Here’s some news that should make location-based VR makers step up their game… tech giant Microsoft recently filed a patent for a virtual reality floor mat that suggests it could be paired with their flagship gaming products, the Xbox One and 360 consoles. According to Digital Trends, the patent was filed on April 2, 2018, and published a few weeks ago on Oct. 3. The mat would include haptic feedback (meaning vibration), the use of interlocking tiles to allow for adjustable play space and pressure sensors. Obviously, no exact specs have been announced by Microsoft and there’s no word on…
Author: Matt Harding
Eddie Adlum, Publisher The coming edition of RePlay Magazine spotlights the mid-November IAAPA show, naturally, and will offer great pre-show planning help to show goers who like to marshal their time between the trade show and the seminars. Regarding IAAPA, which is most often seen as a game center show, Frank Seninsky runs a story telling route guys why they should hit the Florida event as well. There’s lots more than IAAPA in the coming issue, including a story about a Canadian route operator who rents deluxe video attractions to locations on flat-fee who in turn put them onto free…
The Chicago-based entertainment company WhirlyBall opened Oct. 11 at Brookfield Square in the Wisconsin city of Brookfield. WhirlyBall, which has four other locations, is also a game. It’s a combination of bumper cars, basketball, lacrosse and hockey. According to BizTimes Milwaukee, the new Brookfield Square venue houses two WhirlyBall courts where teams of 4-10 players compete for 10 minutes. Housed in a 45,000-sq.-ft. facility, the two-story location is also home to the company’s first bar and sit-down restaurant concept, The Pivot Room – a 75-seat dining room decorated with vintage sports memorabilia. Learn more about the business at www.whirlyball.com.
If you’re near Austin, Texas, and love Halloween, today is your day! That’s because Pinballz is hosting Halloween parties starting tonight, Oct. 25, and going straight through to Oct. 31. They’ll have something at each of their three Austin area locations. The festivities will begin with Pinballz Lake Creek tonight with mini-pumpkin painting at 7 p.m., a costume contest for kids at 8 p.m. and an adult costume contest following that (officially slated for 9 p.m., though it may be sooner, so get there early). The same schedule will happen tomorrow night, Oct. 26, at Pinballz Kingdom in Buda. On…
Bank Arcade and Skill Games in Waynesboro, N.C., opened recently in a former tobacco store. The business is a throwback to the 1980s and 90s with pinball machines, video games like Pac-Man and claw machines where you can win Beanie Babies. According to the News Leader, owner Logan Sprouse is passionate about vintage gaming systems and skill games, and wanted to bring some people into what was most recently a vacant building. “We own multiple businesses locally and customers have been asking us to open one up, seeing as there is no traditional arcade nearby and the skill games had…
Portal Arcade Management Studio (AMS), a cloud-based arcade management system, was recently released by Licausi Development. Matthew Licausi, a web application development veteran and experienced arcade and amusement technology professional, leads the Kansas City company. The purpose of Portal AMS is to make things easier for operators. “We’ve seen the benefits of … first-generation cashless card systems in larger arcades,” he said. “But we’re still lacking monitoring technology for smaller rooms. To fill this need, Portal is focusing on new hardware and digital tools that can stand on their own or complement cashless systems.” Learn more details at www.portalams.com.
AVS Companies recently announced the addition of Melissa Mercado as its digital marketing designer. She works at the company’s headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Ill., and will assist in creating marketing assets, web design and branding across all industry channels. “Melissa brings a fresh look at our industries,” said Vince Gumma, president of AVS Companies. “This, coupled with her extensive design experience, will help to propel our marketing initiatives.” Mercado previously was a marketing coordinator for The Carlson Group and a creative freelance designer. She can be reached at 847-439-9400. Learn more at www.avscompanies.com.
VR Intelligence, now a Reuters Events Company, recently announced its VRX 2019 Thought Leader Insights article, available here. The sneak peek includes exclusive interviews with VR and AR leaders who will be speaking at the 5th Annual VRX Conference & Expo, in San Francisco on Dec. 12-13 (RePlay will be there, so stay tuned for detailed coverage.) Some of the speakers include: Phil Martin, VP of business development at Zero Latency; Vinay Narayan, VP of product and operations at HTC Vive; Angelo Del Priore, a partner at HP Tech Ventures; and Chanel Summers, VP of creative development at VRstudios. The…
After some delays, Scene75 is finally in Columbus, Ohio, having opened Oct. 11. At 225,000 sq. ft., it’s believed to be the largest indoor FEC in the U.S. (RePlay profiled the company in November 2018 when they had plans to open early this year.) Located in a former Macy’s department store, Scene75 Columbus has a whopping 19 attractions: an arcade with 230 games (yes, you’re reading that right), electric go-karts, escape rooms, a laser maze, a 36-foot-tall drop tower, an indoor roller coaster and much more, according to Columbus Underground. The company has other locations in Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland and…
On the road again – and back on campus! – is the Amusement & Music Operator Assn. The association’s On the Road and On Campus program in Rosemont, Ill., will be held this week from Oct. 25-28 at the Westin O’Hare. During the On the Road program, attendees will hear from keynote speaker Kevin Wright, who will share how to attract, develop and ignite a generationally diverse team; Taylor McGlamery of Trustworkz, who will discuss how to best market and promote your company in today’s digital world; and Russ Van Natta of Creative Works, who will focus on virtual reality…