Welcome to our annual, comprehensive preview of the IAAPA Expo 2026 event, giving you a taste of what is hot in the amusement business now. Each year at this time (the week before the US Thanksgiving holiday), amusement and arcade manufacturers from all around the world come together in Orlando, FL, to put their latest products on display, making IAAPA the premier amusement industry trade show. As always, we will be there to visit the booths and to try the products out in person, so that if you’re an operator, you can see which games may be worth your investment dollar; or if you’re a player, then what games you might find in an arcade out there in 2027.
If you are new to the industry, then IAAPA serves as the arcade/amusement industry’s “E3” or Superbowl event, where most everyone in this business goes to show off their latest and upcoming products. For the West, IAAPA is the largest of our industry’s shows; it also has a strong focus on theme parks and other amusement-adjacent sectors (water parks, inflatables, food services, etc.). Since we’re a blog about arcades, our focus tends to be more on that angle. Also, we tend to not put a strong emphasis on redemption games, as those usually perform well in every location without the need of the signal boost. We will still mention some of those games, but we just prefer to give the focus on video games and pinball. Just about every manufacturer has a variety of products that “cross the streams” though.
Some companies function as both developer and manufacturer of a game, and others may do both of those and distribution in other parts of the world. Distributors are essentially the publishers of the arcade industry. As always, we will have tours of the various booths filmed and posted to YouTube, which will allow you to get a feel for what is at the show.
This year will be the largest show in IAAPA’s history in terms of how many exhibitors there are. So many companies wanted to join in on the fun that instead of putting the overflow outside, they are extending the show into the West building. The problem with the high interest though is that the way that the show is organized is more confusing than ever. While some companies are found in pretty much the same spot as always, others have been moved to completely different areas and they’ve ended up separating a lot of similar companies. As one example, where Bandai Namco and Sega Amusements usually are, this year are occupied by water toy & ride companies – but then Andamiro is in the same place. They do have “pavilions” which are supposed to group like-style companies together, but due to the scattering, these are almost pointless, as you have plenty of non “Games & Arcade” companies in that pavilion.
Long story short, check the map and plan ahead where you want to go, especially if you are only there for a day or two.
I will also be attempting to do a livestream on this tomorrow, however, I’m still recovering from a cold, and my voice is not the best. We’ll see how it goes. Here is a link to last year’s preview stream, if you’ve got the time to kill.
IAAPA 2026 – Arcade Heroes Advertisers
One benefit to advertising on Arcade Heroes is that we put those who have been keeping the lights on here at the top of these big previews. Our sincere thanks to the support of these companies.
Raw Thrills
Booth S3007/3207 (labeled as the Betson Enterprises booth). Raw Thrills will be celebrating their 25th anniversary at the show, where attendees will be able to grab a special edition of Betson’s “Game Plan” that will have special coverage of the company, as well as 25th anniversary T-Shirts. For product, their new launch is a “Pro” environmental cabinet for Godzilla Kaiju Wars. This puts the game into a more traditional closed booth single screen design, instead of the open top dual monitor setup we’ve seen in the two other models. They will also have the latest update to Minecraft Dungeons Arcade (with Series 6 cards),Stranger Things Arcade, the standard version of Top Gun: Maverick, and Jackpot Racer.
Besides that, they should only be bringing existing titles, marking another IAAPA where there hasn’t been a major new-new Raw Thrills launch. The last one was probably the original VR model of Godzilla in 2023; since then they’ve instead chosen to unveil their biggest games away from the show, at Amusement Expo in March (as seen with Top Gun: Maverick), or via a timed Dave & Buster’s rollout in the summer (e.g. NBA Superstars, Stranger Things). They do have multiple new developments in the pipeline though, so without wanting to get ahead of ourselves, we will probably start to see these from Spring 2027 onward. Here is a video of last year’s booth.
TouchMagix
Booth S217. Last month, TouchMagix teased that they have something “epic” coming to the show, and this has turned out to be another salvo in their redemption push called Ticket Stack. This looks to be a simple three player catch the light type piece, with the added theming of ticket rings. Expect them to also have their new Knock ‘A’ Duck ball toss redemption game, joining others like Pickleball Toss.
