VRStudios, providers of VR attractions for FECs and other location-based entertainment facilities, launched its impressive, new Terminal 17 today, Aug. 17. This new VR attraction immerses players in a virtual world by utilizing the latest technology in a competitive, multiplayer, free-roam arena. Players are part of an eight-person extermination squad tasked with finding and eliminating alien insects that are destroying a facility on a remote planet. “Terminal 17 was designed from the ground up to maximize the extensive capabilities of the VRcade Arena and our Attraction Management Platform (AMP),” said Kevin Vitale, VRstudios’ CEO. “VRstudios’ is committed to using the…
Author: Casey Minter
The 2017 edition of the ReplayFX festival in Pittsburgh, Pa., is literally going to be “in the books” shipping out from the RePlay printer soon. Thanks to American Classic Arcade Museum VP Mike Stulir, the September this magazine will have a report on the massive gamefest, which was held from July 27-30 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. In just three short years, reports Mike, this fan festival of all forms of electronic gaming has quickly evolved into one of the premier opportunities for manufacturers and distributors of games to engage with the general public. With close to 20,000…
CenterEdge Software has brought aboard Kimberly McPeek as its Support Manager. She joins the company with years of experience as a project manager for Verizon’s North Carolina location, where she managed a diverse product set across multiple carriers, along with service as the single point of customer orders and billing. In her new role, McPeek will lead the company’s support team to meet customer service goals and service-level agreements. She will also manage and mentor staff, providing measurable evaluations and performance feedback. “Our support team is the backbone to ensuring our clients’ needs are continuously fulfilled,” said Chris Johnson, CenterEdge…
Broderick Norkus, a 12-year industry veteran and currently AMI Entertainment’s Inside Sales Manager, has been boosted to the job of overall Sales Manager for the jukebox maker. His responsibilities will include working with Senior VP John Margold developing quarterly promotions for AMI’s customers; daily management of the inside sales team’s operations; collaborating with the company’s regional sales managers to maximize market opportunities; and ultimately, ensuring customer satisfaction. “Broderick was given an important position in the spring of 2016,” said Margold. “He has embraced the added responsibility and is willing to tackle any challenge. His ‘can-do’ attitude, vast product knowledge and…
A busy weekend saw Jersey Jack Guarnieri happily delivering one of his new, Pat Lawlor-created Dialed In! pins to Joe Ingui, VP of U.S. Route Operations for Player One Amusement Group. The game landed on the Boardwalk Fun N Games at Pier Village in Long Branch on the Jersey Shore. (That’s JJP topper Jack Guarnieri with Ingui at the boardwalk arcade.) JJP distributor Joe Newhart delivered a Dialed In! pin to Slash during his concert at Hersheypark Stadium in Pennsylvania. Said proud papa Jack about his new game: “It’s been getting rave reviews and plenty of re-orders due to its…
Creative Works ran another of their popular LaserTAG360 events in Indianapolis Aug. 1-2. (the last one in 2017), and more than 45 existing and soon-to-be operators attended. During the two days, Creative Works delivered core lessons of the laser tag industry, and discussed the design, development and best practices of the longtime attraction. The company also invited a group of industry experts to contribute, having them speak on topics such as funding, gaming tech, contract negotiations, hiring, training and marketing. Four laser tag equipment manufacturers were available during the event to provide hands-on education and demonstrations of their gear. One…
Foundations Entertainment University completed its 15th consecutive year of program sessions with class number 43 in Chicago from Aug. 8-10. 56 people attended the event, breaking down into 32 attendees, 17 sponsors and six speakers. 20 states were represented with two attendees flying across the ocean from the U.K. to attend the highly respected FEC education event. FEU was also honored by the attendance of five special industry association attendees: AAMA brought Pete Gustafson, Tina Schwartz and Ashley Davis, while AMOA was represented by Maggie Kapinos. Attendees at FEU43 had a lot of positive responses to the event, some of…
The Sharpe family name has been synonymous with pinball for ages, and now Stern Pinball is bringing Roger Sharpe’s son Zach on as Director of Marketing. Zach is taking over for the recently promoted Jody Dankberg, who now serves as Director of Licensing and New Business Development. Most recently, young Sharpe worked as senior marketing producer for Iris Worldwide, a marketing agency. In addition to this professional life, he’s been a highly competitive and widely respected pin player with a longtime standing as one of the International Flipper Pinball Association’s top ranked pinball player in the world. He’s also spread…
The 8th annual Northwest Amusement Showcase is being readied for Oct. 7 this year, and the once Specialty Coin-run show is now flying under the Betson distributing banner. (Betson purchased Specialty Coin earlier this year. You can read more about that here.) Hosted at the Hilton Vancouver in Vancouver, Wash., right over the bridge from Portland, Ore., the show brings some of the biggest movers and shakers in the industry together for a sneak peek of the hottest new machines and product. The event is free for industry members and their families, and will showcase equipment from over 30 exhibitors.…
Redemption Plus has announced the hiring of Michael Tipton as Chief Value Architect and head of Customer Success and Marketing. He’ll be responsible for ensuring that every customer that interacts with Redemption Plus is central and important, all while building partner relationships and sharing insight with the industry. “Mike was chosen not only because of his impressive résumé of leading successful sales teams but also because of how he behaves and thinks, which is to say ‘progressively,'” said Chief Results Officer Sean Stormes. “At a time when change in business is the norm, Mike embraces the unexpected and excels in…