Spring is upon us and March is almost over, which means that it’s time for another arcade trade show by the name of Amusement Expo International (AEI). In the distant past, this was known as the AMOA or AMOA/AAMA Show; it is generally held in Las Vegas, NV and in March, although there have been plenty of exceptions to that rule.
For this year, the event is in Vegas and is taking place from March 26th-28th. Note that the 26th is seminar/education day, where the trade show floor is not open. That will happen on the 27th and 28th, where it is located at the North Exhibit Hall (N1) of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
To help guide you as to what we can expect to find there, here’s a preview of what we know is coming to Vegas this week. Just keep in mind, there always can be a surprise, so stay tuned to AH for updates.
I will also add that this show seems to have a much higher amount of new games to check out than your normal AEI, which is welcome for those of us who were at IAAPA just a few months ago. 😉
Adrenaline Amusements
I have not seen any announcements from them on new games, but they always seem to have some surprise to share – be it a cabinet redesign of an existing game or some other previously unannounced title. Otherwise, expect a similar booth to IAAPA (Blox Breaker, Rampage, Tomb Raider, Rabbids Hollywood, Crazy Tower). You’ll find them at booth #1213
Andamiro USA
When Andamiro sent out an email to promote their upcoming Basketball Pro game, they also included this helpful line about what you can expect to find at their booth (#101).
…Baseball Pro, Basketball Pro, Monster Catcher, Pump It Up (XX), Prize Aquarium, Redeem Machine, Safe Cracker and WWE Superstar Rumble will headline Andamiro’s display.
Not a video game, but Andamiro's upcoming Basketball Pro reminds me of Atari Games' old Hoop It Up. pic.twitter.com/aEX8XDLuU1
— Arcade Heroes – The Saviors of Coin-op Newsblog (@arcadeheroes) March 21, 2019
American Pinball
In writing about the release of Oktoberfest: Pinball on Tap the other day, I noticed on their website that they are listing AEI as an upcoming event. They do not mention a booth, nor a partner there, so there is a chance that it will just be some representatives from American Pinball that are going and you won’t see their games there. Or, they could have a partner/distributor showcasing either Houdini, Oktoberfest, or both. I’ll keep my eyes open for them in any case.
Bandai Namco Amusements
Namco has announced that they will be showcasing a new LBE VR title made by AI Solve for the We Play VR platform. It’s called We Bare Bears: Food Truck Rush, and is based upon the We Bare Bears show on Cartoon Network. I haven’t seen any other announcements on Namco’s side, but their booth space is sizable(Booth #123) so I would assume it will have other titles we know about such as Mario Kart, Justice League air hockey, Pac-Man’s Pixel Bash and more. We always could see a surprise though…maybe Reflair or something else.
Next week at #AmusementExpo Vegas, #WePlayVR will be debuting a new game, Cartoon Network's We Bare Bears: Food Truck Rush! WePlayVR will be at our booth, #123, between March 26-28. Don't miss out on trying this new and exciting game, among others! pic.twitter.com/VyG7njWMCA
— Bandai Namco Amusement America (@BandaiNamcoAM) March 18, 2019
AI Solve also has a sit-down racer called Rodent Rage in the works, although it appears it won’t be at Amusement Expo and will instead go to DEAL over in Dubai.
Barron Games International
Barron’s focus is moving away from air hockey and more towards kid-tainment titles, where they will be showing off three new games for the little ones: Kiki Fun, Lollipops and Hungry Dogs. I am not sure what Kiki Fun is about (looks like it could be a puzzle game for kids, or a mini-game compilation perhaps), while the other two are redemption pieces. You’ll find Barron at booth #233.
Bay Tek Entertainment
While they have not announced all of the games that will be there (we can assume many will reflect what was at IAAPA), this show will be the debut event for Connect 4 Hoops HD that was mentioned on the site the other day. Find Bay Tek at booth #109.
BumbleBear Games
If this name sounds unfamiliar, then this should help: Killer Queen Arcade. BumbleBear is the company behind KQA, which has taken the bar/arcade scene by storm. I am not aware of BumbleBear ever having a booth at any industry event prior to this. There was an odd situation a few years back when Raw Thrills was first announced as carrying KQA that it did not come to Amusement Expo, but you had to go to a venue “close to the airport” to play it. Fortunately that won’t be the case this year.
I did reach out to ask what they’ll have, but as of this writing did not receive a reply. Killer Queen Arcade is a given, but it would be cool to see the newly release Black Emperor too. You’ll find them in the northeast area of the hall, booth #1305.
Chicago Gaming Company
The company behind pinball remakes like Monster Bash and Medieval Madness have a good sized booth, where you can expect to find those games along with items like the Arcade Legends 3. It certainly would be great if the next remake game is revealed there, although I’ve not heard any chatter that the next remake is expected soon. That said, it was at Amusement Expo 2016 that the Attack From Mars remake was unveiled. Find CGC at booth #939.
Coast To Coast Entertainment
The only bit of info I’ve heard about C2C is that their booth will be the same as it was at IAAPA, with Hero of Steel and Robot Storm serving as the videmption games. You’ll find them at the Elaut Group booth, #811
Coastal Amusements
Where this company is intermittently active on social media, I’ve not seen any announcements from their end yet. We can presume that it will be similar in it’s product mix to IAAPA 2018, so games like Zombie Land Battle and Dragon Hunter should be around. Find them at booth #409.
Family Fun Companies
While this company doesn’t really deal in pure video games, they have been showing more interactive kiddie rides like Big Bug Blaster. You can also find redemption pieces like Cyclotron, Super Wings and the tongue-in-cheek merchandiser, Shoot The Poop, at booth #305.
