Stinger Report - 17/08/2020

TSR Newsletter | August 17, 2020

Silver Advertiser

-- The Stinger Report: Service Message --

The Global Digital Out-Of-Home Entertainment (DOE) Sector covered in The Stinger Report .

Wishing all our subscribers, famlies, loved ones, (and those serving) stay safe and well.

Kevin Williams

Publisher, The Stinger Report (TSR)

Entertainment’s Next Adventure

Part 5 | # 1033

Report Skinny

The Stinger Report continues our new chapter in its long history of reporting on the cutting edge in Out-of-Home Entertainment. In this latest part of the series we look at the new opportunities for those emerging from lockdown – with the missed sales period, it is important to know what new products are in the mix. In this second of our two-part segment, we conclude our revisit of 11th Amusement Expo International (AEI) coverage, with needed updates.

Main Report

Continuing our coverage of the New Orleans 11th AMOA/AAMA-sponsored Amusement Expo International (AEI) convention, and the key trends and products offering new opportunities for amusement operators after the 153-days hiatus.

- VR Self-Service

Moving towards another category in this genre, and many of these VR games had been presented, back in the heady days of March, as self-service platforms. At that time the operators’ concern in the amusement scene was for the allocation of a dedicated member of staff to operate the hardware, and if there were means to alleviate this additional expense – how much times have changed over just 153-days!

Presenting their innovative and eye-catching design, VRsenal had their sleek-designed ‘Beat Saber Arcade ’ – based on the phenomenally popular VR music rhythm game experience. The special tethered VR headset system has been rolled out, with some 200 machines sold. During AEI’20, a new partnership with distributors Shaffer Distributing and American Vending Sales was revealed, to ensure the widest penetration of the popular platform. The company is working hard on expanding the range of titles for the unique system. Initial visits across several amusement venues coming out of lockdown, proved the popularity of this system had not diminished.

A new entrant into the coin-operated self-service VR platform was VR LEO USA – with their ‘LEO ’ platform that was covered in the CES’20 coverage. The company was represented on the Fun Hoops booth at the show, with a unique tethered VR headset system that automatically retracted the headset into a special unit where it was sterilized using UV-C light (an innovative feature much more prevalent some 125-days later). VR LEO announced recently that they have expanded the number of titles for the platform, signing a licensing agreement with HalfBrick, which will see the million-download VR title, ‘Fruit Ninja’, ported to the self-operated kiosk – VR LEO creating a new SDK in support.

- VR & MR Platforms

The creation of compelling and eye-catching VR platforms has been a major factor in the popularity of this genre, and a number of the latest applications were seen on the AEI’20 show floor – not only just VR, but also the emergence of MR (sometimes roped into XR) being applied in amusement.

MajorMega – The company, well known for their four-player ‘Hyperdeck’ VR attraction, used the March show to launch their new prototype, ‘Hyperdrive’ – the two-player VR experience sees one driver and one gunner riding on a motion platform, with effects. The company is currently finalising development for a big reveal of the production version for the end of the year. Speaking of the original ‘Hyperdeck ’ VR attraction, and the company has been working hard on supporting the popular system. Their partnership with Hersheypark saw the opening of the first permanent dual installation of the system and, after re-opening, was happily reporting two-hour queues to try the VR attraction. MagorMega also announced that they have launched a new game for the multisensory experience, with ‘Dreamsaver ’ – the completion of the prototype demonstrated at IAAPA’19, saw players traversing through a fantasy world of a child’s dreams, stopping nightmares. The game is getting a full release across the platform.

UNIS Technology – As stated previously, the amusement manufacturer and distributor had entered the VR platform scene with a splash, and presented the IGS title ‘Ultra Moto VR ’ – the popular, two-rider, motion base, motorcycle VR platform offered the effectiveness of a video amusement racer, but is importing the latest VR elements. The machine is able to be played with or without the VR system. Barron Games, the veteran foosball and table game developer and manufacturer, had entered into a partnership with Switzerland-based Kynoa SA, and represented their innovative ‘Koliseum’, a VR-based foosball table top platform for four players (running the first game ‘Koliseum Soccer VR’), offering a unique take on the classic game experience, featuring with the latest technology.

Along with the amusement adaptations of VR, there was a sudden appearance of MR (Mixed Reality or Augmented Reality) releases. As mentioned above, two manufacturers had MR versions of ball-rolling Redemption. Other examples of this deployment included, AEI’20 exhibitor Fun Hoops, along with representing the VR LEO system, had on their booth their latest video motorbike racer ‘Speed Rider 3DX’ – but one of the more unusual items was the shooting video ‘AR Tank War’, which had players looking through the sights of one of three weapon systems, blasting armoured targets. While not a digital display representation, the concept still employed digital technology to a classic game experience. MagneTag presented what can be described as sword fighting getting the lasertag treatment – players wearing special chest plates and wielding plastic swords can take part in combat, with their strikes on their opponent recorded and presented wirelessly to a score display.