Wahlap
Booth S407. Wahlap have nine games bound for this IAAPA, all of them being originals from themselves, unlike their appearances at Chinese shows. This includes the two Plus updates to the Asphalt games that will also be on hand at LAI Games for the first time, and three that Amusement Source International have, through the new Miraculous kid game, Storm Racer 2 and Storm Rider X. As well as that, there’s two returning shooters in the form of Phantom Vanguard and Monster Eye 3 Unite (again sold by LAI here), and a couple of further kiddy pieces with Eggy Hop and Step Dash. Those recently showed up in Japan through Taito at their Amusement Expo, but it remains to be seen if anyone has them out West.
Wahlap will also be officially representing Pop-A-Shot’s Elite machines now, after quietly having them on show at IAAPA Europe in September. This is interesting as Wahlap did have their own, similar basketball machines, but it seems these haven’t made much headway in sales over here, so they have instead partnered with the seasoned pros at PAP.
See their booth from last year.
Ace Amusement
Booth S929. Joining the roster of sponsors here this year is Ace Amusement. They started attending IAAPA only a few years ago, and have been exhibiting their games in their own right alongside the likes of Amusement Source International and Coastal Amusements distributing them. Their own booths have tended to feature at least a few of their newer games that haven’t had any distributor representation, just direct sales, so expect to see one or two of the new games they showed off at GTI Asia China Expo in September here.
I did reach out to them in regards to what they are bringing to IAAPA, but they didn’t reply; I’m sure that my follow-up hasn’t been seen as they are likely traveling or are already working on setting up their booth at the show. Here’s their booth from last year.
Yuto Games
Booth S107. Welcoming another new Chinese advertiser to the fold, we have Yuto Games. They have been the most active company from the mainland when it comes to social media, although sometimes it gets a little confusing as they also operate as a distributor in China (which is why they sometimes promote games from others – Yuto are just selling them into the market there or in other territories). The main game Yuto will be promoting at IAAPA is their Formula One driving game Chasing Speed, as well as some redemption. Unfortunately I missed them last year, so did not grab a booth tour, but I will rectify that this time.
IAAPA 2026 – Arcade Exhibitors
Onto all the other arcade exhibitors at IAAPA that are of interest to us, centered on those with at least some video game focus. Some of the bigger names in redemption like ICE and Bay Tek will get nods as well.
Adrenaline Amusements
Booth S800/1000. Adrenaline almost never promotes their booths or their products on social media, so you never know for sure what they will have at any trade shows. If you’re into surprises though, they certainly manage that. Last year, they had a smaller booth space with the Back to the Future redemption game serving as the “hero” of their space, but this time they have two booths to cover a lot more ground. That implies new product, though whether that’s more video, more redemption or both (likely the latter of the three), is unclear.
Adrenaline will certainly have Disney Speedstorm Arcade (first seen at Amusement Expo and out since August) on hand, as well as something called Speed Climbers as per a Betson preview. However, the big maybe from them is Marvel Cosmic Invasion, as it is still unknown whether that’s a Dave & Buster’s exclusive or if it’s coming to the rest of the industry. The former looks likely, but you never know…
Alan-1
Booth S3431 & S5600. We previewed Alan-1’s show setup back in October, after a factory visit, and they have subsequently released a little more information online. Overall, A1 have two booths this year, making it the largest presence they have ever had at a show. That follows their previous “largest ever” booth that was at Amusement Expo in March. Chief among their new games are their Turbo Curling: Arctic Rush curling videmption piece, and Breakout Recharged Infinity. Both of those will be debuting here; it seemed at first that the latter would not be, but it has been mentioned in recent magazine previews. Also, Arctic Rush is up for an IAAPA Brass Ring Award.
As also previewed last month, A1’s lean into redemption & cranes (Butts On Things Mega Spin, Ring Pop Drop, Warheads Extreme Sour) has them becoming a little more like Coastal Amusements, although they still have a strong “neo retro” bench going with the Atari Recharged series. In that realm, they should also have the latest Recharged games that they are producing, such as Breakout, Caverns of Mars, Yars, Quantum, and Black Widow. It’s also possible that they’ll have a new Soda Slam Pro+ (the SS game in a single player cabinet that’s the same form factor as their Recharged games). It’s unclear what the mix of regular “Pro+” cabs vs. “Premium 3D” cabs will be (formerly MirrorFX), and what they will have in their inflatables booth area is anyone’s guess.
