unique Killer Queen game and name (Pinballz is the only location to own a cabinet in Austin, Texas), organizers encouraged teams to sign up and play in the name of the Dell Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network. On Saturday, Nov. 4, teams began playing at 10 a.m. and didn’t stop until 2 a.m. Over $3,689 was raised for Dell Children’s Hospital, doubling the group’s goal of $1,337 and placing…
Round1 Entertainment has tapped Intercard for its debit card needs, and already completed an arcade installation at their new Crystal Run Galleria Mall in Middletown, N.Y. The bowling FEC features a large arcade with the latest games, as well as some unique, hard-to-find Japanese arcade games exclusively available in the States at Round1 locations. Intercard says its system controls every aspect of the arcade, from card sales to redemption to service. More than 400 card readers, four iTeller kiosks, a redemption station, multiple iCashier terminals and two Intercard POS fill the arcade with payment possibilities. “Round1 decided that Intercard would…
In the year since their U.S. debut in Orlando during the 2016 IAAPA Expo, Zero Latency has grown as quick as the viral zombie outbreak in their latest game. These VR folks have opened seven more U.S. locations and has new sites in Australia and Japan. More North America, SE Asian and European arenas are planned in the coming months, as well as a 2018 expansion in the same markets and the Middle East. Additionally, more than 50 percent of licensees have purchased more than one Zero Latency system, reports the company. The firm is also ready to release what…