- VR Enclosures

One of the most popular aspects of the new genre of VR platforms was that of unique VR enclosures that offer multi-player experiences. This is an element that cements Out-of-Home Entertainment as offering a unique deployment against what can be achieved by the consumer VR systems.

Represented by Creative Works on their booth during AEI’20, HOLOGATE used the show to present a new version of their popular ‘HOLOGATE Arena’ – with a compact two-player version of the system, offering configurability to the VR tethered enclosure platform. With some 400 units of their popular four-player system installed internationally, this has become the leading representation of the VR enclosure category, and the company has been building on its position. While not at the show, the company was promoting their ‘HOLOGATE Blitz’ platform, that brings a multi-player motion simulation capsule offering to the lineup. As market leader, HOLOGATE was keen to ensure that the VR scene offered the highest levels of safety to players during the global health crisis and instigated their own ‘HOLOGATE Hygiene Standard’ for operator to abide by. This standard bis eing taken up by other manufacturers as a code of practice when operating VR hardware.

Minority Media – The company came to AEI’20 with the ‘Transformers: VR Battle Arena ’. Covered in our IAAPA’19 report regarding the ‘Chaos Jump’ enclosure, that has already been placed in over 30-locations, the operation is in deals with distributors to have this latest version based on the popular Hollywood film franchise placed across the market. The small footprint of the system, and the use of unique player weapon systems is adding to the appeal. Represented at the New Orleans show back in March by Amusement Products, on their booth, Inowize showed their “VR Enclosure” platform, now called the ‘Arkadia VR’. On display was the six-player version of the enclosure – one of the few six-player versions of their category of hardware, offering the flexibility to grow the space to the player demand. The company has developed its own game content for the system.

Boxblaster – The company presented their four-player ‘Boxblaser VR’ enclosure, the only player on the market that offers periodic hardware upgrades at no cost to the operator, hoping to solve obsolescence, which is a key operator concern. The ability to enter into a revenue sharing agreement with operators, allowing those still unsure of how best to deploy VR to suit their unique venues needs, offers an interesting opportunity. The company is expanding its range of platforms in the market and looking at new partnerships that will be announced later in the year.

Virtuix – The company brought an example of their ‘Omni Arena’ system to the show floor in New Orleans back in March, with a base of more than the 500 connected, installed, commercial machines. Along with promoting their latest game experience, ‘Elite Force’, the company made a big play of their eSports credentials and the way that their system has drawn audiences back to the venues operating the hardware. Since then, Virtuix has launched their new title ‘Blackbeard: The Trials of Skull Island’, supported by a global leaderboard with cash prizes from a $100,000 prize pool, sponsored by Virtuix and HP. And the company has seen revenue at FECs averaging $2,450 per week, about 75-percent of pre-lockdown levels.

Sektor VR – AEI newcomer, the start-up, presented an off-the-shelf two-player VR arcade enclosure, now called the ‘Sektor Arena’, which they are offering to customers. The system run at the show included a large (130’’ LCD) spectator screen. The company is also offering a six-player variant of the enclosure called the ‘Sekor Ultimate’. Using content from the Springboard VR digital distribution library, the platform offered a convenient and audience-suitable VR gaming enclosure for all types of operations. Since the show, Sekor has successfully installed their system in two venues (a trampoline park and a traditional FEC), and has penned an agreement with Primetime Amusements, to be included in their catalogue.

- VR Arena Scale VR

One aspect of the enclosure approach has been the move away from tethered VR systems and embrace wireless and standalone headsets. This emerging trend was also on the show floor. Shaffer Distributing took a booth to promote their new alliance in the VR scene, in an exclusive distribution agreement to represent Belgium-based VEX Solutions. Under the distribution-partnership, the VEX range is brought to North America for the first time – working with Shaffer towards offering a brand new solution to amusement and FEC operators.

VEX has its own backpack VR Arena-Scale system (‘VEX Adventure’). But for the first time, the company showed their new Standalone Arena-Scale solution with the ‘VEX Arena’. Presented was a six-player, turnkey platform, with registration kiosks that incorporate customer data tracking and eSport competition management. Different versions of the platform are on offer, for four players (4x4m), six players (6x6m), eight players (8x8m), and 10 players (10x10m), adding flexibility to accommodate different operator needs. Since AEI’20, the company has added a new 30-minute VR Escape Game experience to their library – called ‘Lunarscape’.

