Sound Off #122 - AAA Expo Review, Exec Shakeups, Hasbro Transmedia & more! Artwork

LBX Collective

The LBX Collective aims to inform and educate, create opportunities to connect with industry peers, and to spur collaboration, discourse, and cross-pollination of ideas in the location-based entertainment and experience industry.

Join our online community at LBXGalaxy.com!

Proudly sponsored by Intercard!

All Episodes

LBX Collective

Sound Off #122 - AAA Expo Review, Exec Shakeups, Hasbro Transmedia & more!

May 26, 2026 • Brandon Willey • Season 4 • Episode 122

0:00 | 1:31:51

Welcome And The Big Bet

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Are you on the edge of your seat? Because we're about to stay with Evelyn Williams, covering today's latest trends in location-based entertainment. Brought to you by the LBX Collective, your community to connect age fire. All right, everyone, let's buckle up.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

All right. Well, welcome everybody to Sound Off with Kevin Williams. This is episode number 122 for May 26, 2026. So uh, you know, 26, 26. Kevin, how are you doing, sir?

SPEAKER_02 0:38

I'm doing well. At least it isn't uh 6'7.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Yeah, there you go. All right, perfect. Well, let's uh let's dive into it.

Private Parties As Profit Engine

SPEAKER_00 0:47

How are you going to change my mind this time?

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Well, it is you know one of the things that I'm sure Chuck would uh be able to go into much more detail about, but it is that uh money, the cheddar that we're leaving on the table regarding the entertainment component. I am of a very strong feeling that the uh the private party and the private hire businesses greatly underestimating in our sector. And uh I uh I think now that it is that private hire business, especially in the competitive socializing side of the spectrum, that is making the lion's share of the revenue generation going into facilities. It is that hidden uh additional spend. People uh post-COVID are much more uh likely to hire a social group outing now rather than you know uh entertainment venues are not just for parties anymore. They are gathering gathering facilities, they are places to online, and it's how we monetize that sector uh in our industry that is uh making me feel that this is a greatly undervalued aspect of our business.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Yeah, I mean I completely, completely agree. Some venues do uh rely on private parties, private hires uh for up to 80% of the revenue. So this is uh you know absolutely a key area where if not only could you drive more parties, but also uh you know increase the revenue on a per-party basis or per head basis by you know delivering a slightly more elevated party experience, potentially.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Potentially. Uh and you know the picture I use there of uh Disney themed cakes is another aspect of that, the the additional uh expenditure, not just on the side of the uh the party givers, but on uh the facility operators is uh at a premium for uh Disney themed IP-based merch that we're deploying into their party environment. Do we raise the level of our VIP rooms by giving uh branded drinks and products uh to try and elevate both the experience and so the uh the perceived spend? These are these are aspects that I think if an operator isn't loosely at their private party business and seeing how they can get the maximum out of that, then they are leaving not just cheddar on the table, but they are committing business suicide.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, absolutely. All right, well, coming up after the quick break, we'll dive right into the biz trends.

Sponsor Break And Return

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Innercard makes cashless easy with award-winning readers, self-serve kiosks, real-time reporting, and flexible guests payment actions. From plate cards and credit cards to mobile payment and QR code. Visit innercardinc.com.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Thank

Leadership Moves Start The Trendline

SPEAKER_02 4:11

you. And moving into the biz trends, and we have uh some new uh appointees. Uh, as we were saying last time, well, many sound-offs at the beginning uh of the year that we were going to be experiencing changes in management and also seeing um repositioning, shall we say, of the C-suites.

Paramount Hires Disney Licensing Veteran

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Uh, Paramount Products and Experience has uh announced that they have dropped in a senior vice president. Uh again, this is on the brand management and marketing side. And if you've been following what's going on with Paramount at the moment, you you know, they are the corporation as a whole is going through its uh merger and acquisition uh phase at the moment, but at the same time, their experience division has been working on a number of entertainment projects, both big-scale uh theme par projects as well as uh medium-scale experiential uh applications. And I'm led to believe that that drive is you know still firing on all cylinders.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Yeah. Well, and you know, with the get here of Melissa Lazdin um is their new SVP of brand management and marketing, this is a big get for them uh for Paramount. Uh she spent 20 years at Disney, and uh for the latter half of that um time at Disney, she was the vice president for brand commercialization and franchise and soft lines licensing. And so she comes with an enormous amount of experience. Took a little two-year hiatus at Utility Refrigerator. So, you know, doing business development for a uh refrigerator line, you know, a company, but um, but it's good to see her back into the entertainment and attraction industry.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Uh the hiatus that she took was an interesting one because uh she was instrumental in the customer experience uh for uh consumer products, which kind of shows the gamification, or should I say, the entertainment kind of aspects. You know, all of these sectors are becoming connected, um, from an airline executive having uh the chops to work into location-based entertainment, or uh a toy brand uh developer being able to get involved in location-based entertainment. So those pieces of twine that I have connecting industries together are becoming more and more condensed. But as you say, uh Melissa comes from quite a strong pedigree from her Disney background. It will be interesting to see how much of that she applies to the Paramount brand. Moving on, and real shakeup here.

