After a brief weekend break, here is our third and final day of coverage on the GTI Asia China Expo 2024, out of Guangzhou, China. Having now finished our round-ups of Wahlap, UNIS, and a few small nods to other notable things going on (e.g. Namco Hong Kong’s attendance), this post gives a chance to recap everything else that’s been happening with the smaller companies who attended, and anything in-between. There is tons to get through, though, so buckle up for a fairly exhaustive dive into it all…
In case you missed our previous couple posts on GTI Asia China Expo 2024, check them out here and here. A monumental thanks one more time to Oga-Shi from Sega Amusements for furnishing us with pretty much all of the photos and information you see here, directly from the show floor – without this, our coverage would be much less extensive. Some people are true Arcade Heroes, and he is one of them 😉 Ted gets a special thanks too for drafting all three posts up initially and organizing it all.
Do note that it will vary whether the games you see here will see action outside of China – several may well at some point soon, but it will always depend on the company, the concept and the distribution deals that get inked along the way.
Wahlap Recap
First of all though, as GTI Asia China Expo 2024 is now over and done with, a few of the bigger companies have been posting the first of their official videos from it. One such example is Wahlap, whose footage of the first day is now out there. This shows off their usual ‘event within an event’ approach, with various costumed characters for Marvel Contest Of Champions and their own Kingdoms Fantasy. There is also a better look at their Wahlap Prize business (including some official Maimai and Taiko toys) and the Getter Spin G machine from Taito. That one shows they are strengthening their links with Japan. You also might notice a certain someone from the US side of the biz checking out Monster Eye 3:
Ace Amusement
A Chinese factory gathering pace in recent years has been Ace Amusement, who has seen many of their products carried by the likes of Coastal Amusements and LAI Games in the States, as well as UDC in Europe. Much of that output has been very kiddie-focused, and almost all of it with a redemption option, but they have been showing signs of starting to make more serious games for all ages – with some interesting reference points. We had a few glimpses at new examples of those from AAA 2024, where a couple were banned from photo sharing, and this time it looks like those games are now just about ready to go.
For a title that is coming over very soon, there is Skull Of Shadow. We briefly mentioned it in our trade show preview the other day, but just to be clear again, this is Ace’s stab at making a Deadstorm Pirates-like shooter. Some might say they are trying to hit out at its actual official sequel, Goldstorm Pirates… though besides not featuring its steering wheel controls, where it does differ is its range of cabinets – it comes in a stand-up four player tethered cabinet and a sit-down three player mounted gun machine (both already on some distributor sites), as well as this two player theater cabinet more like the original game:
Spotted along with the 4P upright model of SOS is a surprise – Wild West Shootout 2. The original was one of Ace’s first games to gain overseas traction, being carried by Coastal Amusements and UDC in Europe. The sequel has changed the guns, although it is possible that this is one of those features that could change if it shows up over here. They were my favorite part of the first game, as seen near the beginning of the video I linked to a couple of sentences ago. It used a realistic six-shooter pistol that had a ‘snap’ feedback feature to it, distinctive from every other gun game on the market.
Another Ace game we first heard of at AAA 2024 was Air Combat. There has been a bit of confusion over whether this piece is OK to show; it hasn’t gone up on some distributor sites like Skull Of Shadow, and there was a no photos sign on one cabinet at GTI. But the other two didn’t have them – plus Italian distributor ELMAC included it in a recent Intergame ad, and a video of it on Twitter/X got a bit of attention – so here it is. In terms of Air Combat itself, your first impression will likely be After Burner from either the cabinet motion or game… but according to Oga, it plays like the more overlooked Sky Target.
One more new-new game by Ace that we did not hear about at AAA is their two-screen motorbike racer, Bikers Madness. Where UNIS’ new stab at this format we previously mentioned (Neon Rush) went for a futuristic sci-fi style, this looks more a standard biking arcade game in the vein of Raw Thrills’ Super Bikes. As the GTI expo is its first appearance, further details are a little more scant on it than the others (Skull Of Shadow even has a few videos on their YouTube now), but it would be surprising if this does not turn up on Ace’s own booth at IAAPA, or via one of their US distributors (e.g. Coastal) in the future.
Ace had a bit more than this on their booth as well, including another three player shooting game cabinet based on the Chinese tokusatsu IP Armor Hero (which UNIS are also using for their new version of Picture Book Land). Whether those appear or not, their presence at IAAPA could be interesting, as well as their distributors. Coastal Amusements seem to be carrying Wave Riders X-Treme from last year, and Amusement Source International have grabbed at least one version of Skull Of Shadow.
