Top of the morning to you all – unless you are in a part of the world where it isn’t morning right now. Good day or night to you then. Here is some of the latest news:
Caine’s Arcade Update:
We mentioned this the other day and we certainly haven’t been the only one to do so as the story has spread quickly across the internet. This ABC7 news report is from this past Saturday where long lines were still happening at Caine’s Arcade and he was presented with a $152k+ check for his college education fund. A foundation has been setup called “Caine’s Arcade Foundation” that will be used to help out other kids. Also TMZ reports that Caine has been offered a 
vintage pinball machine. Here is Caine’s Arcade Twitter feed to keep up with what is going on here. As for any extra thoughts on this, it shows that with the right entrepreneurial spirit and some patience, things will work out for you. I sort of know what this kid has gone through although he decided to do something about his ideas well before I did – I was dreaming of running an arcade back when I was 8 but it wasn’t until I was 26 that I finally did something for the public to enjoy. Still, days after opening and having no one come in is a hard thing to bear for any business person because what you imagine will happen and what actually does happen never are the same. So you keep working at it and when you’ve done what you can you hope for the best to work out. I just hope that this story won’t take a negative turn if local city or county officials decide that he has to start jumping through their bureaucratic hoops to keep things going. I imagine there would be enough of a public outcry on this if that happened to Caine but that is something arcades have to put up with in certain areas like L.A. (when Arcade Infinity was going through it’s closure, the county was part of the problem) and when you read stories of city official pulling crap like that with kids’ lemonade stands around the country, it crosses your mind.
Sega Amusement’s “Spy Cam”
Saw this on Sega Amusement’s Facebook page – the “R&D Spy Cam”. What this shot is of exactly we don’t know for now but it is part of a game cabinet of some kind. Could be a new video title or videmption – hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out! I will venture a guess that it’s a different cabinet style for the music game MaiMai but that’s all I have at this point.
Taito Celebrates Densha De Go!
Taito has been celebrating the anniversary of their arcade train simulator game, Densha De Go! on their Facebook and Twitter channels. They do have a new version set for release in Japan this year.
DNA US Conference Update:
It’s less than a month away now, the first US DNA conference, aka Digital Out-of-Home Interactive Entertainment Network Association. It will be taking place in Los Angeles and the latest PR from them gives a rundown of what to expect:
[Los Angeles, USA, 14 April, 2012] The final count-down to the ground breaking US event for the Digital Out-of-Home Interactive Entertainment (DOE) sector, taking place on May 15th, 2012 – at the USC Davidson Conference Center in Los Angeles, California, USA – with an additional half-day event at an entertainment venue. The conference has seen overwhelming support from a wide range of speaker leaders in the field including Walt Disney Imagination, Thinkwell Design, MediaMation, Trio-Tech, and many other luminaries.
| For the first time the DNA US Conference will take place in Los Angeles (“Entertainment Capital of the World“), on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012, at the prestigious University of South California (USC) Davidson Conference Center, part of the extensive university complex; supported by a half-day event (Wednesday, May 16th, 2012) that will see the conference move to a venue that will offer attendees a glimpse of a leading edge immersive entertainment venue.
The conference is focused wholly on the out-of-home entertainment sector, and the emergence of this technology into every aspect of social life, ranging from its roots in the amusement scene, to its explosion in the retail, hospitality, leisure and attractions sectors, to name a few. This will be the first time that this technology and its application are presented to interested developers and investors in such depth.
This event represents a unique glimpse at a new business opportunity for those looking to utilize resources from the consumer game development sector, as well as those broadening their involvement in digital entertainment. The event has already generated a large amount of interest- now is the time to take advantage of this great educational and networking opportunity, and register. The finalized conference program comprises:
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| First Full-Day (15th May, 2012)
Leading the impressive list of speakers gathered to this first event, the Keynote of the first day will be presented by Chris Stapleton (Simiosys) – focusing on the impact of the increasing fusion of real and virtual experiences for leisure facilities, and the power of “experiential” entertainment applied to diverse applications. This is followed by a list of high level sessions: -The Next-Generation Arcade! Speakers :
David Young (BMI Gaming)
Kevin Williams (KWP)
-New Models of Interactivity in Movie Theaters
Moderator :
Greg Roach (Storyslinger)
Speakers :
Julie Eckert (NCM Media Networks)
Jon Hussman (Timeplay Entertainment)
Karl Floyd (Lloyd, Blue Wave Media)
Ed Lantz (Vortex Immersion Media)
-Maximizing Social Media in Leisure Facilities
Moderator :
Rik Willard (Rule7 Media)
Speakers :
Clark Dodsworth (Osage Associates)
Graham Plumb (Snibbe Interactive)
Cammie Dunaway (Kidzania)
-Augmented Reality’s Next Stage in Leisure Facilities
Moderator :
Harold Tan (Immersive Technology Association)
Speakers :
Craig Hanna (Thinkwell Design)
Bruno Uzzan (Total Immersion)
Brian Selzer (Ogmento)
Jonathan Ackley (Walt Disney Imagineering)
-3D Interactive Experiences in Public Places- Entertainment Applications (Part 1)
Moderator :
Philip Lelyveld (Consumer 3D Experience Lab, USC)
Speakers :
Ernest Yale (Trio-Tec)
Brent Young (Super 78 Studio)
Dan Jamele (Mediamation)
Mark Stutz (Mark Stutz, Inc.)