F1 Arcade CEO Swap Signals Priorities

SPEAKER_02 6:49

It's only been a couple of months since we announced uh the appointment of a new CEO at uh F1 Arcade. Uh, I I remember at the time when we were talking about this that uh I was uh saying that Jonathan, who was moving, then moving into the position, uh, you know, had a lot of things that he had to undertake and uh to get right with the F1 Arcade brand, no matter from outside. It was a what some of us in the industry like to call a swan. Uh it looked very serene on the surface, but those legs were moving very fast uh under the water, and there were things that needed to be sorted out, especially with the accelerated rollout that was going through, especially after the opening of F1 box. You know, there were a lot of uh irons in the fire that needed to be sorted out. Well, surprise, surprise, we wake up to the news that uh a new incumbent has been uh parachuted into the uh position of CEO. The former chief operations officer has now uh taken on the role uh of you know uh not just president but uh CEO, but uh also uh uh directional uh steerage of the brand. I'm not saying that we're due to see a pivot or a major change in the F1 arcade approach, though I will point that we've heard nothing regarding F1 box. Uh and at the same time, the latest openings of F1 arcades have uh followed that same old form factor without actually seeing any changes to some of the areas where we know from our sources they have uh been seeing some churn. It's also very telling when uh the corporation doesn't have a replacement when someone leaves, or vice versa, the person leaving doesn't uh get parachuted into uh a new position. It kind of tells us that it was a uh a decision made by others rather than a mutual decision. And it was interesting to read that Jonathan now has thrown his hat into the ring to become an independent consultant, uh not staying on uh F1 arcade on the board, but uh moving on to other pastures.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yeah. Yeah, very interesting, you know, five-month tenure in that Yo role. I mean, granted, after being a part of the company for five years, uh, but really interesting who they decided to replace him with, you know, being Matt Orvath, who was the COO of Gordon Ramsey restaurants in North America. And and so this is a compelling about where or how F1 Arcade, at least the board, sees themselves. They see themselves as a restaurant first, entertainment second. And I think that will actually be uh that's been represented in so far in what we've seen, and I think could be an issue for them as they uh continue to scale if they really continue to lean heavily on restaurants and and just uh you know not pay attention or give the attention that that needs to be given to their entertainment offerings.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

We're seeing this a lot uh with some of the competitive socializing venues where in these current conditions they're doubling down on their uh hospitality uh chops. They're you know looking closely at the cocktail pricing and their slider menu rather than uh less on the entertainment offering because there are not that many executives that come from an uh an entertainment background that are taking the helm or part of the C-suite uh of these operations. I am looking forward to uh seeing how Matt moves forward in the role, especially with some developments that are coming along with the F1 Arcade brand, which I think we'll be talking about more around September time.

Area15 Searches For Its Next Gear

SPEAKER_02 10:43

Carrying on, and uh another new employment, uh Area 15 has gone through uh a couple of C suite changes, and uh we have uh a new uh president there. Uh Bondy comes from uh Palace Entertainment. She's also had in direct involvement with Six Flags uh as an executive there, and it kind of is very telling that Area 15 is still looking to have uh its position sorted out uh regarding what it is doing now. It's we were reporting only a matter of months ago uh from their new additional area to Area 15. Um, we also have seen some churn amongst the entertainment within the space, as well as a repositioning of its branding. I am getting uh reports back that the universal unleashed uh attraction is operating, but not to the numbers that were previously expected. You know, again, this is uh rumor, and I I need to nail this down of how well these entertainment attractions are doing. From uh the outside, uh the Area 15 operation looks like a swan, uh very serene, but though I'm sure those feet are moving uh underneath the water very hard, and to uh parachute a new president kind of points towards uh the focus that the operation is going to have to make going forward.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you know, she again comes with a decent pedigree from Six Flags, uh short time at Palace Entertainment, um, but then also was on the uh board of directors for IAPA for uh for you know a three-year term. And so, you know, has uh has association, uh, has association uh background in addition to obviously operational background. Um it'd be interesting to see what changes she brings or additions or improvements she brings to Aerie 15. I've always felt like their food and beverage offerings were uh fairly light compared to the volume of entertainment options. And obviously, as we talk about when you have independent multi-gate uh entertainment uh type scenarios, like a shopping, you know, basically a very large shopping mall filled with entertainment, you need that F and B component as well to increase dwell time so that people go to more than one experience. If they have to come there and their only option is barbecue or uh sushi, then that's uh I'm probably going to go back to the strip or somewhere else for my food.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

