IAAPA 2008: Final Round-up (now with some release dates)

We’ve received a final batch of pictures from the IAAPA show in Florida (thanks again to Kevin Williams of The Stinger Report)and it’s only fitting to ‘finalize’ our coverage of the event. Overall I think that it was a great show, in terms of new games and what we can look forward to coming into 2009. While there isn’t any new game seem here, we do get a better look at a few games.

Slambot was at the show – I know that they have been to previous IAAPA events and I’m glad to see that they were there. In case you have missed previous coverage of Slambot, it’s an arcade game that uses robots inside of an enclosure as they slam into each other and colored buttons around the edges. I almost got one for my arcade but there was a few month waiting list so I wasn’t able to get it at the time. (Videos of previous Slambot versions here and here)

Here is a new game, Xball by Unis (or Universal Space). It is similar to a couple of games we’ve seen in Asia that came up with the ‘throw a ball at the screen’ concept. I’m just waiting for someone to make one of these games where it’s a virtual snowball fight, which could be a lot of fun without the need of getting pegged with iceballs.  While Universal Space’s website doesn’t list Xball on it yet, I noticed that they do have IGS’s Pirate Revenge game there, which I had thought would not come over to the US.

For another video redemption title we have Jungle Drummer. It says that it’s part of the Percussion Master series so I wonder if this has something to do with Pump It Up Jump (which was not at the show but I talked with Andamiro about it at AMOA). I like the cabinet design, very eye-catching for kids.

Similar to what you see above is a DDR clone called Boogie Down. The dance pad is simplified and with the brighter color scheme this also should attract kids pretty well.

Here’s a couple more shots of Brick People. I heard that when the game is finished, the game clears the bricks itself but at the moment it sounds like that feature is sort of clunky with how it works and may not clear it properly every time. They still have time to figure that out though.

Big Buck Safari Deluxe was at the show and from what I heard it was working better than it was at AMOA and ASI. I’m still not sure when we’ll see it though.

Here’s a little more on Textminator by LAI Games. Here is a picture of the promotional flyer for the game where you get a look at what it’s about and notice that there is a pad on this much like DDR but no foot controls of course. I wonder if it’s DDR meets texting. It probably won’t be my cup of tea but for it’s target audience it will probably do really well, especially where it has ticket payout.

Here’s a variation of the new pedestal cabinet from the Fun Company for Incredible Technologies. I like the lit up version on the right better than the standard ones.

These racing simulators are cool. I’m not sure what racing game they are playing but they would be quite attractive at any amusement park.

And finally, what post would be complete without more pictures of girls playing Guitar Hero?

As for release dates – Guitar Hero has been given a date of February and I hear the price tag is around $7000. The game will also include a hook-up for a separate TV so more players can see what’s going on. American Idol is scheduled to come along in January and while I haven’t heard a price, it’s going to use the CoinUp network extensively. Also according to some distributor sources of ours, Namco is planning to release Razing Storm and Nirin in March, just in time for ASI/AMOA. R-Tuned Racing is set for January, Hummer for March and Harley Davidson for “1st quarter 2009”.

So where does that leave us off? I counted at least 24 new games if you count video game redemption titles and I know there was more for just regular redemption. Still, for the video sector that’s pretty good and not what I’d call a dead and buried industry. Of course we will have to see how operators take to all of these games next year. 

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