Playmore
Though it is really not our bag at AH, perhaps the biggest name in coin pushers out of China right now is Playmore (no, not the 2001 SNK buyout one), whose products have been seeing a lot of success of late in the West, primarily via LAI Games. As such it is hard to ignore them when it comes to these shows, although it would be nice to see them branch out sometime as their build quality is supposed to be good. For their new titles they have got Dragon Blade, seen here in this wider booth photo:
Outside of pushers, a machine of theirs that has received a lot of attention on the crane-focused side of things is High Five, which has spearheaded the trend there of multi-claw machines. Whilst Sega Amusements are releasing it out West as mentioned in our trade show preview, Oga told us it has also been received very well in Japan… where it is being distributed under a slightly different name, via another company. Here are some of those being assembled, from this account on Twitter/X.
Firestone / Leon Amusement
One company that has only emerged on the global stage during the last few years is Firestone Amusement, although due to branding confusion they don’t have that much recognition just yet. We’ve mentioned them under a number of different names, from their straight Chinese one (HuoShi Chuan Yu) to its translation (Firestone) to the “Gym & Fun” brand that seems to be on some of their booths. Add another name to those, as their current official English-facing brand seems to be “Leon Amusement”…
For a refresh on what they do, their focus is squarely on shooting gallery games, both digital and electromechanical. The first of those to see wide distribution across the world was a game originally known as Top Gun, which went out as Quick Shot in the States via JET Games, Skill Shooter in Europe via Electrocoin, and most recently Top Shooting in Japan via Bandai Namco Technica. But they have more, like this big new four player one, Flamestone Gun, which could be a Thunder Attack update:
Arccer Amusement
Arccer Amusement have been gaining notoriety and recognition in rhythm gaming circles for their entries into that space, which compete with Wahlap’s official representation of the original Japanese titles (UNIS have sold some BEMANI pieces in their time as well). We have covered these before, but the two biggest ones are currently their Maimai-like Dance Cube/Show, and DanceRush-like Dance Battle (seen below):
Arccer also had a new videmption-based coin pusher on show, called Family Tumbler. They previously made Tower Island (originally known as Tata Island), which Bandai Namco have been selling into North America and Europe. This one looks a bit like Sega’s new Jackpot Circus in theme and style, which could be coming out West soon as Balloon Circus (again shown in our trade show preview from the other day).
Superwing
Superwing are perhaps best known at the moment for being behind LAI Games’ SMASH DX, which they originally released in China as Extreme Off-Road. For that one they have continued to promote it by holding a tournament where the winner won… a real car. But they have made a few other pieces too, such as Sega Amusements’ Allstars Basketball, and perhaps most infamously Ice Man, one of the first water shooters (and Arcade Game of the Year according to some jokesters out there 😉 ).
Like Ace above though, they do seem to be somewhat moving into making less kiddie-focused/redemption games (or at least not fully focusing on them). One recent piece they did in that vein was Interstellar Team, which was spied on test at least a couple of times in the UK last year, but did not see a release outside of Asia in the end. Perhaps this new one, The Future, might get wider distribution soon.
Huangyue (HY) Technology
We briefly namechecked this company in our AAA 2024 coverage, regarding their Lego-style whack-a-mole merchandizer Block Party. No word on if that one will be coming over yet, but if it does, it could very well be through Sega Amusements… as not only is Apex Rebels visible, it looks like they are carrying Bop It! Arcade in China. There are a few unofficial clones flying around of it there now, but this one seems official.