If you can make it, if you can get a robot taxi to take you. Now, I I always, you know, every time I go to Las Vegas, I do my evaluation uh of Area 15 because uh you you kind of hit the nail on the head. It has approached its uh the entertainment mix like a shopping mall. The uh the individuals behind the uh creation of the concept come from that type of background and they apply that kind of metrics to Area 15. Uh I didn't expect by 2026 to only be talking about one Area 15. I, you know, we had expected by this point, uh, that the Florida facility would have opened, which uh was nixed uh and they decided on selling the land there. I had expected that we would have had a wider mix of new uh entertainment venues within the Area 15 Vegas site, especially as you see how much uh Area 15 is impacting the uh spend uh or the construction spend of many of the casinos out there. I I would say that Area 15 has shaken up the thinking of many of the casino resort venues, uh, and they're now borrowing heavily from uh their game. And that is the point about being an outliner. Uh, once you've got the ball rolling, you've got to keep up with that ball, or else uh you'll get rolled over by the crowd that's following it. Taking on a new uh president, uh taking on the investment of the new area, uh, the new uh beta site to their alpha are very telling. How John Wicks does, how uh Unleash does Universal, how the escape room business does, how that Boeing 747 entertainment gulch that they have created actually works out, will you know mark how successful the next few years will be for Area 15 because you can't stay still is the point that I'm really trying to say.

Boom Battle Bar Sales Slide Lessons

SPEAKER_02 15:23

Moving on, and uh Boom Battle Bar. Uh, no changes in the uh the team there uh that I know of, but uh the chief executive Richard made it very clear of giving us some information about how successful and how their business is uh working, which we're always grateful for when the C-suite are actually proud enough to uh reveal a little bit of uh what's going on underneath the hood, uh, or the bonnet in uh the UK's case. They admitted to a 8% drop in like-for-like sales uh across their uh Boom Battle Bar facilities. That seems to be a common uh refrain uh across eatertainment as well as competitive socializing. Uh we've got an issue here, uh, and many of the C-suite feel that they have the tools in front of them to be able to handle that. And um Richard was making it clear of some of the thinking that they were uh they were doing uh in trying to build up their operation. They have a number of other Boom Battle bars uh in the works, new openings that uh we'll be hearing a lot more about later in the year. They also were very proud of uh the increase in revenue in one of their uh divisional businesses. Uh XP Factory, who runs Boom Battle Bar and uh a number of other brands, also runs the escape hunt uh chain of escape rooms. And I am interested in how much those escape hunt facilities have embraced competitive socializing elements in their approach. Uh even uh seeing a crossover, there is a number of boom battle bar venues that have opened up that have included a karaoke component as well as an escape room component uh under franchise agreement. 11% revenue from an escape room business kind of tells us that the escape room business, when run correctly in this current conditional market, is bubbling along. And for all of those that look at the open and shut rundown that I do, need to bear in mind that I don't include escape rooms in open and shut. And there is a vast number of new escape room venues that are uh popping up all uh internationally, and those are competing for that uh disposable income uh entertainment dollar that we are all fighting for in our sector. So again, uh our friends at XP Factory have given us a snapshot of uh really where the market is lying and the work that needs to be done to move forward.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, look, I think they've had some good press on the escape hunt side. They recently were a 2026 Traveler's Choice from TripAdvisor uh for their escape hunt uh adventure and program. And so, you know, that that obviously helps with uh helps drive that 11% revenue increase as well. Um, but they clearly are doing a great operation on that front. And it isn't to say that Boom Battle Bar isn't, um, but you know, we have seen uh similar drops across the board in other brands and other types of uh you know multi-location facilities.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Competition, uh, value offering, entertainment experience, and the big one, the current changes in the market. Though I would argue that some uh some of these declines in uh revenue have been felt even before the current uh global situation that we're experiencing at the moment.

