Apple Industries brought multiple new money-making machines to IAAPA this week. The company excitedly unveiled a miniature version of its hit Photo Studio Deluxe, the Photo Studio Prism, at the AAMA Gala this year, and has have that along with other items at their booth (#1600). Print Budii, the company’s new photo-printing kiosk, allows users to send photos from their phones and cameras to the Budii and print them right there. Print Budii will also be the name of Apple Industries’ new division dedicated to digital photo printing, adding another name on top of Face Place to the company’s growing repertoire. Also, the company is unveiling new Universal…
Author: RePlay Editor
Operators Jim and Susan Rowton went through some stressful times as they arrived in Orlando for the IAAPA show. From Southern California, they wondered if the rental property they own Malibu was still standing as the raging Woolsey Fire tore through the seaside city. When we first talked to Jim on Sunday, Nov. 11, he’d heard from the tenant that most of the houses in Latigo Canyon (where his property sits) had burned. At one point during the convention, the Rowtons had been told that the home had in fact been a total loss. Thankfully, better news prevailed! An aerial…
Betson is ready to give IAAPA attendees some great deals this year. The company is offering unique leasing and financing options on Halo: Fireteam Raven (two-player), Snow Boarder, Cruis’n Blast, The Walking Dead, Injustice, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more. The company will also offer specials on parts, vending and billiards. Come by booths #515, 615 and 815 for more information.
The out-of-home entertainment company Kilburn Live has signed an agreement with Hasbro Toys to develop a chain of family entertainment centers across both the U.S. and Canada. These FECs will employ Hasbro’s iconic brands in the design of what Kilburn calls “high-energy, gamified environments with multiple activity zones.” In partnership with Fort Worth’s Goff Capital investment firm, Kilburn has hired Charlie Keegan to head up this new division. Keegan was formerly the CEO of Main Event Entertainment, one of the amusement industry’s leading FEC chains. John Goff of the investment firm said: “Hasbro is the world’s largest toy company and…
TouchTunes is bringing its National Jukebox Day promotion back to its extensive network of music machines. Now through Nov. 21, users who play a song at two or more locations using the TouchTunes mobile app will be entered into a chance to win a year of free credits. These can be used on any mobile-enabled TouchTunes juke. In addition, 50 runner-ups will win 50 free credits. National Jukebox Day, which falls on Nov. 21, was declared in 2016 by the Registrar at the National Day Calendar, and is meant to celebrate families reconnecting for Thanksgiving, which comes the day after.…
FetchRevolution Company Finds Passion In Driving Customers Through the Door by Key Snodgress Marketing is changing –– rapidly –– and consumers are no longer as moved to action by a generic email blast, no matter how well crafted. They’re also more discerning and savvy when it comes to the value they must receive before they’re willing to part with their personal data. As a result, old-school marketing has become less effective, but at the same time, new-age digital efforts are complicated, time consuming and costly. Enter FetchRev, a company that addresses these pain points for FEC owners, operators and GMs,…
Making a Big Scene Largest Indoor Entertainment Center in the U.S. Coming Early 2019 by Matt Harding It doesn’t have its own zip code, but by commanding more than 220,000 square feet, maybe it should. After all, the new, two-story Scene75 Entertainment Center location in Columbus, Ohio, will be gargantuan in every sense of the word. And that’s just how the company likes it. Once completed in early 2019 — at an anticipated cost of $12 million — it will be the largest indoor entertainment center in the country, a feat that Scene75 takes great pride in accomplishing. “We’re developing…
It’s ALL Fun & Games Nearing Half Century Mark, Bob’s Space Racers Says It’s “Changing the Way the Game Is Played” When some people in the amusement industry think of Bob’s Space Racers (BSR), the first image that comes to mind is their big, flashy park or trailer mounted group games they’ve seen at numerous theme parks, carnivals or tradeshows around the world, and for good reason. These types of games are what put BSR on the proverbial map of the amusement trade industry nearly 48 years ago. What they may not realize though, is that BSR is also a…
The Elephant in the Room FEC Repeat Appeal May Have Lost Its Mojo By Randy White, CEO/White Hutchison Leisure & Learning Group I’ve been working in the FEC industry for more than 29 years. Over the last decade, I’ve seen a rapid acceleration of disruptions to the traditional FEC model and one of the most disruptive of these is the loss of repeat appeal. When the FEC industry first emerged three decades ago, there weren’t very many out-of-home entertainment options, mostly just zoos, theme parks, bowling alleys and a few miscellaneous venues. With fewer options, those FECs had repeat appeal as…
Shredding Money?! Thoughts on Moving Away from Tickets & Toward Card Systems by Jack Guarnieri, Jersey Jack Pinball & PinballSales.com Paper or plastic? That’s something heard at the checkout of many supermarkets. Some have banned plastic altogether; even the tiny country of Aruba is “green” with a single-use, plastic bag ban. Some supermarkets like Aldi don’t provide bags at all, you have to bring your own or buy one. Last week, I was in an FEC where players were carrying armloads of redemption tickets and feeding them into a shredder so they could get a slip of paper to redeem…