Amusement Source International
Booth S3864. Last year, ASI had two booth spaces and previewed most of their games in the weeks running up to the show, but this year they’ve waited until the week before the show to being touting their IAAPA products. From that, it is looking like many games that we’ve seen before, although they will have a major debut of IGS and Wahlap’s aforementioned Miraculous, which had previously been seen at both GTI Asia China and IAAPA Expo Europe; their logo is on the machine (and at the beginning of the video below), so that one has been obvious for a little while now. They should also have Storm Racer 2, Rooster ‘N Bro 2DX, Skull of Shadow, and some Ace Amusement products on hand, plus potentially a surprise or two.
Also, right before I was about to post this, ASI posted their own announcement, that they will have actors portraying some of the characters from this series, who will be there for a signing on Tuesday. They are definitely pulling out all the stops on this one.
Andamiro USA
Booth S1800. Andamiro have been pushing their recognizable licenses hard lately, with Nickelodeon Kart Racers Arcade being promoted for some months now (and apparently, it will finally ship next month), but also their recently tested Mickey & Friends coin pusher. While their Avengers Roller Battle game has caught some attention through the current “Doom & Busters” promotion, it’s a Dave & Buster’s exclusive, so if that turns up at the show it would be a surprise. This will also be the place to catch Pump It Up Phoenix 2, which has only appeared at Bowl Expo 2026 (which was a show almost no one attended) for the Western market.
Bandai Namco Amusement America
Bandai Namco have been promising a big IAAPA presence to us for a little while now, and they are delivering on that promise with several new, big name releases. The biggest of those is of course the upcoming Resident Evil 2: Arcade, which has been hotly anticipated ever since it first went on test last year (and was recently seen in Japan at their Amusement Expo). Bandai Namco will also have Pac-Man Baller Derby, their latest addition to the Pac-Man Street Range, plus the new Naruto Shippuden Ninja Coin Clash coin and card pusher, which we still haven’t got a good look at yet and will be fully unveiled here.
What else will Bandai Namco have? Aside from previously seen content (Taiko No Tatsujin, GoldStorm Pirates, a few other redemption pieces), they are teasing some sort of photo booth based on a big IP too. We know what it is, but that’s under embargo until the show starts.
It’s also possible we could see more licensed titles from China as well; last year saw IGS and Baohui’s Speed Rider 4DX, alongside Mini World Motion and The Future from Superwin, although the latter soon disappeared from their lineup afterwards and has not been promoted since then. Note that there will also be the titles that Bandai Namco Amusement Europe distribute from the likes of Raw Thrills, Adrenaline, and JET in their territory, so if you want another spot to play those, BNA is the place to go.
Bay Tek Entertainment
Booth S3417. Bay Tek has been making adjustments to their IAAPA showings over the years; they used to bring prototypes to show off that were mixed with their in-production games, but post-2020, they have instead focused on products that are available at the show or within the next few months. They have recently been promoting both their ICEE Prize Plunge and Pop The Lock Prize Vault games, and are also aiming to resurrect the success found in the Connect 4 Hoops game with Connect 4 (4-in-a-roll). This combines the Connect 4 arcade concept with Skee-Ball; as a reminder, Bay Tek bought out Skee-Ball some years ago, so this melding is not just them copying someone else.
Another surprise is that they have a brand new SpongeBob game coming up, although it is unclear if they’re working with Andamiro on this (as Andamiro has held that license on a largely exclusive basis for years within the industry, with some exceptions). SpongeBob Bikini Bottom Blast is a videmption game and has mounted guns for it; perhaps it’s a redesign of Bay Tek’s SpongeBob VR game without the VR?
Blue Motion Games
Booth S1807 (AVS Companies & PrimeTime Amusements). BMG’s big new release of this year, John Wick: Continental Pursuit, will be found at two locations – one unit will be at the AVS Companies booth, where they will also be doing temporary tattoos; then two units will be found the PrimeTime Amusements booth. It’s not clear if Desert Chase will make an appearance at AVS; it definitely is not at PrimeTime.
Coastal Amusements
Booth S3717. Coastal are among the names here that have been a little quiet recently, with some even finding it a struggle to contact them for parts support at times. They are still going though, and previewed much of their new product in RePlay Magazine recently; they also began to tease their “8 new games” this week on LinkedIn.