Topgolf Rebuilds Leadership And Operations

SPEAKER_02 19:05

But anyway, uh as we alluded to, um with a change in the the head of an operation, then we can expect to see the C-suite shuffled, uh, and Top Golf uh has gone through quite a considerable change, uh, pulled away from Callaway, taking on uh a brand new CEO. Uh and we now see that they have uh appointed uh uh a new slate of leadership uh uh inductees, some of them from the operation, some of them being parachuted into the operation. These individuals have got quite a daunting task in front of them, and I think the majority of them will be dealing with both the uh the changes in the job situation as they've just coming through uh major layoffs, the repositioning of the brand, as well as the increase in the entertainment offering to be able to uh address the issues, their own 8% drop-on same-site uh sales. This is going to be very interesting. You know, the uh this is a perfect Petri dish uh Topgolf for us regarding competitive socializing. Topgolf was one of the first of the competitive socializing or eatertainment, sport attainment venues. They have positioned themselves very heavily uh as a brand leader and as capturing lightning in a bottle. They've rolled out a vast number of facilities, some underfranchised, some self-operated. And now, you know, they have to do that navel gazing of what they offer, how they survive in the market, and how they grow within the market. And uh this is the team, the dream team, that uh be uh supporting Dave in achieving that.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Yeah, and a couple of key things, you know, we know that this always uh happens when a new CEO comes in, especially with a brand that has had so many struggles over the years uh that you'll see a lot of this uh wholesale replacement. Uh, but I also think it's interesting that um they have created a few new roles. So the uh you know, Jason Weatherford, he's one of the guys, he's the like, you know, I guess the one middle row to the right. And uh he's the vice president of InVenue Services, and it's a newly created role, which is going to be focused on really the financial and operational alignment and performance of all of their core venue services, food and beverage, retail, procurement. So like making sure everything is aligned. I think that's a key important factor. Obviously, a new VP of golf marketing is another role created to market specifically their golf. And then, you know, he brought in Jay Spears, who's been the CIO for CEC Entertainment for the last six years. And uh now he's coming on board. So, what is he, you know, what does the new CEO do? He goes back and reaches into his pool of execs that he loved to work with and knows he can. trust and brings them right on over into his into his new world and universe. So there's a number of uh you know cases like that with this slate. And so it's good to see Dave, David already making uh these types of shakeups to hopefully help turn this brand around.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

You know, as as we say, you know, a new CEO, new president does bring in friends usually because they can trust and you know avoid the Julius Caesar moment. You need to have an executive team that you can lean on. I am surprised how quickly David spotted some of the problems that were missing. Some would question why the previous management didn't have an overall executive looking at both for the beverage and the food component of this. That would kind of be a question that as a consultant coming into a project like this, I would be asking who is responsible for this overall component. I notice that we don't really have an entertainment experience or golf entertainment experience VP on that list. Hopefully that is a role that David will find someone to fit into because it's all about the play not just the stay of for the food. But anyway, personal opinion moving on and again transparency to the market and the ups and downs and our friends at United Parks and Resorts who run SeaWorld and Adventureland and uh you know Busch Gardens they

Theme Park Numbers Drop And Why

SPEAKER_02 23:36

turned around and you know kind of uh confirmed the news that we've been hearing across the market. Attendance was down, revenues were down. And you know they're blaming the weather and Easter shift uh what they mean by the Easter shift is the shift in people's holiday time during the Easter period of last year. They they also kind of were blaming that uh they were uh finding high uh high winds of problems uh from the customer base on how they spend their entertainment resource money or resort money I think would be a better terminology the the issues that I'm seeing here is this is quite a major outlier. You know United Parks and resorts is the ultimate uh as it were in uh giving us a snapshot of how the aquarium uh the mid-scale resort and the theme park market are doing or the themed attraction market's doing and it's not good but they're hoping for better conditions going forward. How many of them are expecting uh the benefits of the uh 250th anniversary in the United States to benefit their tourist business is going to be interesting when we're looking at these numbers this time next year. But I would argue that uh if we're seeing these kinds of dips in numbers from uh United Parks, you can just imagine what we're seeing from Disney as well as what we're seeing from uh some of the other major theme part divisions.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

