And to demonstrate that there’s proof in Cooney’s VR pudding, VRstudios, a global VR company based in Washington, announced Jan. 31 its exclusive partnership with the classic theme park Knott’s Berry Farm and its parent company Cedar Fair. The collaboration will result in the installation of a free-roam VR experience at Knott’s slated to open the second quarter of this year. “Our collaboration with VRstudios to develop a new custom-built, immersive amusement experience at Knott’s Berry Farm is exciting for our customers and consistent with the memorable experiences they expect from our parks,” said Christian Dieckmann, Cedar Fair’s VP of…
Author: RePlay Editor
RePlay contributor and virtual reality aficionado Bob Cooney hosted a webinar on Jan. 31 for nearly 100 people, breaking down the “third wave” of virtual reality and emphasizing that “this time, things are different.” According to Cooney, virtual reality (and a little further down the road, augmented reality) is going to be a role-defining technology. He likened it to smart phones, with many finding the tech unnecessary and gimmicky when they were initially debuted to the public, and no one expecting the world-changing impact that such a seemingly innocuous technology has had. Also, Cooney emphasized that the place for…
AMOA’s State Council Meeting was held Jan. 26-28 in Tampa this year, bringing over 60 industry members representing 28 states to the Paramount Hotel for productive meetings discussing the state of states with, without and working toward an industry association. According to Lori Schneider, EVP of AMOA, the numbers were near the same as year’s past, but those at the meeting saw some new faces from Indiana and Alabama, and heard a lot of talk about a new state organization potentially forming in Colorado. “We always have such a spectrum, we’ve got states without associations who want them, some that…
Thursday, Feb. 2, presents a golden opportunity for operators and technicians to get down to the CEMA Spotlight show and chat face-to-face with folks from just about every important game factory in the business. Got a technical question? A marketing one? Chances are the people manning their new machines at this event might be able to help you. The show is being held at the Holiday Inn just on the east side of Rt. 5 in La Mirada (14299 Firestone Blvd., La Mirada; phone: 714-739-8500). A TouchTunes service school runs from 8-11 a.m., an association meeting then goes 11:30-noon and…
More On Ohio & Skill Games What’s Proposed and Why I Believe It’s Important Outside the Buckeye State by Tom Fricke In the July 2014 issue of this column, I offered warning that regulation of skill games for prizes is coming and that the regulations would be problematic. In the November 2016 issue, I provided information about the draft regulations in Ohio now out for comment by industry stakeholders in the state, and how you can participate in (and maybe influence) the rulemaking process. When a major state takes a sharp turn towards a new and troublesome form of regulation,…
It’s Almost Showtime! Attending Expo is a Must-Do for the Trade Q: The big event is almost here! Can you share your thoughts as show time approaches? A: It’s sure hard to believe that in just over a month’s time, we’ll be assembling in Dallas (not Vegas!) for this year’s AAMA-AMOA Amusement Expo International. It seems like we were just together at the Las Vegas Convention Center, but that was way back in March 2016! While Las Vegas has been a hospitable home for Expo since the associations created the “single spring show” in 2010 — and had been the site…
Editorial Happy New Year, all! Since it’s still January as I write this, I can still say that. I hope your holidays were relaxing, fun and refreshing. Mine really were all of that this season. I should have put “refreshing” first, because that’s exactly how I felt coming back to work…refreshed and ready to tackle the New Year with renewed passion and purpose. I’m a firm believer that there needs to be a balance between work and play. Too much work and you’re a workaholic who runs the risk of losing friends and alienate family. Too much play and your…
Ready Player One? Acquisitions & Rebranding Catapult Player One Amusement Group Into 2017 as a Coast-to-Coast Operator, Distributor & Even More If you pay attention to the goings on of this industry, you’ve probably heard of Player One Amusement Group (P1AG). If you’ve been working in this industry for a relatively long time, you’ve almost definitely heard of at least one of the companies that have congealed into the newly-minted group headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Years of business consolidation – seen as a dirty word to some, the wings of an angel to others – helped morph Cineplex…
The fifth iteration of IAAPA’s popular FEC-focused conference began in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Jan. 29 and runs through Jan. 31. This year’s FEC Summit is bringing together over 150 people from 27 states and 10 countries for workshops, educational seminars, site tours, networking and more. According to IAAPA’s Leslie Hutcheson, organizers focused heavily this year on attracting a new group of FEC industry members, reaching out to entrepreneurs and first-time operators. “The numbers are right where we want them,” Hutcheson said. “This year we’re really focusing on entrepreneurs. IAAPA’s FEC Committee developed a great platform to target and engage…
Rochester, Minn., is known as the hometown of both the Mayo Clinic and route operator Dick Hawkins. “The Hawk” was not only one of Minnesota’s largest route jukebox, games and later vending owners, but also served as president of both MOMA and the national AMOA back in the ’80s. Hawkins is best known, however, as co-founder of the VNEA (“Valley League”) with Chuck Milhem. This most successful of all coin-op promotions held its very first international tournament in Rochester’s Kayler Hotel. Dick passed away on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, at The Waters on Mayowood care facility where he’d been struggling…