This includes Dino Attack from Ace Amusement, and several redemption pieces such as Safe Sliders, a new spin on their Hot Wheels Ultimate Speedway concept and a new appearance of those hanging bar theme park games, this one branded as Hangman.
DSM Arcade
Booth S1209 (at the AVS Companies booth). DSM have been quiet since releasing the Pabst Blue Ribbon Edition of Perfect Pour earlier this year, but now they are gearing up for a brand new game to launch via AVS. From the sounds of things, this is going to be an upright multiplayer driver, although whether it’s in the style of Super Sprint, Hot Wheels: King of the Road, or something totally different, we do not know. Still, any driver in that kind of form factor would be super welcome as very few racers in current times have been compact or affordable enough to fit into a lot of route locations.
ELAUT
Booth S3000/3200. Elaut USA combines a few companies together, so they will inevitably fill out most of their space with their latest crane and redemption pieces, but what may be there from the video/videmption side is often a surprise. One thing they will definitely have through Coast-To-Coast is Crabzilla Strikes, a new videmption pusher from IGS and Baohui, as that debuted via them at IAAPA Europe. ELAUT’s own new E-Claw 2.0 will be around too, both in its original twin guise and the latest Cosmic single cabinet edition for larger prizes.
exA-Arcadia
Booth S5464. Located in the Family Entertainment pavilion, this puts exA a little far off from where they’ve usually been at the show, but they have a decently-sized space for showing off new games. If you are looking for skill-based video games such as shoot ’em ups and fighters, then this will be the place to be, although what exactly they will unveil is something that they are keeping partially under wraps for now. That said, we are anticipating two major IP announcements that will be there, both of which are names that you’d have to be a baby gamer to not know. ExA also will debut a new control panel & scheme with a game that looks like a lot of fun, and is very different from anything else that they’ve released up to this point.
Their main push on socials has been with their “exA Stage” concept, which is a bundle of six ARC-32 cabinets that locations can setup for play. They recommend operating only a single game in each, although one could put up to four in each for a total of 24 games. They will have two exA Stages setup for play.
As can be seen from that, AVATAR LEGENDS: The Fighting Game, G.I. Joe: The Wrath of Cobra and Hunter X Hunter: Nen Impact will be there. Other recent releases such as Truxton II EXA Label and a few fighters they announced some time ago will also show up, like Invincible VS., Wild Guns Rawhide, and Tattoo Assassins(yes, really).
ICE
Booth S4009/4209. ICE are one of those companies who have an uneven social media presence; sometimes a video for something new will pop up out of the blue, then they will be silent for months. As it is, they are like several others on this list who rarely post about what they are bringing to a show, although thanks to the Betson preview we got our hands on, we know that their debuts will be: ICEBALL X, Jurassic Hunter, and Tons of Tickets Ultra. They’ll also have an upgrade kit for Milk Jug Toss, but that Jurassic Hunter game has my interest piqued – on rare occasion, ICE does dabble with video games.
Jersey Jack Pinball
Booth S1612. Sonic The Hedgehog will headline the Jersey Jack booth, giving us the first chance for gameplay and footage of it since its release. Aside from their other in-production games, it would be a surprise for them to have a new, previously unannounced pinball machine on hand, although they could always show off something adjacent, like they did a couple of years ago with their Pinball XP platform (questions will be asked about that, as it sounds like it didn’t get off the ground).
JET Games USA
Booth S1407. JET have been making a habit of bringing an unannounced surprises to IAAPA in particular, although this year they decided to possibly skip that, and instead hype up what they’ve got. If you’re adverse to AI posts though, then maybe don’t click on them and take our word for it.
Between all that has been shared, their main game this year will be the return of G.I. Joe Tank Assault. This was originally shown off at IAAPA last year in a very early version, but all went quiet on the title afterwards, besides it receiving a couple of name changes and the chatter that numerous changes had been stipulated to bring it closer in line with the license. As per RePlay, that has now happened, and this game is making its first appearance in a year here.
JET will also have Robo Shot, coming from the same makers of G.I. Joe and their “Shot” shooting gallery series (China’s Flamestone Amusement). This is a return to the form of the old GlobalVR Vortek V3 VR system, now updated in technology and supporting up to four players in a VR Agent-like cabinet. They are big on redemption too, so you’ll find several other new concepts there, including the videmption piece On The Level, and some interactive kiddie rides. Could they bring that massive, 200″ screen gun game over to the West that was seen at GTI Asia China a few months ago? If so, they’ve not indicated such. If they do grab that one, who knows what they may call it… Ginormous Shot? Humongous Shot? Colossal Shot?