Yeah and you know there's a couple of things I'll call out here that just seem a little bit anomalous. So you have 171,000 uh less attendees for uh Q1 uh you know from that they had in in 2025. Um but when you put that against the $8.7 million dollar number that uh was the revenue that they were down quarter over quarter uh that's a $50 per cap. So that would mean um so there's something so it it's well it's I don't know I mean like does that include I would think that's actually low on a per cap basis if you're considering admission F and B etc right so there's something going on there and then it's how you calculate it's how you calculate are they just looking at the sales uh are on the tickets are they just looking overall are they looking also including the hotel for me it felt low but sorry you were saying Brett yeah yeah and then the other aspect is their net loss was 34 million compared to 16 million last year but their revenue was only down 8.7 million so something is going on there operationally either that was a capex spend that they had to address in Q1 that was higher than last year for some reason but you know there should have been a $16 million drop at a minimum in revenue if you're just uh if you're looking at a greater loss in Q1. Um uh you know so you have an 8.7 million drop in revenue but you have a you have a 16 well you have almost an 18 million uh increase in loss so there's something going on there but again maybe they had a 10 million capex somewhere or yeah potentially but it seems to me that there's some operational efficiencies uh that they should be uh trying to gain here if they're going to continue to decrease in the revenue.

SPEAKER_02 26:57

Well we have to include the C-world situation that's going on uh and certain payoffs that have been in uh linked to that operation we also have to be mindful that they may have been zeroing down on some of the debt that they've been sitting on for some uh period of time and they may have thought that last year was a good time to try and leverage some of that debt off uh off of their books. Again it's a snapshot it is not total transparency but again it's something to bear in mind that even when an operation such as this is admitting these kinds of declines that we need to be mindful that that is impacted across the

Dave And Busters Tests Australia

SPEAKER_02 27:37

sector. This isn't a one uh one all case moving on and we touched upon this in uh open and shut uh we have the first Dave and busters uh in the oceanic uh market uh Australia gets their uh 2000 square meter facility uh when we were talking about this in open and shut uh I was raising some eyebrows uh to the you know to the layout to the you know really of what we'd seen from the marketing of the venue uh I was saying that they were shy on the entertainment side with only 74 uh amusement pieces uh on on the floor and we still didn't have a clear picture no thanks to their website of how much of their competitive socializing uh was playing a part understanding that Australia is really big into competitive socializing the success of bowlers uh bowlers and holy moly and all of the others out there yeah and you know there I I would agree I can't really confirm a whole lot other than you know the fact that there was at least two images though one was misrepresented as redemption of the conductors arena and so they may have one of those you know two of those but maybe they consider that more of like an arcade you know short form play versus reserving a booth for an hour to play some augmented darts uh maybe they just uh have changed their model on the VR arena to be a you know 10 minute 15 minute experience that fits more in line with their arcade play than than with a competitive socializing yeah we we we need more information just to also understand this is uh partnership uh that uh Dave and Busters has done with his particular franchisee and that the plan is to roll out at least five uh uh Dave and Busters facilities in Australia in the next four or five years so this is an important flagship or first uh first facility in what will be an important uh uh territory for the Dave and Busters brand especially going through the changes that it is at the moment our friends at uh professionals at play they are making it clear that they are still firing on all cylinders and that they're putting investment into uh new sites uh we wake up to the news that they've just acquired excuse me just acquired uh a new space in London Old Street that's going to be turned into a Roxy ballroom uh in July um you know the operation has under its belt about 26 uh venues under their their various chains uh and I am just interested that the amount of announcement and uh flag waving that they're going to be opening up a new London site kind of shows the you know the fanfare that you have to make now uh to stay relevant in the competitive socializing scene yeah and you know these we've talked about these guys before but uh as far as professionals at play and I just still always struggle with the differentiation uh or the lack of differentiation in some cases between their different brands and uh you know I really would love to see some brand consolidation between uh each of their Roxy lanes Roxy ballroom kingpins and star pins rather than them telling us that they're opening up a new uh London facility it would be nice to get some clarity on how their brands are distinguished between uh each other. I'm I'm really getting to that point now with the boutique bowling market where we need some differentiators, we need some clear water between what that brand offers and what another brand offers. And I think we're going to be very close in the next couple of months to uh really a rebranding and a shake up to be able to stand out as we get close to that build up for the holidays and then the real holidays the Christmases and the private party market.

