EAG 2010: Show report

It’s funny how some memories stick, isn’t it? I had only been to the ExCel Centre in London once before dropping in at the EAG show on Wednesday, for the consumer gaming event GameStars Live in 2004. Somehow though, five and a half years from that event, I was able to perfectly remember the layout of the Custom House DLR station that serves the venue, as well as the vast hallway leading into the main exhibition hall. As it turns out, familiarity would be the key theme which ran through the day.

Wandering around the new show, it seemed very much like the ATEI show I attended last year. Of course, there was no accompanying media registration panic this time, and not having to deal with two areas split across the upper level of Earl’s Court was nice. Getting in was a simple process (though this may have something to do with my late entry), and the staff on hand were nice and helpful. The organisational aspect of the show, given that it was running for the first year, was fine and left me free to use my short time  at the show well.

The striking thing about EAG 2010 is that the exhibitors were, by and large, fairly conservative in their offerings. The standard genres were well-represented: shooting, driving and music games all maintained their popularity, and redemption games were everywhere as usual. However, the commotion caused by fighting games at ATEI in the past (Tekken 6 in 2008, and Street Fighter IV in 2009) was absent, and manufacturers seemed to focus on widening the market for their tried and true hits. Even where unusual ideas were present, such as Giant Tetris, Go Go Grand Prix, and The BishiBashi, an element of familiarity was retained in order to reduce risks – perhaps an effect of the economic situation, which has only grown worse since last year.

All that having been said, the financial pressure ensured that the exhibitors at EAG were fielding a strong line-up of games for 2010, with the best of the last couple of years on show as well as the games which will be taking companies forward. And, having compiled a 1700-word monster report on the show, you’ll need to hit the post break for the detailed EAG rundown!

The Big Buck Hunter Pro Pinball promotional video

(Thanks for the tip igo!)

Stern is living up to the promise of improving the marketing behind new pinball machines, as we see here with a new promotional video for Big Buck Hunter Pro Pinball. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet but it looks like it could be fun.

[Stern’s Youtube page] [Discuss on the forums]

Konami details their AOU line-up

Thanks to and Aaron Auzins for the info.

EAG and ATEI aren’t the only shows to talk about in the arcade world these days as AOU in Japan is coming up before too long in Februrary. In anticipation for that show, Konami has launched a new site showing off the goods that they plan to bring to the show. Most of the products are bemani-related – DDRX2, GuitarFreaks XG (which appears to have a pretty awesome sound system), DrumMania XG and a new entry to Jubeat called Jubeat Knit (remember that outside of Japan this one is called UBeat or Jukebeat depending upon the version).

Outside of the bemani realm Konami also has a tile game called Tenkaichi Shogikai, Quiz Magic Academy VII and Mahjong Fight Club.

Of course one thing we are all curious about is where is Metal Gear Arcade? As this was announced at E3 last year, replete with photos of the cabinet, I had expected something by now. But the AOU page does have a big “Coming Soon” pic that could indicate MGA – or something else. At least the show is only a few weeks away so we’ll know soon enough.

[Konami AOU page] [Also see Bemanistyle] [Discuss on the forums]

Brief video of Sega's Let's Go Island UPDATED

I don’t have a lot of time to post at the moment but figured I should get to this now. It’s a video from EAG 2010 of Let’s Go Island by Sega. The framerate of the camera taking this is low which is why there is lag, so that’s not an issue with the game itself; the game looks quite colorful and detailed beyond that.

UPDATE: I have found out that this does in fact use Sega’s RingEdge hardware. Another nail in the coffin for that console rumormill. 😉

[Discuss on the forums]

Brief video of Sega’s Let’s Go Island UPDATED

I don’t have a lot of time to post at the moment but figured I should get to this now. It’s a video from EAG 2010 of Let’s Go Island by Sega. The framerate of the camera taking this is low which is why there is lag, so that’s not an issue with the game itself; the game looks quite colorful and detailed beyond that.

