Amusement Expo International returns for its annual spring showcase, bringing arcade, redemption, pinball and virtual-reality manufacturers together to preview equipment expected to ship into the northern-hemisphere summer. This guide covers the exhibitors and products most relevant to Australian arcade operators and enthusiasts.
A livestream about Amusement Expo is scheduled for later this morning at 11:15am MST.
For readers comparing equipment for a venue or home collection, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide provides useful planning advice.
Headline exhibitors and sponsors
Raw Thrills — booth 327
Raw Thrills will occupy Betson’s booth with the rollout of Godzilla Kaiju Wars VR, currently in production. The company is making a major VR push, with King Kong II, T-Rex Safari VR Adventure and MotoGP VR also scheduled for display.
Eugene Jarvis will present “What Makes Great VR Games” on 19 March at about 10am, discussing Godzilla Kaiju Wars VR and Raw Thrills’ other VR projects. Locations that ordered Godzilla should begin receiving units soon, although the wider rollout may fall in April.
Series 3 cards for Minecraft Dungeons Arcade had not been confirmed at the time of writing. Play Mechanix has also announced the Big Buck Hunter Championships XVII, set for Chicago on 11–12 October. More than $100,000 in cash will be available, with qualification already open on connected Big Buck Reloaded machines. Raw Thrills has also launched a redesigned website.
TouchMagix — booth 209
The planned TouchMagix lineup is led by the debut of Pudgy Penguins Polar Challenge, alongside in-production titles Pop It!, Crazy Prize, SpaceWarp 66, Mega Blaster and Carnival Cups Crane.
Wahlap will not have its own booth, although Amusement Source International and Sega are expected to represent some of its products.
Video games, redemption and pinball
Adrenaline Amusements — booth 1827
No completely new title was confirmed, but Drakons: Realm Keepers, NFS Heat Takedown and Hungry Hungry Hippos should be present. Drakons may use an LCD rather than the LED panel seen at Europe’s January EAG event.
Alan-1 — booth 1705
Alan-1 returns with two- and four-player versions of Avian Knights, plus two- and three-player cabinets for the newly announced Asteroids Recharged.
Both games were seen under construction at Alan-1’s Tooele, Utah facility. The cabinet work included helping install T-moulding and audio wiring on Asteroids.
Avian Knights has more finished, textured artwork. Its cabinet was revised after last year’s feedback: the cooling fans remain, but the front grilles have been removed and the fans are better concealed. The name “Alan-1” also has a reference behind it, although the preview did not explain it.
American Pinball — booth 2217
Galactic Tank Force returns, while Barry O’s Barbeque Challenge receives its industry debut after beginning shipments roughly a week and a half earlier. Some venues already have the game.
Amusement Source International — booth 607
ASI’s booth is expected to be substantially larger than its crowded IAAPA presentation. The company should show the less-common DX version of Sky Riders and products from Ace Amusement, Wahlap and other suppliers.
Andamiro USA — booth 1115
Andamiro’s announced selection includes its redemption range. The non-Shaq Tic TAC Toe basketball game is expected to sit below the Shaq version in price. The four-player Krazy Ballz redemption game is also featured, while Wacky Racer is a SpongeBob whacker game. Pump It Up has been absent from recent spring shows, apparently because the event’s purchasing audience favours redemption equipment; this does not indicate that Andamiro has stopped selling it.
Bandai Namco Amusement America — booth 127
Dead Heat Unleashed is the safest expectation, with Jukebox Bowl-o-Rama having debuted at the previous year’s event. Possible appearances include location-tested titles Bike Dash Delivery, GoldStorm Pirates and Taiko No Tatsujin USA Version.
Bay Tek Entertainment — booth 727
Bay Tek generally keeps its announcements close, but the recently tested and launched Goatz N Ropes and the acquired Hyperdeck are likely candidates alongside established products.
Coastal Amusements — booth 513
The display should resemble IAAPA’s setup with changes for spring. Ace Amusements’ Surf League is expected to roll out in April, while Bullseye Crack Shot may also receive a prominent position. Coastal often adds a new redemption or videmption game at spring events.
Elaut Group — booths 141, 237 and 245
Elaut USA, Benchmark Games International and Coast to Coast Entertainment will share the group’s presence. Elaut USA is concentrating on new Smurfs and Superman games, while Benchmark is offering a new boxer, an air-hockey table and the VRX cabinet. The boxer and air-hockey products were not yet listed on Benchmark’s website.
exA-Arcadia — booth 553
After missing IAAPA and the November Japan Amusement Expo, exA-Arcadia plans to install about 36 games across ARC-1 upright cabinets in two- and four-player formats. Most are previously released titles, but Jitsu Squad will receive a surprise arcade addition that differentiates it from the console version. The arcade edition also reduces text and shortens selected sequences for faster brawler-style play, with enemies less resistant than in the console release.
Larger announcements are being held for EVO Japan 2024 near the end of April, including several fighters that will indicate exA’s direction for the remainder of the year and beyond.
ICE — booth 414
ICE has recently started production on Quarterback Pro and Double Dribble, making this show’s presentation more substantial than its IAAPA appearance. A DEAL 2024 photo also showed an unidentified videmption game called Forest Jump between Treasure Cove and Whack-A-Clown; because DEAL used a distributor booth, its manufacturer was not certain.