VR Arena Expansion Eyes Australia

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Yeah indeed moving on and you know our friends at Mira we talked about uh their China rollout of new venues uh linked with the Jackie Chan cinema chain this is the virtual reality uh social entertainment experience an audience based player arena big screen uh entertainment mix well the company has uh just uh made a uh quite a major announcement that they too will be breaking into the Australian market as I was saying just a minute ago that Australian market is embracing competitive socializing very heavily and they're embracing uh the new generation of competitive socializing for me personally MIRA has still uh I have still to see it really establish itself I understand uh this the uh success of uh finding their Chinese partnership but I'm still very keen to know how their North American uh flagship facility has been doing to see what lessons have been learned but it's obvious that CHE group uh has uh felt that this is uh a strong opportunity to jump on at this point and uh they are planning to open a number of these VR experiences in the Australian sector yeah and you know this is obviously the Bellevue location not the one down in uh Plant open in Australia but I I still just struggle with I mean I I love uh at some level the large format uh group play and it's kind of on this big screen um but you know how what does the venue look like and feel like when there aren't games actively being played and there's not there it is it is really intentionally meant to be this like stadium type feel but you have to then make sure that at 11 o'clock if you're open in the afternoon on a Tuesday you have people playing or even on a Thursday night at eight o'clock if there's nobody there to play what is the energy and the vibe in the venue going to be and that I think is my biggest issue besides the fact that it's VR versus uh some other augmented form of interactivity um you know to do like like V vis-a-vis uh like a battle motion or battle arena from my perspective it's all about the game you know that that's uh I'm you know the I uh I'm the immersive hammer and everything looks like a nail to me and I am really concerned that I haven't heard from the reviews or you know from the general uh acceptance wow that game was uh uh uh an amazing unique experience I also don't know what the uh selection of games that they have because you know their web website doesn't really go into as much detail about the distinctions between their entertainment offerings clearly and do they have a this facility is empty but we have a game that people can play uh that uh is compelling enough uh even if you don't have the big audience there all that said on their hardware approach they're gonna have to make some changes and Miro was one of those companies that was very clear to me uh when we were speaking to the team that said that they felt that they could get away with using uh the um uh three headset for their entertainment offering uh I am sure now uh under the current conditions uh that they will be moving either a week or to an uh uh the HTC system all of these things have to be borne in mind about how it's steering uh their business model anyway enough now that hopefully by the end of the year we should have enough data to know how this experience is doing as well as the impact from their Chinese facility openings and straight into the Taurus of pain for those individuals that are keeping up only see the cluster of what we've been talking about in that bottom corner uh you'll see this is a kind of a pattern going forward with the Taurus but anyway move on and to the next we are into the tech and IP trends one of the uh things about the IP trends as well as the tech is the convergence that transmedia bully wick that I keep on going on about and we have the latest of those virtual adventure experiences that are now incorporating big IP and it was announced that Blade Runner the movie universe will be uh turned into a virtual adventure experience you know the usual thing large group of individuals putting on the headsets walking through uh an arena environment maybe with some props uh physical props maybe with some mixed reality projection mapping this is you know and as we go forwards with this type of technology we will see other major IPs wanting to include their name uh or their legacy brand uh in into this I I'm interested how much of the latest Blade Runner movie that they're going to focus on or if this is going to be more focused on the original original Blade Runner movie though again uh this sounds more like a uh a tour through the universe than a specific movie recreation uh yeah uh would be interested to see uh you know what some potential uh you know some clips from their experience is um to see what uh you know get a sense for what type of experience it's not entirely clear other than that uh you know some XR storytelling uh you know language on their website currently yeah and again this is one that's going to be parachuted into the uh the Montreal facility to begin with before uh they roll it out so we're kind of seeing a pattern the same thing happen with the Black Mirror we've finally got some pictures of the Black Mirror experience so we have a much more clearer idea of that I think this is kind of how uh these virtual adventure operations are going to be uh informing us drip feeding the information so that they can control the narrative uh our friends at Netflix um they have had great success of course with uh the K-pop demon hunter brand uh based off of uh the uh the streaming series we've seen it turned into um you know a an immersive entertainment experience and now we're going to see uh through a partnership with AEG uh the whole uh performance turned uh into a a live stage experience that is going to travel uh North America to begin with um how much of this is inspired by the ABBA experience how much of this is uh being uh inspired by what we've seen in Japan with the virtual uh character performances the uh the synth uh performers uh I think you know it's that the market is right and if there is a strong hunger for this kind of uh experience from their audience that is already proven that they love uh K-pop uh demon hunters then uh it is obvious that you're going to milk this cow as much as