Konami Arcade Games
Booth S4294. It’s been a long, long time since Konami last had a stand at a US amusement trade show, but for the past few years their representatives have been sighted by several people at various events like IAAPA and Amusement Expo. And now, they are back in full force, officially bringing many games that have been staples of the Japanese arcade scene over to North America. Not only that, they will also have a big placement of their product at Genda Americas (Booth S1810), including Dance Dance Revolution World, Jubeat U’nit, Demon Slayer, and a few prize redemption pieces. Hopefully they will also have the new Crazy/Crash Bazooka (in Japan they renamed it to Crash), since that looks like it could be fun.
It will be interesting to see how these are received at the show, along with details on how everything is being distributed and what their cost will be. It would be surprising if the likes of Betson ever picked Konami titles up again, but perhaps that’s where their partnership with Genda and Player One Amusement Group (which was long rumored before their preview finally confirmed it) may come in handy. Prior to this they have additionally been working with one or two smaller distributors like Save Point that are more focused on the indie arcade scene, including fan-run conventions, but that only gets you so far in this industry.
LAI Games
Booth S200/400. LAI has announced that as well as Asphalt Legends 9 Arcade Plus and Moto Blitz DX Plus, they will be debuting Wahlap’s Demon Hunter 1892, and a new Edgerunners content update to Cyberpunk 2077: Turf Wars, which was recently pushed to all cabinets out there. From the sounds of it, this fills out the game to really make it more of a Cyberpunk experience, which is going to be nice for fans to revisit in case they were disappointed by the relative lack of CP2077 tie-in content that the game previously had.
It’s not outside the realms of possibility that LAI may be bringing along a surprise too, as their booth space on the floor plan is looking pretty healthy as always, although they do often fill it out with redemption (they have two new pushers from Playmore on the way, to add to their already big lineup of those) and existing titles, such as their Ubisoft All-Star VR and others like Hyper Grid from Future of Gaming. Everything just mentioned should take up a sizeable chunk of it anyways.
Also, if you’re looking for an older title from them, a pair of SMASH DX racers will be located over at the PrimeTime Amusements booth.
Sega Amusements International
Booth S4803/4602. Sega Amusements were one of the first to start teasing their big IAAPA debuts at the end of September, with what was quickly found out to be House of the Dead Reawakened. Shortly after that, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Arcade DX was also suddenly announced, but despite HOTD getting a full reveal afterward there’s been no further sign of Sonic yet. That seems to indicate it is being held over for next year, although there’s still a small chance it could be a complete surprise. Either way, HOTD will be commanding lots of attention, alongside new redemption offerings like Floor is Lava and several returning titles (including Maimai DX and Daytona Championship USA Motion Edition). They also will have the newer Shooting Carnival Gallery.
Smart Industries
Booth S3016. While Smart’s mainstay tends to be crane machines, they have been making some pivots elsewhere in recent times. A notable one was last year’s Scream ‘N’ Win, which came from Taiwan’s Feiloli, and at this IAAPA, they plan on offering not one, nor two, but at least three videmption pieces. They will have new cranes and redemption product, but one can appreciate seeing the additional games that are being added to the roster. I always kicked myself for missing out on an IAAPA back in ’08 where they showed off a cool submarine video game called Battle Stations, but it apparently never got a release.
The three titles they will debut in that class are: Defeat The Beast (a tug-o-war game where you’re pulling a rope controller against giant monsters on the screen, again from Feiloli); Demo Zone (we’ve seen this one out East before; “throw” the wrecking ball at the screen for tickets); and Island Golf (the first putting game we’ve seen in a while that has a real putter and green). The renders given out for these unfortunately appeared to be AI, but hopefully they will look better in person.