UPDATE: I have found out that this does in fact use Sega’s RingEdge hardware. Another nail in the coffin for that console rumormill. 😉

[Discuss on the forums]

First pics from the big arcade show in London called EAG 2010 by Kevin Williams UPDATED

Thanks to Kevin Williams of The Stinger Report, we have a first look at the European Amusement and Gaming Expo 2010. To give you an idea of some of the games you’ll see by clicking below, here’s a brief list of what’s new: Let’s Go Island (Sega); Bejeweled (?); Vulcan M (Rassen); Big Buck Hunter Pinball (Stern); Stomper DLX (TrioTech); Rok N’ Bloks (ICE); The BishiBashi (Konami); and one game that’s sure to grab us plenty of hits for the rest of eternity on the name alone, Box4Sex (don’t worry, it’s SFW – just a boxer game that dispenses condoms and such) and of course there’s more. But you’ll have to click below to find out. All the pictures are courtesy The Stinger Report; the commentary is all mine and just so you know, I wasn’t at the show. This also marks just one of our EAG related posts – more information will be forthcoming (including videos!) in the coming days so stay tuned! In fact, I already have found one video showing the games there, which you’ll find embedded below as well.

Sega partners with Alton Towers Resort in the UK

One great thing about theme parks around the world is that they are still homes to significant arcades. Sega Europe announced today that they are partnering with the Alton Towers Resort (located in Staffordshire, England), where Sega gets “exclusive video game rights at the resort” for the next three years. In addition to the supply of arcade games, the resort will also feature a Sonic The Hedgehog themed roller coaster called Sonic Spinball. I’m not sure if that is the same ride found at the Sega Republic in Dubai or not, but that at least makes two occasions where they have produced a Sonic-themed roller coaster. While, there is no word on what games will be provided to the resort yet, I am sure that it will be a substantial investment on Sega’s part.

Hit the post break below for more info.

Arcade games at Pizza Oven West, Madison WI

Time for a confession. My name is HeavyElectricity, and I am addicted to pizza. Seriously, I can’t get enough of the stuff. If you were to cut me, I’d probably bleed tomato and mozzarella. Of course I also love arcade games too, so when this bit of news popped up on the Stinger news feed I cursed the fact that the UK is nowhere near Madison, Wisconsin, the location of The Pizza Oven West restaurant. The review on madison.com mainly talks about the food, praising the pizza but advising against most of the rest of the menu. Still, there’s nothing wrong with a good bit of pizza, especially given the $7.49 price tag for an all-you-can-eat buffet. As a sports themed bar, the walls are adorned with sporting memorabilia, as well as TVs for the all-important game nights.  The review suggests that the combination of pizza and arcade makes it a good family venue, which is always handy.

If you’re interested in visiting The Pizza Oven West, you can find more information on the restaurant’s official website or Facebook page. And if you do decide to check it out, please let us know what games they have there!

[via: Pizza, arcade make this a good choice for families] [Discuss on the forums]

Rassen products to launch at EAG 2010

With less than a week to go until the European Amusement and Gaming expo opens in London, we have received the news that Electrocoin Sales will be launching the products of the Korean company Rassen at the show. The company is concerned with military simulation products, two of which are shown in the promotional video we’ve seen. The first is Vulcan M, a large lightgun game with a variety of immersive cabinet features, featuring a fixed machine gun. The second is Military Camp, which focuses on smaller, hand-held weaponry. Though it’s hard to catch much game footage in the trailers, both games appear to feature very realistic visuals. Other details are scarce at present (not least due to our lack of Korean language skills), so until EAG rolls around you’ll need to settle for the trailer below.

[Official Rassen website] [Discuss on the forums]

Sega testing UFO Balance Catcher in Japan

We usually only post about cranes when they do something interesting or feature a weird product inside and while the latest version of Sega’s UFO Catcher doesn’t feature anything weird to catch by it’s own nature, it certainly features something new for how the player controls the crane itself – a balance board.

Called UFO Balance Catcher, the game takes up a bit more space than your normal crane machine due to the controller which sits in front of it, a balance board mechanism that reminds me a little bit of the balance board used in Happy Balance Ball by Tecway which we saw at IAAPA. How it works is then obvious – balance around to move the crane and hopefully you can grab something. It’s a cool way to change up how cranes are played (making it more fun as well as more difficult to play) although the larger footprint could limit the kind of location these are found in, but not by much. Since Sega has released their UFO Catcher cranes internationally, I could see this “sequel” getting some play outside of Japan as well.

More details can be found on the link below

[Via AM-Net Blog] [Discuss on the forums]