Big IP Moves Into Live XR

SPEAKER_02 39:36

you can. Let's just hope that they don't have uh an Elvis experience on their hands.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Well yeah I mean I think that's the big question for me. Is it going to be the successful ABBA experience that we saw or is it going to be an Elvis experience? They have to be able to nail this uh and Netflix really has to be able to nail it uh they've had a good run so far of a lot of their partnerships uh especially the partnerships with fever before they obviously developed their own Netflix houses and so uh this will be in uh this will be interesting if they can pull a live experience uh off uh you know and do it well i think I think Netflix will have uh an impetus to to really pull this off because of course you could consider creating a smaller version of this to be parachuted into Netflix house once it's done its uh uh North American big tour carrying on and we have companies now positioning themselves to embrace the mixed reality uh future where a couple of months ago or year ago this would be a VR studio being created now it is being called a mixed reality development studio uh being uh created under the We Rise Up

Mixed Reality Studios And Modular Rides

SPEAKER_00 40:52

brand.

SPEAKER_02 40:52

This is a mixture of the Porto Ventura Adventure Lab operation that is being pulled out and turned into its own standalone uh studio that will focus wholly on development of these kind of attractions for their parks but also uh to be sold uh to other venues I I think it's really telling how much uh we have gone from the uh hype of what virtual reality theme park attractions were going to be like to the reality of what mixed reality uh attractions are actually being deployed in the market. And we've touched upon Porta Ventura's uh additions of uh uh mixed reality attractions in um previous sound offs. My my core focus here observing this and following this uh rise as it were uh in this business is how much of this can be established as a technology trend or how much of this is established as a strong revenue generator for a park. Just because it's popular now to have a mixed reality attraction or jump back a couple of years it was popular to have a VR attraction in your site compared to wow this is compelling our guests love what is being created here and they're coming back again and again and they want it. The other nice thing about mixed reality development studio is compared to the the larger theme park model, attraction theme park model, this is moving data around rather than show set. So it is a much more configurable and changeable seasonality focused kind of entertainment approach. That transmedia component of having IP dropped into your experiences along with what really we're talking about here digital development for the theme park sector.

SPEAKER_00 42:48

Yeah absolutely and I think it's telling that it's uh founded in partnership not just spun out from Porto Ventura Adventure Labs but founded in partnership with Vacoma who you know is one of the larger uh roller coaster ride manufacturers they make some other attractions um but they focus primarily on coasters and so to have this partnership in uh this this co-partnership between Vacoma and uh you know Porto Ventura world with uh you know with this new mixed reality approach to rides it'd be interesting to see what rides we're going to see uh develop for the attraction space I would say that this new operation uh is going directly up against operations such as Mac One and their VR Coaster uh operation.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

Uh it would be interesting to see how long VR Coaster keeps that branding and they change it to MR Coasters but we're maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves now.

EVA Partners With Ubisoft Rabbids

SPEAKER_02 43:45

Moving on and uh we talked about EVA uh a few uh open sorry a few sound offs ago uh and the injection of capital that they had received uh now we're seeing some of the results of uh Where that investment is going, uh, and they've just announced a partnership with Ubisoft and VR once again sees the return of the Rabbids in location-based entertainment. Uh, Rabbids Color Chaos is going to use their large free roaming VRit uh platform uh to offer an entertainment experience, a very um family-friendly kind of lay tag uh kind of experience from the video that I've been watching of the experience. This is an important one for EVA. This is the first time that they've really gone for an IP-branded uh release on their platform. And this is a kind of a pivot away from their more esports-focused uh uh entertainment uh application. It is also very telling that the company is now expanding their suite of uh content and they feel a partnership with Ubisoft uh is uh going to uh accelerate that. Understand that, of course, Ubisoft is partnered with LAI games in the amusement sector, with uh their All-Stars and also the famous Virtual Rabbits platform.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

I think this is a killer get for Eva, um, you know, EVA. Um, this is uh first of all, this the actual gameplay looks very reminiscent of Splatoon. Splatoon is a very popular game on the Nintendo platforms, uh multiple different Nintendo platforms. And um, so this will obviously drive the demographics down to a younger age, um, also help cross gender um as well. I think, you know, as I've as I've said before, I think the EVA, uh, you know, uh free roam, uh what we'll call like, you know, their standard game is still one of the most uh enjoyable and and one of the highest resolution games that I've I've experienced in VR from a free roam standpoint. Um, but to have this Rabbids Color Chaos, I think is a great addition to their you know more militarized uh versions of their games.