Step Revolution
Booth S1247. Step Revolution have been very busy with new things recently; they have a major project in particular that Kyle Ward is hard at work on, but that is not quite ready yet. However, they will have something else for IAAPA, as they recently shared this below image to promote their presence, and provided us with some interesting information (said information will be posting next week, as to what the mystery cabinet is in the center there). Safe to say, SMX fans are going to be pleased, but in general it’s great to see that SR has these things coming along as their star game has been on the market for almost a decade now, and new stuff is always welcome:
Stern Pinball
Booth S3216. Stern have rarely debuted a new machine for its first look at IAAPA, in part due to Pinball Expo being so close. Given that both Fallout and AC/DC Remastered launched very recently, it would be a shock if they offered anything in addition to those, plus their other more recent production games, like Pokémon and Transformers. If they were really their celebrating 40th anniversary, they could do a Lazer War Remastered (note: joke, not a serious prediction!).
Team Play
S1003. According to the RePlay preview, Team Play will introduce a Madballs Crane here, but it is unknown if they will have additional titles (though it’s possible that there could be another redemption piece of two on hand, In a crazy world, we get Family Guy Bowling 2). For the Madballs crane, that one is apparently a combination of a video game (which you play first on the 55″ screen), crane, and a vending machine, all in one. Given how prevalent and predictable cranes have become, you do need to do something to stand out.
Triotech
Booth S2662/S2862. Triotech has teased that they will show off “five new products”, which comprise their “largest product showcase ever”. Though some of that will inevitably be in attractions, they have teased that three of those fall into the “carnival games” category, where they may be taking a shot a Bob’s Space Racers’ bow (BSR makes Whack-A-Mole, but also has heavily focused on creating actual midway/carnival games for theme parks for many years). They will also have their new Energize stab at illuminated floors, the recent Jumanji Cobra Quest experience for their XR Dark Ride attraction, and their Typhoon Shockwave too.
UNIS
Booth S907/1007. UNIS will have a big focus on their redemption product as usual, having one of the largest selections of new-new content at the show. They will have two major new titles in video here with Mad Dog’s Draw and DreamWorks Ultra Kart Racer, which haven’t been promoted much so far. They have also partnered up with Pixel Games to bring out a few pieces themed around their brand of illuminated floors, including Zone Max, which takes their action from the floors to a four player tabletop experience. Expect Cyberpunk 2077: Chrome Rush to make its first IAAPA appearance too with the release build software, which features a story mode.
They are also stating that Ski Hero will be there, which was supposed to be at both IAAPA ’25 and AEI’26, where it didn’t appear.
Valley-Dynamo
S4003. Once in a blue moon, Valley-Dynamo has a video related product to show such as Jet Pong, or their shuffleboard system they showed off last year that was developed in conjunction with TouchMagix (although that appears to never have been released). Otherwise, their bread-and-butter are more traditional, mechanical games like pool, foosball, shuffleboard and air hockey tables, the latter of which are found in plenty of arcades across the land. Will they debut something new, like they did with the Black Hole table a long while back? There’s always a chance.
Attractions / XR / Misc.
Here you can find a rapid fire list of other arcade adjacent companies in the past who will be attending, but probably not with new product, to close things out; some have had new things here in the past, or they have products that are only for FECs or theme parks. This section used to be dedicated to VR, but the number of companies that now focus solely on that tech have dwindled to almost single digit numbers, so it is a struggle in giving that end a special focus anymore.
S booth numbers denote “South Hall”, W is “West Hall”:
501 Fun (W1000) – Often partnering up with Sega Amusements on their social entertainment concepts, 501 Fun has branched out into setting up their own space at more shows. This year they’ve got a large both in the West Hall where they will likely be showing off their new Virtual Archery range, among others.
Amusement Products LLC / VEX Solutions (S4873) – This year, VEX is teaming up with this distributor of theme park attractions (go karts, bumper cars, laser tag) to showcase their products on the booth. That should include what we saw VEX bring to IAAPA Expo Europe, which are the Party Dash and its several variations.
ARCCER Amusement (W2450) – Every time we see this company in photos from Chinese shows, they have an impressive display and some rhythm games we don’t usually see out West. Last year they made their IAAPA debut with a very small booth focused only on their coin pushers, but this time their space is bigger, so perhaps we’ll be seeing their Dance Battle and Dance Show here now.
Astro Crow LLC (W1509) – When putting this list together, this booth and AC were initially overlooked, as their space was microscopic on the map. Fortunately, they posted on LinkedIn about their presence at the show, meaning that if you want to check out a unique indie arcade game, Throwback Jai-Alai Heroes, then head over to the West Hall.