The DEAL booth image can be viewed here.
IGPM Group — booth 2015
Representing Kalkomat, IGPM will bring several boxers, including the part-video MMA Boxer, as well as air-hockey tables. The company has also partnered with online sport Power Slap to brand new video boxing machines.
Incredible Technologies — booth 627
Arcade Collection has performed strongly in recent operator polling. The main focus remains Golden Tee, with a possible preview or production appearance for Golden Tee PGA Tour 2025, although this was not confirmed.
JET Games — booth 813
Following the strong response to Big Shot and Mega Shot at IAAPA, Mega Shot should be a centrepiece before its anticipated launch. IAAPA messaging suggested March, so the event may clarify whether that timing remains current.
LAI Games — booth 439
LAI will display Air Strike, Asphalt Moto Blitz DX, Cosmic Tower and Dragon’s Bane, alongside the debut of Superwing’s video racer Smash DX.
PLAYMIND — booth 1147
The updated four-player PLAYBOX will be joined by a smaller two-player model in two designs, including the new Carnival edition. Both versions use the same ball-toss concept, with the smaller cabinet aimed at venues constrained by space or budget.
Sega Amusements International — booth 227
Recent releases including Apex Rebels, Zombies! Ready, Deady, Go! and Skill Fall Revolution will be shown. VR Agent is available to ship again. The event should also provide a chance to play the fourth Apex Rebels track, Motorland Sakura, which was absent from the 70%-complete IAAPA version.
Stern Pinball — booth 213
The event will provide a first opportunity to play JAWS. Stern’s other production titles, including Venom, Foo Fighters and 007, are also expected. Stern does not generally conceal new releases until the show, so major surprise announcements were unlikely, although news about its next title was expected soon.
Team Play — booth 1015
Following expansion into a larger production facility, the makers of Carnival Wheel will introduce the fourth-generation Pixel Pix photo booth and promote their current games.
Triotech — booth 404
Triotech is focusing on equipment for smaller operations rather than its large theme-park attractions. The recently released Super Blaster should appear with Typhoon and Storm VR.
UNIS — booths 701 and 705
UNIS will show the working Godzilla vs Kong Smasher whacker game, plus prize and redemption equipment. Other products include an Addams Family version of Space Raiders, a Funko Pop-licensed Over The Edge reskin, a one-player Over The Edge and the production-stage Bigfoot Mayhem.
Virtual reality and immersive attractions
A VR seminar and event hosted by VR specialist Bob Cooney began before the trade-show floor opened, focusing on how operators can select and run VR attractions. Several products had also appeared at IAAPA.
Creative Works and Valo Motion — booths 1900 and 1906
Creative Works is now representing Valo Motion in the United States. Valo develops mixed-reality experiences using interactive projection mapping rather than wearable headsets. Creative Works also represents VR companies including VAR Box and Limitless VR, while Valo has its own booth.
Hero Zone VR — booth 1939
This free-roam arena platform offers multiple experiences, including a newly announced VR escape room and a mobile Hero Zone solution available to operators.
Hologate — booth 2317
Hologate is expected to promote Ghostbusters VR Academy alongside its established tethered VR arena products. Its mini-golf attraction may also appear, although no unseen launch was confirmed.
INOWIZE — booth 2227
The focus is QBIX, an immersive game-room system adding a fourth title, Chef Express. The multiplayer cooking game provides a different theme from the system’s zombie-shooter experiences.
Koliseum — booth 2312
Koliseum will present VR foosball, or table soccer. The company distributes through Barron Games but is appearing with its own booth at this event.
Pico/VR Collective — booth 2437
Pico will display new headsets and has a sizeable area in the Free Roam VR section, although the remainder of the booth lineup was not confirmed.
Rilix — booth 2047
The Brazilian company has had success placing its Rilix Coaster. It was not clear whether a new variation, such as the SpongeBob SquarePants VR Coaster, would be shown.
SPREE Interactive — booth 2401
The German VR developer is expected to show its free-roam arena and new VR escape room, following a similar presentation at DEAL.
SynthesisVR — booth 2445
SynthesisVR provides a content-management platform rather than arenas or headsets, and may demonstrate the system at the show.
VR 360 Action — booth 2012
Crazy Speed, the company’s latest racing simulator, operates without a VR headset. It should appear alongside headset-based simulators; no machine giveaway had been announced.
VRPark — booth 2332
VRPark describes its product as a convertible X-in-One VR motion simulator. Its themed motion rides can be adapted for events and holidays, including a Santa’s sleigh experience with a matching seat.
Worlds Beyond — booth 2407
The Hungarian company will offer an LBVR cyberpunk experience, although further details were not available.
What the show means for arcade operators
Amusement Expo includes many additional exhibitors covering photo booths, cranes and bulk vending, but this preview concentrates on video games, pinball and VR. The event is not dominated by brand-new announcements; instead, it provides a practical view of the equipment expected to enter arcades over the coming summer.
For Australian readers researching cabinets, racing equipment or restoration projects, RETROCADE’s arcade machines, racing arcades and arcade parts collections offer useful points of comparison.
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