France-based Scale-1 Portal has shown, at AEI’20, their new ‘Voxel Arena’ platform, which is the company’s interpretation of the “Arena Scale VR – Standalone” approach. Since showing at the American event, the company has created a totally new business model to make this effective for operators. The ‘Voxel Arena’ now uses a cloud-based software platform, with the operators subscribing to the service under a “Pay-per-Use” service, and buying their own Oculus Quest headsets to achieve a cost-effective, turnkey, free-roaming, enclosed space which accommodates some four players. The company has launched their first game provided from this service, a cooperative cooking game, ‘Sep’s Diner’, with Scale-1 Portal celebrating the first operator to sign up for the new service opening in Montreal in August.

Laserforce came to the AEI’20 event to show their new ‘Arenaverse’ platform – establishing a VR system with full-service supplier. The company Arenaverse is offering a free-roaming experience, requiring a minimum footprint of 20ft x 30ft for four players, but which is totally scalable from 2-to-12 players (the player space changed on the fly) with a minimum footprint of 20ft x 30ft for four players. The plan is to build off much of the established mindset from the lasertag operation, applied to the new immersive experience, in what some people have referred to as “Lazertag 2.0”.

Though not all the latest VR technology was able to make the trip to Amusement Expo this year, other notable developments have been seen in this sector that are shaping the market.

The Arena-Scale model linked to a revenue-sharing approach was seen from Vietnamese developer Holomia Technology. The company has started to deploy its game ’MissionX’, offering a four-to-six-player, 6x6m free-roam enclosure, using standalone headsets. The unique business model sees Holomia offering a “freemium” model, with the operator paying no upfront fee, but a regular revenue-share including a monthly or yearly licensing fee per headset. The company also announced their fourth new game map called ‘Snowtown’, a more family-friendly experience. Now, with a US sales agent, the operation is looking at revenue partners in the FEC, Laser Tag Arena, Malls, and Theme Parks sector.

The trend on having the operator buy their own standlone VR headset is one that we are seeing a number of developers attempt to adopt to try and get round the egregious usage clauses for deploying certain hardware in the commercial space. In effect, passing the responsibility of the use in a commercial setting on the operator, hoping to avoid sanction from the hardware owner. We have yet to see at least four of the standalone VR arena developers favor this approach, and now we wait to see if this will be enough to placate those manufacturers unhappy seeing their hardware in this space.

The Stinger Report has previous reported on the new game titles from Zero Latency (‘Undead Arena VR’) and Vertigo Arcade (‘Ghost Patrol VR’), expanding their range of free-roaming experiences. While at the same time, we have seen the launch of brand new platforms from SPREE Interactive (‘Mission to Mars’) and MackNeXT (‘Yullbe’), that will be opening somewhat repressively for business in the coming weeks. The support of the VR investment is still strong as the market emerges from its own lockdown.

The popularity of VR Escape Gaming has already been covered in previous Stinger Reports and articles, but the development of new content is a constant drive. It was revealed that well known VR escape game producer ARVI signed a partnership agreement with HTC VIVE, the VR facility and development division of the electronics manufacturer. Under this joint agreement, ARVI and HTC VIVE will work to promote the VR escape games developed by ARVI globally, looking to promote the library and install content to cover 800 VR arcade operations during three years with HTC. As part of the agreement, the HTC VIVELAND chain of VR arcades in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Shenzhen, will operate the ARVI VR escape game content. The commercial HTC VIVEPORT Arcade content distribution service is also supporting this agreement. ARVI VR content currently targets the HTC VIVE Pro platform and is expected to be converted to work on the successor hardware (the HTC Cosmos Elite). Further details regarding HTC and AVRI expanding the VR arcade market will be revealed soon.

What This Could All Mean:

First, we would like to thank all the exhibitors for helping update the information on their new releases, and to confirm the accuracy of the details shared. We are also grateful to our readers and those that approached us through social media to undertake this re-evaluation of the coverage penned some 153-days ago.

There is a strong possibility that 2020 will end, for most operators, without a trip to a physical trade event – especially with the breaking news that the September AAMA Gala is now reverting to a virtual trade association event, following in the footsteps of the IAAPA Asia Virtual Expo. There are serious concerns that the IAAPA Orlando trade event is also looking to be a much more limited affair, with a decimated international presence, and restrained show floor. Many observers pointed to the breaking news that the 54th Consumer Electronics Show (CES) would be moving to an online only event and wondered how IAAPA Orlando hoped to still continue. Many operators who want new hardware will have to undertake their own research and being able to offer at least some snapshot of what is still available was the aim of this enhanced retrospective of the March AEI’20 event.

So, moving from the reprise of coverage from March, we report from a “Virtual” trade event that took place a matter of days ago, with one of the future reports of the developments and reactions from the new IAAPA Asia Expo Online – coming next.