Bob’s Space Racers (S2617, 2817) – BSRs have been teasing some new product that looks like it may have something to do with Whack-A-Mole, but in a larger format. It’s rare for them to focus on smaller, single coin-op setups at this point, but not unheard of.
Characters Unlimited (S6074) – If you love animatronic amusements that are contained into an arcade box, such as Zoltar, then CU has the goods.
DOF Robotics (S1464, W2569) – While DOF’s Angry Birds arcade racer doesn’t seem to have ever materialized in North America, it did in Europe. Perhaps that will return as a surprise though. Otherwise, if you operate a theme park, then they have the goods that will probably interest you, such as their “compact” flying theater system.
Dreamfuns (S100) – If anyone’s in the market for bright, colorful cranes, then these guys deliver that in spades.
EPARK Amusement (S528) – No clue what this company will bring, and their booth isn’t that large, but it would be nice if it were that RC car/train racer setup they showed at GTI Asia China Expo.
Family Entertainment Group (W2261) – FEG is an operator who has seen aggressive growth in recent years, and last year they had the Human Crane that Dave & Busters are doing now. They have not previewed what else they are bringing to IAAPA, but they will be paid a visit.
First Time Exhibitor Pavilion – Unlike previous years, where this was in the northern part of the show, tucked away in the middle of the FEC attractions zone, now, they have a much larger space – but over in the West building. It’s unknown how busy that side will be, as it’s a bit of a walk, but if you want to find something we’ve not seen before, perhaps it’ll be over there. Browsing the list of companies that are in the FTE area though, it doesn’t look like there are any arcade or pinball makers hiding in the mix.
Flamestone Amusement (W2906) – Last year, Leon and Flamestone (who regularly confuse people by working together) were right next to each other; this year, Flamestone is over in the West Hall. Not sure what they will have there, but it should be a few video games, with one or two possibly being in common with JET.
Food & Beverage Pavilion – (West Hall) – If you ever wonder where most of the free food samples went to this year, they’re now all in the West Hall, instead of the central north part of the south hall that they have occupied for a long time. Although it looks like with the move, there is more on offer than in the past. These areas are always popular and packed, so here’s a heads up as to where to go.
Hero Zone VR (S3486) – This wireless, open arena VR system has a pretty large space to accommodate the lines that they tend to see. There seemingly isn’t any promos for what specifically they are doing for IAAPA though (they were at IAAPA Expo Europe).
IGPM/Kalkomat (S1203) – As one of the most prevalent producers of boxing machines on the planet, it’s not a tough guess what you’ll find here, although they do occasionally have some other items like air hockey.
Immersive Gamebox (W2535) – This company was first known as the Electric Gamebox, and have since adjusted their name; their system allows multiple players to participate in a variety of games that are projection mapped to the walls (aka, Immersive Reality Rooms).
Immotion (S861) – This attractions outfit have a big space, which should see large, motion-based rides with specialized films attached to them.
IMPLY Bowling (S4486) – This bowling focused-company out of Brazil does, on rare occasion, launch a new arcade product. Emphasis on rare though.
Infinity Massage Chairs (S2850) – Just putting this here since plenty of people whose feet and bodies get wrecked from the show, love to find this company and enjoy a little relaxation time in their full body massage chairs. They’re always busiest at the end of the day, of course.
INOWIZE (S4083) – INOWIZE was at IAAPA Expo Europe, but they’ve been pretty quiet since. Their main product is still the QBIX, which has gone through a recent cabinet redesign, as they continue to fine tune it. Not sure if they have any new games available for it though (for the past few years, they have launched a new QBIX game at IAAPA).
Insta VR Arena (W2161) – If you want to operate “pop up” VR arenas, then this company has designed a system to handle that, all wireless.
Korean Pavilion (S2857, S3046, S3050) – This is not a single company, but several who bring their product from South Korea and put it on display across these booths. We’ve come across some interesting and cool things here that’d work for arcades, but no clue what might be headed to the show this year.
Kynoa SA (S3957) – This is a company that mainly had been focused on VR with their Kolisseum Soccer VR game that’s been around for a while, but they recently sent out that they are also resurrecting the “Whack-A-Light” games and may have one other thing there.
Leon Amusement (S428) – Last year, Leon had a couple of their gun games on hand; assuming from the size of the booth, they will do a similar thing.