ICE
One major item of interest at ICE’s booth this year will be the new Centipede Chaos videmption game, which is being done in collaboration with Play Mechanix and Raw Thrills. I also imagine they’ll have the Tomy Waterfuls Ring Toss AR videmption game along with many of their powerhouse redemption pieces. They can be found at booth #423.
Incredible Technologies
The makers of Golden Tee will be there to showcase their latest work, Golden Tee 2019, boosted with some tournaments. You should also be able to find old favorites like Silver Strike and Power Putt; there is no indication that they’ll unveil any new title here. Find them at booth #623
#throwback to AMOA 2009! Has it really been 10 years?? We’ll be back at the Amusement Expo March 27 & 28 with the greatest bar game ever created @GoldenTee. ⛳️ Come say hi in Booth 623! #tbt #goldenteegolf pic.twitter.com/RMwLWsFCU3
— Incredible Tech (@IncredibleGames) March 21, 2019
LAI Games
I believe that AEI19 will mark the debut of the three new ride films for Virtual Rabbids that were announced at IAAPA, but that’s not all. First spotted on location test last year, but not detailed since, is a light-gun title by the name of Outnumbered. This is confirmed in the Instagram post below; I have an official statement from LAI about this that I’ve been sitting on as we’ve waited for more info:
Outnumbered is a competitive target shooter on rails that connects to a companion app to reward players with customizable content, player progression, global leaderboards and achievements.
This video posted to Instagram of the location test gives you a little bit of an idea as to how it plays, although this is a year and a half old, so it’s very likely that the game has gone through a number of changes. That said, if it plays then same, then this will be going head-to-head with Raw Thrills’ Nerf Arcade by the looks of things. I am not certain what those app features will entail exactly, but we should find out everything we’ll need to know in a couple of days. You’ll find these games at booth #436.
Raw Thrills (Betson Enterprises)
Per usual, the Betson booth also serves as the Raw Thrills booth, and they will have a few games that we’ve talked about previously to check out and enjoy. This includes the debut of Nerf Arcade, and production runs of Slither.io, Halo 2-player and a selection of their more seasoned titles. I’ll be sure to ask what’s up with Mario Party 😛 You’ll find them at booth #323.
Sega Amusements
Sega’s booth (#201) has an odd design by the floor plan, taking up space along an entire aisle instead of being the typical wider box setup. That said, they’ve already announced many of their video and redemption pieces which will be there, including the US debut of their latest racing simulator, ATV Slam. We’ll also see Daytona Championship USA (I’ll be paying attention for the “New Season Edition” this time), House of the Dead Scarlet Dawn and Transformers Shadows Rising.
Stern Pinball
If you haven’t had the chance to play The Munsters yet (I’m in that group), then AEI should be your chance when you go to booth #335. I also imagine you’ll get a chance to see The Beatles, Deadpool and Iron Maiden while you’re at it. I do doubt that we’ll see their next game at this one, reportedly Steve Ritchie’s Black Knight: Sword of Rage.
UPDATE: With the Black Knight: Sword of Rage teaser out there, we’re really hoping that the game will make it’s first appearance in Vegas. Here’s a nice leak
Game pics already leaked pic.twitter.com/ogPjPC7F1P
— Aurich (@aurich) March 25, 2019
Team Play
Outside of any surprises, I also believe the Team Play booth will mimic their IAAPA setup, with the main showcase starring their new Spins Ahoy! videmption games that we have talked about before; it is a big booth, so Family Guy Bowling and their FunSpot photobooths should also be there. You’ll find them at booth #1113.
Touch Magix Inc.
This company has been busy lately with trade shows in India and Dubai this month. Located at booth #300, their selection will reflect those, with their five videmption pieces (Magix Floor, Mannequin Challenge, Mystery Island, Dicey Jump and Hop ‘N Stack) available to check out and play.
Trio Tech
The company doesn’t tend to bring their biggest motion theater or dark ride attractions to AEI, but they have a nice sized booth. I also would expect to find the Typhoon 10th Anniversary model there. They are at booth #705
UNIS
UNIS tends to have very different product line-ups from show to show, so I’m not 100% certain what to expect. They always have a strong line-up of redemption titles, but for video I expect to see Fantasy Soccer and Lane Master Pro. Perhaps they’ll also have their kiddie VR games there that were at IAAPA. Find them at booth #505.
Unit-e Technologies
They’ve made no announcements so far, so I can guess it will be similar to their IAAPA 2018 booth, with the World’s Fastest Drummer and some of the tech they are working on. A working model of the PC Classic would be nice, or an arcade adaptation of the Luxehedron (shown in the video below). Find them at booth #100.
WIK Amusements
I don’t recall seeing this Polish company at AEI previously, but they are always at IAAPA. The past time they had an upright version of Monster Smash, a videmption racing game called Lane Switch Racer, an assortment of redemption pieces and an impressive basketball game called Big Show Basketball. You’ll find them at booth #1209
There are a few VR companies that will be there, although the setup for such companies is not as centralized as it was last year when they all were in their own “pavilion.” I don’t see the Hado guys on the list, who had a big booth with their Hado Kart last time; although on the arcade side, I also don’t see Komuse or Jersey Jack listed either. on the list, who was also at AEI18.
While it is supposed to launch this quarter, Exa-Arcadia is not there. That is unfortunate, as this event does get you in front of a lot of operators. Perhaps IAAPA and AEI20.
So that’s what you can expect to find if you are headed there, likely with a nice surprise or two in the mix, or expect to hear about later this week. I will also be uploading gameplay videos to the AH YouTube channel, so stay tuned to that if you’d like to know about it before I get the chance to post videos on the site here. If you’re headed to Vegas for this event, then safe travels!