A new piece that HY have besides their own released works (Demolition King, Ballzania) is this Jumper Star 2. Not sure what the original is like, but it keeps that tradition of active redemption pieces alive – this time with an actual video screen. At the side it also looks like they had a videmption edition of Skee-Ball, another traditional piece that isn’t often crossed over with digital aspects in arcades:
Joint Fun
Lastly, a newer name that has never popped up on AH so far is Joint Fun. Much of that is down to how their pieces have not really been released outside of China yet, but they do have quite a few. One that can be seen below is another new theater shooter, which goes under the English name of Fantasy Adventure DX. Unlike most other Chinese arcade companies they also interestingly seem to still push some VR:
The full English translation here does seem to suggest that Joint Fun are aiming at getting this one released overseas, though that will depend on the actual quality of the piece itself and resultant interest in it from distributors. Plus, most might have their shooter quota filled already with all the other new ones likely coming onto the market out of China (Monster Eye 3, Skull Of Shadow, The Future) and elsewhere:
For other titles by Joint Fun, they seem to have kept Percussion Master alive in some way (even though that was by IGS, and there’s no involvement from them evident here). Ted’s said he first caught word of this one from a couple of people who visited China last year, and though its developer wasn’t clear back then he was told that it had a lot of interesting licenced (or unlicensed, considering everything…) music:
And sound the two-screens alarm one more time, as Joint Fun appear to be the very first to apply the concept to… ostrich racing. You’d have thought that it would be used first for something more obvious like horse riding, but nope, ostriches, in what is apparently called Running Ostrich DX. Joint Fun’s website seems to suggest it’s available in standard form too, and apparently even has a sequel already:
The Rest
If you already thought that rundown of all the other slightly more notable names out of China at GTI Asia China Expo 2024 was fairly comprehensive, we still have a lot more to get through! Below you can find several of the smaller, less video-focused companies Oga-Shi sent us, plus a look at some odds and ends that he has found more interesting than your average Chinese arcade machine.
For the first of those, TecWay have had a booth at IAAPA a few times in the past, though they have never been especially consistent with their presence out here. For those who don’t know them they are a Taiwanese company, though unlike others in the industry over there (e.g. IGS) they seem to develop both cabinet and software, largely making redemption games. But they do have the occasional video piece like Dino Survivor and this futuristic motorbike game as seen below:
Saint Fun is another name we have mentioned from time to time over the years on AH. They’ve been focusing on redemption in more recent years too, but alongside Safari Games, they were responsible for the street racing game Fast Beat Loop Racer GT and its motorbike counterpart, Battle Rider. They are still showcasing the latter here, though it seems to just be the same old version. Both Fast Beat games interestingly have Steam ports now too… with Battler Rider‘s new one six years after Loop Racer‘s.
Baohui aren’t particularly known either, though they have been going for a while now (1992 according to their website). As some may be thinking “Bao Who?”, we have namechecked them a few times – most frequently in relation to Hyper Cross, where they appear to be responsible for the cabinet side of things (with IGS making the software and Sega Amusements selling it elsewhere). That can be seen in the background in this wider booth shot, among various redemption pieces:
Sipuls meanwhile are one we are only hearing of just now, and they bizarrely enough appear to almost entirely do horse riding games! These have been coming out of China sometimes in recent years (UNIS made one or two attempts at them), but not to the point where one company has more than one iteration on their one booth. Some of their banners seem to mention other things about darts at least, but why this company focuses on that one niche genre is unanswerable.
Tong Li, like Playmore, specialize in supplying yet more pushers and redemption. They have had a few original pieces on show, like the anime-styled Fever Battle just out of shot here, but of the rest of their booth was made up of licenced examples they have most recognizably collaborated with Andamiro on, e.g. the Avengers pieces. Andamiro are also expected to be revealing a Star Wars pusher soon (if not that, at least something Star Wars), but there’s no trace of that to be seen.
Now onto some specific pieces from other companies; some took Oga-Shi’s interest, whilst others don’t fit in elsewhere, or their makers couldn’t be verified. The latter can happen often with Chinese games, like this big shooter with individual motion seats and a title asking for a lawsuit:
Another big multiplayer shooting game whose developer is unclear (Yuto Games have a banner here but you can never be sure with them), The King Of Guns. The title seems pretty convincing at least, as the sheer size of those guns – even after things like Mega Shot – is absolutely crazy.
This company, whose mouthful name can be found below, have a couple of things… including another horse racing game and a skiing simulator. But that latter one looks exactly like another from a different outfit who were at IAAPA Asia back in May – not too sure who came first here:
Not very much is clear about this multiplayer pirate-themed videmption title (is fishing involved, like Pirate Hook and Treasure Cove by UNIS, or something else entirely?), but it does have an eye-catching cabinet shape, which does something slightly different with that old template:
Card games can become videmption too, like this one (JOKER) with a very Asian theme, stick and button controls, and several stations for a number of players. It’s titles like these that will most definitely stay stuck in China, at least without any attempt at retooling for the West.