Movie Power (S415, S1022) – If you are in the market for a VR motion-base simulator system, then chances are you’ll find it here.
MultiBall (W1229) – Before any pinball fans get too excited, this has nothing to do with pinball, but it’s still a neat “interactive sports wall” system that can be deployed just about anywhere. Using balls at the main controller, that’s the reason for the name.
NEO Experiences (W1327) – This French company is one of the very first Immersive Reality Room creators, and they’re still going strong. The tech behind their system remains the same, but they are frequently adding games to the mix.
Neofuns Amusements (S612) – Cranes, boxers, darts, and merchandizers are all on tap at Neofuns.
Paradrop VR (S2877) – If you want to experience paragliding in VR, then check these guys out.
Pipeline Games (S4020, S4220) – This company has long focused on cranes and merchandizers, although this year they have more booth space than they have taken before. Perhaps they have something extra.
Pixel Games (S2879, S3079, S3081) – UNIS have their partnership with Pixel now, but they are attending in their own right too with plenty more of their brand of illuminated floors.
Pro-Games Poland / uPlay America (S810) – Boxers of all sorts can be found here; perhaps a surprise, but definitely boxers galore.
Rilix LLC (S616) – Rilix’s VR coaster is a given here, although the focus may well be on the new Rush VR that we saw at AEI. Perhaps they will throw in another new product while they’re at it.
Sunflower Amusement (W2901) – Sunflower tends to make redemption products, with the occasional video piece for the Chinese market. This year, they appear to have one of the largest booth spaces we’ve seen them do (more than once in the past, they had a tiny booth with only one game around), so it will be interesting to see what they fill it with.
Superwing / Superwin (S210) – This next Chinese company has made a lot of strides in having their product picked up by Western companies, such as Bandai Namco and several others. They will have other products around that haven’t been licensed by others at their booth.
Sweet Robo (S5686) – The owner of this company used to operate VR 360 Action, a company that we covered many times before they shut down; this new company instead focuses on robotic based products, such as robotic vending. This year they are debuting two new items: an AI portrait drawing booth and an ICEE Cotton Candy machine.
Swish XR (W2629) – If you want a different kind of elevated basketball experience, their Swish XR’s XR Hooper may be the item for your facility; it uses projection mapping on the walls to make for a unique hoops shooting game.
The Really Big Crane Company (S310) – This American company has ties with Raw Thrills, so on occasion something totally unexpected pops up there, although since they did their zombie video basketball game a few years back, we haven’t seen anything like that since, just cranes. If you need a solid crane though, that’s their go-to.
Valo Motion (S5688, 5487) – Valo Motion has recently been showing off their Valo Board concept, which is kind of like a new-age Top Skater. It will be interesting to see how this works in practice, since unlike that game, this does not have bars nearby for players to hold onto. This is also up for an IAAPA Brass Ring award, and will certainly be joined by other Valo products.
VRCAVE (W1333) – We’ve mentioned this company several times in the past few years, but have never visited them (just one of many missed due to time constraints). They provide free roam VR escape rooms, with 10 to choose from.
Yinghua Tech / Oculeap (S352, S1319) – This Chinese company developed one of the more interesting virtual pinball machines we’ve ever seen, called Ion Strike. It was at IAAPA Expo Europe, but it is unknown if they will have it at this IAAPA. Also, their two booths are a bit far apart from each other.
Zero Latency (S5681) – It’s been a while since we’ve heard of what Zero Latency is up to, but if you want to see what that is in person, then they’ve got a large booth space to handle their open arena VR system.
Zooom Studios (S600) – For the crane and merchandizing connoisseur, Zooom will be debuting a few new products at the show, including the FlexiClaw, KawaiiBox, Zooomer’s Prize Box, and Prize X (the latter being a new merchandizer).
Whew, we made it! It only took 7,000 words to get here. My sincere thanks to Ted for his help on putting this together.
As a reminder, check for a livestream on YouTube that will go over this and offer more detail tomorrow. Also stay tuned to the Arcade Heroes socials for updates; usually when I’m at the show, I have little to no time at all to be writing up detailed posts, then even after the show ends, I may be elsewhere away from a computer for a while. Videos will also take some priority to get out, showing the major stuff first.
Either way, this is gearing up to be a very exciting IAAPA show. Safe travels to all who are headed there and I look forward to seeing you!
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