The GTI Asia China Expo 2016 trade show was held about a week ago and as we sometimes experience in the Chinese amusement trade, news is slow to trickle out. However I have been able to accumulate enough so let’s check out what was there. Some photos provided by The Stinger Report.
Assorted Pieces
As we usually see with Chinese trade shows, there are many photos provided but we often have no idea who made the product or how it works. So we’ll throw those here. Further down are bigger names like UNIS and Wahlap with what they brought.
As a note, I did come across many more photos than what I am sharing here but many were terrible shots where it is hard to see what the products are or they are uninteresting rip-offs. I might as well save the server space. Much of it is similar to what we saw at another Chinese trade show this year.
3A Games with some arcade cabinets and Vewlix clones:
Ever since Sega announced that they were teaming up with Zero Latency to handle the VR facility at their Joypolis theme park, now everyone is jumping into the VR theme park attraction game…
VR Theme Park by SQLJ – This company has a focus on large scale VR attractions and even has a ride they have developed that involves VR with a ride that is straight out of Jurassic World:
They also have been developing amusement park style rides that integrate with VR:
Shanghai NewcomeVR:
A multiplayer video shooting galley called Game Zone, manufacturer unknown:
Which pales in size to this other random and larger multi-player shooter:
A Motion racing simulator by QingFeng (a company that seems to have a lot of clones/copies but occasionally does other things like the “9D” VR motion pods).
Another VR motion seat that is only identified as “CL VR”.
Universal Space
Out of all of the manufacturers at the show, UNIS certainly has the largest international presence to boast about. They sent out a teaser press release about what was at GTI. Here is an infographic style image that they shared, after that I’ll dole out the details. Note that all or most of these products will be coming to IAAPA 2016.
“A New Virtual Reality Experience” – The nameless VR setup that UNIS is promoting is done in conjunction with Virtuix Omni and Hero Entertainment. Using an omni-directional treadmill and a cabinet that is similar to the old Virtuality VR pods, this will allow up to 5 players to participate in VR experiences. To quote the UNIS email:
The UNIS VR platform allows the players to control the movement inside the VR games with their whole body. The players use innovative omnidirectional treadmills by Virtuix Omni to move around inside the game.
This system allows the players to achieve a better level of immersion.
No details have been provided about the types of games that this will work best with or whether they are using proprietary titles.
Ultra Race – We caught a glimpse of this game at another Chinese trade show in July but there are still very few details about it. My best guess is that this is designed to compete with Wahlap’s Storm Racer games, which are of course sold by Sega here so there’s every chance this will get a wider release too:
Lane Master – A new video bowling game that incorporates elements of an alley roller (skee ball) type game.
Outback Hunting – Video hunting for up to 4 players, shooting gallery style.
Wahlap:
This company has also made some strides into the USA and they are also jumping heavily into the VR amusement trade. First is this image of their “VR Station” (no word on whether or not Halo is properly licensed):
They also had this Jet Blaster VR game setup. It is not as nicely “arcadified” like the VR station and looks more like a home piece but perhaps it is still early in development and the cabinet has not been finalized yet:
Fortunately standard video games are still getting attention at Wahlap. In addition to promoting Namco product in China (such as Super Apline Racer and Gun Bullet X/Point Blank X), they have introduced Overtake DX, a larger version of the Overtake racing game that has been developed by IGS:
You can also see that Gun Bullet X has two versions, one that is apparently made for kids. I still would like to see this get a release out West but so far there is no confirmation from Namco on that.
The company is still promoting their Storm Racer G Deluxe game and their ReRave clone, Top Star:
Even Big Buck Wild is getting some love in China:
Conclusion
The revival of Amusement VR hasn’t been around very long but Chinese game makers have fully embraced it. I imagine we’ll know how it is panning out by GTI 2017 or 2018. I fully expect IAAPA 2016 to have more VR applications than ever (there will be numerous booths from China as usual) but there will be plenty of plain ol’ video to enjoy as well.
Is there anything you see here that you hope makes it out West?