A total LED overload in these mini prize merchandizer/video cabs for kids, housing what looks like a basic rhythm game and another entirely (not sure what, though it has sticks) on the middle one. Maybe the seats didn’t really need the lights, considering the odd error on one of them?
More of the same here, offering a wider range of games – from left to right, we have what looks like a fishing game but actually involves a lasso, a rare Christmas themed game (!), a series of digital whack-a-mole game, and seemingly another Minecraft Dungeons-like hack and slash affair:
A third prize merchandizer kids arcade game offering, from what seems to be the very same company, goes for the whole excer-gaming zeitgeist with a mini bicycle model. Certainly would be more accessible to much younger children than Bandai Namco’s significantly larger Bike Dash Delivery…
For a couple of intriguing non-game things, it’s not every day we see new fortune telling machines now, but they evidently still exist out there. Like several others in that genre, you reach your hand into the hole, and it gives you a printout telling your fortune (all in Chinese here, of course).
Here’s a vending machine type you don’t get often – one that vends your own personalized phone cases. It’s not entirely clear how that all works out from this photo alone (different phone types?), although it seems like you are able to put your own pictures on them via some sort of means:
Oga-Shi sent us a lot of photos of these Chinese mini pinball machines, which he seems to have a great appreciation for. You may recall seeing some of these in our previous coverage of trade shows out of the country, though the ones you see below are of a different type to those from before.
Lastly, VR isn’t so prominent at industry trade shows now – though arcade-focused corporations like UNIS still have one or two things going on, it’s much reduced from where it was for them about five years earlier. Still, some notable companies specialize in it. We talked about FunInVR briefly at the end of the day 2 post, but another is Movie Power, whose website mentions a lot of high-profile partners:
Then there is VR Star Space, who have a lot of the standard motion simulators (racers, spaceships, and one or two other things like multi-seater pods, etcetera) you usually find with these companies. Their website also proudly touts their health and safety certifications, which is definitely reassuring – you don’t want your purchase from a VR supplier to end up like this infamous malfunctioning video…
As well as the above two that Oga photographed, KWP have reported on an interesting looking new VR bungee jumping game that was there from Hero VR, which you can find here.
Overall
To sum it all up now, GTI Asia China Expo 2024 has looked like another successful Chinese show, with a lot going on in arcades (certainly a few expensive-looking showcases that you don’t see over here now). Judging by what was sent to us, there are indeed a few trends and running threads to be highlighted.
The big trend here in more video-based games, as observed in Oga’s correspondence with us, is the resurgence of the theater-based environmental rail shooter – between Wahlap and IGS’ Monster Eye 3 and the ones here, there were at least four new home-grown examples all at GTI this time. These things do happen in cycles though, as this is coming after slightly more investment in motion racers. With IAAPA on the horizon, we surely haven’t seen the last of this latest peak in new rail shooter games to come either…
Elsewhere, the new spins on Minecraft Dungeons Arcade have also continued. Wahlap’s Kingdoms Fantasy looks like a success from the big second showcase it got out of them in the video earlier, plus UNIS updating their Picture Book Land and also the brand new Amazing Universe shows they are committed to that too, blending more Japanese cultural influences in. Of course, we could not show the latter’s due to their photo bans (among other UNIS titles), but hopefully we will get a better look soon.
Though we have not given much attention to it, there is also a crane-shaped specter hanging over everything too. There are lots of other companies out of China e.g. Dreamfuns who specialize in neon cranes and gacha vending, whilst Wahlap and UNIS are also looking to drive more investment into supplying their own prizes to locations. Many over there focus almost entirely on them now – but according to Oga, this has also influenced other genres, as the kids card games above are seemingly seeing a boost from this, and the abundance of LEDs in cranes is reflected elsewhere in other designs.
Oh, and two screen games are still bestriding the arcade landscape like colossuses 😛 It is interesting to see how there has been a distinctive pull back on VR in favor of borrowing this dual screen model trend that Raw Thrills popularized, but now they are championing VR while most others turn away. Although I don’t know why some don’t look more at curved screens (perhaps the expense) or just mounting 65″ or 75″ displays vertically to achieve a similar effect. Not that I really want to mount a TV like that, but it seems like it would be more economical than putting the cost of 2x 65″ 4K TVs into a game.
That’s it for now on GTI Asia China Expo 2024, but if we catch anything more we will be sure to mention it in future posts focused on other things. Until then, what new games shown off at the expo are you most interested in?
