As with pretty much every tradeshow on the planet, the EAG Expo had to skip their 2021 event due to the pandemic, but with things in that regard reaching a certain point, the show returned to London this year. It still ended up taking place later than usual; This is an arcade tradeshow that generally takes place in January and is for the European arcade & amusement business, giving operators and players a chance to see some of the new stuff. It’s kind of an IAAPA show, just much smaller and focused on the EU/UK regions.
I was not present for the info below; While I would love to attend EAG and other international shows like JAEPO, international travel just hasn’t been on my radar since the whole pandemic started. Thus, I’ve tried to gather everything I can using my normal means of scouring the internet for material, but there is certainly a chance that I will have missed something. If so, let me know and I’ll correct it! You can also find coverage in The Stinger Report; Here’s a link to the “Skinny” version, which also contains various photos from the event.
Let’s take a look at each manufacturer, starting with the B’s:
Bandai Namco Amusements Europe – I wasn’t able to find any social media posts from BNAE themselves about this, but from seeing some EAG photos elsewhere on the web, there were some Raw Thrills games at the booth (this is because BNAE is the official distributor for Raw Thrills in the region), and they also had VRsenal’s Vader Immortal VR game on the booth. I was also told that the new Pac-Man Basketball was there, but as of this time I have not seen it.
BNAE also represents Adrenaline Amusements, where they had the new Hungry Hungry Hippos there (for some reason, YT shorts aren’t embedding here).
This photo from Play Leisure (another UK distro who carries a lot of used equipment, but also deals in new) shows some Triotech and Andamiro products on hand:
Electrocoin – UK distributor Electrocoin had a sizable booth, packed with a selection of redemption titles, games for kids, and pinball from Stern. They also were showing off their latest exclusive release, Skill Shooter. Since they are the official distributor for Stern, they also showcased the new Rush, the Insider Connected system, and held a scoring tournament; Gary Stern was also there.
Harry Levy – This UK distributor is generally focused on redemption-type pieces, but they are the ones that UK/EU customers can go to if they wish to get their hands on the new Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade. The cabinet appears to be the same design as what LAI Games has been offering here in the West, and HL has both Premium and Deluxe models available. Here’s a photo from site friend Toby Nanakhorn
Instance Automatics – Also known as Maxx Grab, this UK distributor supports claw machines but also serves as a representative for UNIS games in the region. They were showing off Pogo Jump, which is a game that UNIS themselves have listed on their website for quite a while, but I’ve yet to see the game in person, at a tradeshow or otherwise. Here’s one video of the game getting played on LinkedIn;’ Here’s the game’s listing on their website. If they had any other UNIS games around though, I haven’t seen a post about them.
Sega Amusements – Sega had the most social media posts about their EAG presence, from what I observed, and as expected it was similar to their IAAPA booth. This meant that visitors could enjoy Mission: Impossible Arcade, VR Agent, Men In Black, and their latest creation, Jumanji. Also, in case you saw any of their posts and were confused by some showcasing non-Sega product, Sega in the UK also works as a distributor. This is why they also show off games from companies like ICE, but only in situations like EAG or DEAL. While Sega did most most of their quick videos to their various social media channels, the only place I saw the Jumanji one was on LinkedIn.
[INDENT]Your mission is to join us on EAG booth 270!
@EAGExpo #eag #missionimpossible #arcade #exhibition pic.twitter.com/rJHldOd8k4— Sega Amusements International Ltd. (@SegaAmusements) March 2, 2022
[/INDENT]
UDC – UK distributor UDC had quite a bit to show off, as they represent Elaut Group, which entails Elaut product as well as Benchmark Games, Coast To Coast Entertainment and Touch Magix. They also were repping American Changer and Step Revolution (Step ManiaX). Quite a few of the pieces are redemption-based or are for kids; Here’s a booth video on LinkedIn, or there’s this below:
[INDENT]After a spectacular response in the US, we were excited to present Mega Blaster along with our entire arcade game portfolio for the first time in London at #EAGInternational2022. A few snippets from the expo.#eagexpo2022 #eag2022 pic.twitter.com/w40CDT4cGX
— touchmagix (@TouchMagix) March 5, 2022
[/INDENT]
Mixed Reality Air Hockey – Last but not least is this air hockey table that employs projection mapping to it’s surface. No, it’s not the first table to do so, but I have been surprised by how few companies have pursued the tech as it’s become cheaper (for those long-time readers, you might recall that Sega Japan was one of the first companies to do use that tech in a commercial table). I’m not sure who it was that was demonstrating this however, so check back for an update when I find out.
[INDENT]KWP #TrendWatch – Latest example of #MR air hockey table, seen at #EAG2022 – full report of new #amusement #tech at show in coming #TheStingerReport – make sure your on the list! https://t.co/URrQSZGoGd
— thestingerreport (@stingerreport) March 2, 2022
[/INDENT]
Now for a tradeshow I will be at here soon, we have Amusement Expo 2022 about to start in Las Vegas next week. Since that’s pretty close to where I am, it’s an easy trip and I’ll be there to check out various new titles, including a new secret game from Raw Thrills (my guess is that it’s Furious, but we’ll see).
The post EAG 2022 Wrap-Up appeared first on Arcade Heroes.
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