As this report went out, over 160 professionals were gathered in Las Vegas addressing the future of fun. The Future of Immersive Leisure (FOIL) conference, hosted for the first time at Mandalay Bay, brought together some of the most innovative voices working in virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics, projection mapping, cinema, amusement and other forward-thinking industries. The conference was designed to give a holistic look into the wide breadth of immersive technologies that are emerging, technologies that those present feel will rapidly and completely revolutionize what customers expect when leaving their homes for entertainment. The two-day conference kicked off on…
Author: Casey Minter
A recent Bloomberg article chronicled a rough year for amusement mainstays Dave & Busters. According to the report, D&B has had a problem promoting its food and beverage offerings. The good news for coin-op, though, is that the company’s sluggish food and beverage sales were offset by solid numbers coming from their entertainment offerings. For more on the story, see the Bloomberg article here.
Intercard has been busy these past few months with what they term a “whirlwind” of installations around the country. One of those upgrades went to Fat Cats in Rexburg, Idaho to replace an older debit card system from another vendor. The Rexburg location is one of six popular Fat Cats FECs that offer movies, bowling, arcades and more. According to Jacob Glider, the General Manager of the Rexburg Fat Cats: “the Intercard system has eliminated problems our team has had with previous card readers. You swipe it once and it works the first time. Before the, it often took multiple…
Triotech recently announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Bandai Namco for its Typhoon motion simulator ride in the United Kingdom. “Bandai Namco is an excellent partner for us. They are one of the leading distributors in the market and they have supply agreements with some of the leading FEC brands in the U.K.,” said Gabi Salabi, Triotech’s VP of global sales and business development. “Their deep knowledge of the U.K. market, combined with our product’s track record for ROI and guest experience, makes this a strong relationship.” John McKenzie, managing director of Bandai Namco Amusement Europe Limited, added, “Triotech has…
Over 30 laser tag operators from the U.S. and Canada gathered August 22-23 for LaserTag.com by Zone’s first annual operator tech conference in Baltimore. Attendees got an in-depth look at laser tag equipment and tailored suggestions for marketing laser tag in 2017. Zone provided technicians so attendees could have one-on-one time with experts to address specific problems during the conference, as well as seminars focused on preventative maintenance and repair. “We had a great time talking with the various Zone techs,” said Pat O’Connor, owner of Ultrazone in Fort Wayne, Indiana. “Operators, managers and the equipment providers all coming together…
Bandai Namco has announced the hiring of Tim Marlega, a parts specialist who worked for the company for over two years. The company says his experience provided him knowledge of Bandai Namco products that was unmatched in other candidates. Marlega joins Bandai Namco’s sales team to help out in all game sales aspects, but specifically focusing on the home market. “With Tim’s broad background in many different departments of our company, I am excited to have him join our sales team,” said Steve Ignarski, National Sales Manager, “Also with our expanding offerings in the home market and launching our Pac-Man…
VRLA is coming back to the LA Convention Center next year on May 4 and 5. The event is one of the biggest gatherings of consumers, creators and curators of VR and AR content, attracting thousands of attendees during its introductory event this year. Next year, an expected 12,000 will attend the two days of demos, workshops, speakers and more.
AMOA has been conducting the Bob Nims Golf Tournament for over 30 years now during the association’s Mid-Year leadership meetings, but in more recent years, the event has also served as a fundraiser for AMOA’s Political Action Committee (PAC). The golf tourney, named in memory of AMOA’s late Past President Bob Nims, will be held on September 10 during AMOA’s Mid-Year Board meetings in Destin, Fla. AMOA would like to thank the following individuals for donating $100 or more so far: Gaines Butler, Metro Distributors; Ben Ciaccio, Just Darts, Inc.; Alan Deutschman, A.L.D. Services; Scott Dougherty, D & D Amusement;…
Preliminary reports are saying that Hurricane Harvey has surpassed the rainfall record from a single storm in the continental U.S. You won’t find Texas operators denying that fact as they fight to recover from over four feet of rain decimating their businesses. “People keep asking me what it’s like, and in the end, the only word that comes to mind is Biblical,” said Lee Jordan, who operates multiple FECs in the Houston area. Lee and his brother Chris were able to get into one of their locations, the Bay Area Raceway in Dickinson, Texas, just recently, and they found a…
As this was going to press, we got word from PayRange’s Amanda Mailey that the company has launched a fundraising campaign in its app across all PayRange-enabled machines in the U.S. to benefit Hurricane Harvey victims. Users will be able to add $1 to their purchase and those funds will be donated to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts. Users can donate as many times as they wish. PayRange operators don’t need to do anything to activate this fundraising feature. Mailey says it is live now. “There will be no additional fee for the machine operator, and…