IAAPA Expo Europe 2023 brought amusement operators and suppliers together in Vienna ahead of the larger IAAPA Expo scheduled for Orlando in November. While redemption equipment dominated much of the event, the show also featured racing games, light-gun shooters, pinball, simulators, dance platforms and other video attractions.
This report is based on photographs and information supplied from the show floor, rather than an in-person visit. For broader industry reporting, readers can also follow The Stinger Report.
What is IAAPA Expo Europe?
IAAPA represents businesses across the attractions industry, including arcades, family entertainment centres and theme parks. Its European expo is generally held in September, giving operators a chance to examine new products and commercial ideas for the regional market.
For Australian operators, the event offers a useful snapshot of the equipment and game formats being promoted internationally. The November Orlando expo was expected to reveal additional products, with press credentials already approved for that event.
Exhibitor highlights from Vienna
Ace Amusement
Chinese developer Ace Amusement presented several newer attractions, including Wild Thing Wipe Out, a Western-themed water-cannon shooter. Its presentation suggests a Wild West setting, while the play style appears related to the company’s other water shooters, such as Dinosaur Era and the newer Dinosaur Era X-Treme.
The cabinet includes a card deposit slot. A distributor listing provides Italian-language information about the game and briefly references the cards; the full cabinet view makes the card system easier to identify. Further details are available through this distributor listing for Wild Thing Wipe Out.
Additional views of the Ace Amusement stand showed more of the company’s product range.
Surf League was another new children’s attraction. It is a twin cabinet featuring surfing penguins, although the available images do not show enough of the game in operation to describe its controls or play sequence. Nitro Speed, also visible in the display, had already been available through several distributors.
Nitro Speed was being sold by UDC for the European Union market. Distribution arrangements for Wild Thing Wipe Out and Surf League in North America had not been confirmed at the time, with Coastal Amusements mentioned as one possibility. The November event may have clarified those arrangements.
Bandai Namco Amusement Europe
Bandai Namco Amusement Europe was promoting its Pac-Man Sports range online, while the exhibition photos focused on the company’s video attractions. The display did not appear to include newly announced titles such as GoldStorm Pirates or Bike Dash Delivery, which may have been held for the main November expo.
A Pac-Man Sports preview was also available as video material from the event.
Bitronic
Spanish company Bitronic exhibited Super Hoop, a comparatively rare European-made pinball machine designed by Quetzal Pinball, alongside the football-themed game Pin Shot. Super Hoop is sold through Bitronic, while Pin Shot was not listed in the company’s online arcade catalogue at the time.
Electrocoin
The available Electrocoin photograph showed the veteran UK distributor’s Roll-A-Ball attraction with a Skill Shooter visible behind it. No clearly new video title could be identified from the supplied image. More booth views were available through the company’s social media posts.
ELMAC II
Italian distributor ELMAC II presented a busy stand containing two notable video attractions: the established Speed Driver 5 and Parkour Motor 2, a newer Ace Amusement title. The latter appears to be a children’s motorcycle racer with a cheerful character-led theme.
FunInVR
FunInVR was not clearly identified on the published floor map, but a short vertical video showed material from the company’s presence at the expo.
ImSim
Professional simulator manufacturer ImSim did not have still photographs in the supplied coverage, though the company shared a promotional video of its stand.
Inowize
Inowize displayed the latest version of its QBIX attraction. Only one still image was available, supplemented by a short video shared by the company.
JET Games
US company JET Games brought Big Shot to Europe. The videmption light-gun title had originally been unveiled at Bowl Expo earlier in the year, and its appearance in Vienna underlined the growing competition in this category.
JNC Sales
UK distributor JNC Sales showed two Chinese-made videmption products: Pitching Time, based on ball tossing, and Lucky Pong Challenge, a beer-pong game incorporating video screens.
Kalkomat
Polish manufacturer Kalkomat, known for electromechanical amusement equipment, presented Let’s Goal. The available photograph does not establish exactly how the game operates, although its format appears reminiscent of a one-on-one electromechanical attraction.
A revised version of Hit The Green was also shown under the name MMA Boxer, now with a large display mounted above the play area.
LAI Games
LAI Games had a compact stand centred on a single attraction: Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade.
Marsaplay
Spanish manufacturer Marsaplay displayed several unusual-looking attractions. The available photographs provide the clearest indication of the products shown.
Nigelhell GmbH
Pinball formed the focus of the Nigelhell GmbH display. At least eight machines appeared to be positioned on the stand, with four facing the camera and what seemed to be another four facing away.
Re-Play
Italian distributor Re-Play displayed what appeared to be a reskinned version of Electrocoin’s Skill Shooter, presented as Top Gun. The stand also included a new wheel-spinner videmption game positioned as a potentially lower-cost alternative to Team Play’s Carnival Wheel.
Sega Amusements International
Sega Amusements International highlighted Ballzania, a redemption attraction from China’s HY Technology. The title was visible among the booth displays, alongside the wider Sega Amusements line-up and team presentation.
Spree Interactive
A photograph shared from the event showed Spree Interactive’s booth and its virtual-reality-focused presence.
UDC
UDC shared a time-lapse view of its stand. The display included Touch Magix’s Pop It! and Step Revolution’s Step ManiaX dance machine, both previously identified as part of the show’s line-up.
UNIS
UNIS presented at least one new attraction, Bank A Ball. The company also released additional photographs from the event, offering a broader look at its display.
Valo Motion
Valo Motion’s booth was documented through photographs shared on LinkedIn, giving a quick view of the company’s presentation in Vienna.
Wik
Polish manufacturer Wik brought a broad selection of games, including Farm Story, an electromechanical shooter with a large LED matrix at the rear and a realistic-looking gun. The attraction’s full operation was not confirmed from the available images.
Yuto Games
Still photographs were not available from Yuto Games, but the company published a video showing its arrival, booth construction and brief glimpses of the games on display. Most of the visible products appeared to be legitimate licensed or original attractions.
What stood out at IAAPA Expo Europe 2023?
Vienna’s show reflected the continued strength of redemption and videmption equipment, with water shooters, ball games, wheel attractions and children’s rides appearing alongside racing, pinball, dance and simulator products. The event also demonstrated how distributors and manufacturers use European trade shows to test interest before larger international exhibitions.
For Australian venues, the range is a reminder to assess more than the headline game: cabinet footprint, service access, replacement parts and player throughput all matter when choosing commercial equipment. For home users considering a smaller setup, RETROCADE’s arcade-machine buying guide covers the key decisions, while racing arcades, virtual pinball machines and arcade parts provide useful starting points for different projects.
This selection represents the information available from the show at the time. Further products or details may have emerged during the larger November expo.
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