-VIP Reception
– At this point the DNA US Conference will move to a local nightspot that will offer a chance for the gathered delegates to unwind, and also network with gathered speakers, and moderators – this excellent networking opportunity and signature event of DNA will be supported by the United Kingdom Trade & Industries, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and conference sponsors.
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| Second Half-Day (16th May, 2012)
Relocating to a local venue representing the emergence of the digital out-of-home entertainment environment, and leading this second session of high-level opening presentation by Randy White (White Hutchinson Leisure), who will examine the impact social media and mobile are having on location-based entertainment. Following this, the conclusion of the high level sessions:
-Riding the Wave of Gesture-based experiences in leisure facilities
Moderator :
Kevin Williams (KWP)
Speakers :
Jon Fox (Helios Interactive Technologies)
Jon Epstein (Omek Interactive)
Vincent John Vincent (GestureTek)
Eric Mauriello (Schematic)
-3D Interactive Experiences in Public Places- Marketing Applications (Part 2)
Moderator :
Eric Davis (National Media Services)
Speakers :
Jack Hattingh (Monster Media 3D)
Eric Davis (National Media Services)
-DNA Futures Roundtable
Moderator :
Kevin Williams (KWP)
Speakers :
Dave Lorenzini (4D Earth)
Brent Bushnell (Synn Labs)
Jamison Selby (Socialtype)
David Payne (Kinetic Worldwide)
The second day of the DNA US Conference will also include a
-Special Interactive Laser Demonstration, presented by Glenn Hill (Laserharps.com) – with the whole event concluding with a DNA Mixer for the delegates to discuss the conclusions of this momentous and thought provoking event.
Note – Conference program subject to change, for the up-to-date details of sessions please visit the conference website. |
| Support of the DNA US Conference 2012 has seen major sponsorship placement including companies such as AlterFace, Adrenaline Amusement, TrioTech Amusement, as well as trade associations such as the USC, UKTI, ALES and TEA – and the list of media partners. In a ground breaking move, even the registration and badges for the event will present the latest technology.
The conference is also offers groundbreaking elements to promote its message. Conference supporter and industry pioneer CORE Cashless will deploy they ground breaking QR Code card recognition system, to allow not only all delegates to be registered, but using a mobile phone app use these badges as virtual business cards to help facilitate networking (the first time this has been done in this industry). In order to get the message out to all in the industry, the DNA conference organizers have partnered with marketing veteran Bob Cooney, whose company will undertake interviews during the day with those presenting and moderating to create a comprehensive series of Podcasts that will be circulated after the conference. Ticketing To accommodate the increased level of interest, the organizers have updated ticket availability to ensure the largest opportunity for those interested to support and attend this conference: – Conference Admission Fees : $499 (until May 4) Registration and additional information online – go to : http://www.thestingerreport.com/us-conference.html For further information on Support and Sponsorship opportunities or details about the conference, please contact: Michael Mascioni (Project Manager) |
| Background – The Digital Out-of-Home Interactive Entertainment Network Association (DNA) Conference is an international seminar event for the Digital Out-of-Home Interactive Entertainment (DOE) sector – covering manufacturers, suppliers and operators of Video Amusement, Interactive Digital Attractions & Simulators, Content Provider, Digital Kiosks, ExerGaming, KidTainment / Videmption, Digital Hospitality, RetailTainment and EduTainment. The conference is part of the DNA Association, operated exclusively by KWP; a ground breaking organization representing those working in this sector. |