SPEAKER_02 46:14

Yes, it is a departure from their uh esports uh PvP style of play. We've also seen Eva uh do some investment in their virtual reality go-karting uh platform, which we hope to have some more information about closer to the IALPA Europe uh event. This is what you have to do if you're going to be an international brand and you want to position yourself. You have to have a broad suite of content. That broad suite of content uh can be deployed in many areas, and uh our friends uh our friends in the VR uh adventure scene, as I'm trying to label this uh uh aspect of the market, uh, have been working very hard on getting into relationships with museums uh and unique venues.

Virtual Adventure Revenue And Repeatability

SPEAKER_02 47:14

Uh it's it's really now that we're understanding how much revenue large audience groups going through virtual adventure experiences can generate and how compelling they are uh for a business. And the Immersive Journey uh facility has uh been going now for uh since January. They opened their doors, they've uh in Japan, they they've had uh audiences go through. They were one of the first of the large audience virtual adventure uh experiences to open up in the Japanese market uh at the beginning of the year, and now we're finding out that they've had 50,000 uh visitors through their uh operations since they opened their doors. This is all very telling, you know, nothing to sneeze at 50,000. You can do the uh basic maths that if uh someone is paying on average between 20 and $30 for that uh 45 to 55 minute uh experience that you you're coming away with an interesting revenue model. What happens now with the uh addition of new content film sorry, uh new content experiences is uh is the next phase, and it's kind of brought home to us uh with this uh information.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

Yeah, and you know, look, if they're at 50,000 visitors so far over the course of five months, like let's assume that this is uh you know a third of their total visitors, it's not a bad uh, you know, somewhere around a four million dollar um you know annual uh annual revenue installation. But the question, as you pointed out, will be how repeatable is this without adding additional content and to keep these numbers going.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

And also remembering that uh from that uh slice of cheddar that uh you're generating there, you have to pay the staffing, uh the venue, and the licensing of the content which and hardware. But again, at least we're getting some transparency to a snapshot of business, no matter how much uh it is a snapshot.

Valo Motion Shrinks The Arena

SPEAKER_02 49:26

Moving uh away from the virtual reality and continuing with mixed reality, um, and our friends at Valor Motion have had quite a successful run of their Valor Arena system using their camera vision technology, placing the group of players into the experience. And now we learn that they've created a unique version of uh their Valor Arena system uh on a slightly larger scale and dedicated to one particular experience. We're getting a kind of a teaser that this will be seen at the uh September I Alpa show in London for the first time, called Groundfall, and it is building very much on a flexible package that can be deployed in a unique selection of venues, be it an LBE or be it a resort or a hotel, kind of telling us that they're moving this particular attraction away from their standardized uh mid-scale and small arena towards a much more flexible uh installation model.

SPEAKER_00 50:33

Yeah, this is really interesting. So, you know, I've got uh I'll I'll just throw the video up here, just uh a quick minute here. Um so this is uh, you know, it's just it's a it's a stand-up wall, basically, with a mat. Uh so you don't need a full-blown arena. It the I think the one negative here uh you know is the fact that it is just a single game. You know, you don't get to select from everything else in the Valerina, but it is also the most popular game that they have, and they have different size footprints. And so, you know, they've they've done some improvements and enhancements to the uh the visuals, but uh, you know, it does uh it's something that definitely could be in uh dropped into, like you said, shopping malls, resorts, hotels, etc., as just a way to capture a little bit more revenue or just add additional experience for an existing resort.

SPEAKER_02 51:22

I'll I'll do a little bit of uh you know transparency and I told you so kind of thing. We've been speaking to Valomotion for some time uh about their uh virtual arena system uh and what size they were going to go for for their smaller version, and they decided to go down a particular path with that small, uh smaller version, which I would argue wasn't small enough needed for the market or flexible enough needed for the market. And it looks like that they've re-evaluated their position, they're playing on their strong suit. The issues with an open version of uh the Vallo Arena system, let's call it the soft top version of uh the Valor Arena, is that you've got light bleed issues and you've got demarcation issues. When you have them in uh players uh within an enclosure, you can police that enclosure uh you know quite well. This is going to be much more open flow, and I would actually say this kind of competes with our friends in the Illuminated uh interactive floor market as well as with uh the uh mixed reality interactive immersive entry systems. It'll be great to see it in action uh at the show, and hopefully we'll get a little bit more information. I don't believe that they can just develop this as a one-game wonder. I'm sure that once they've uh nailed out everything on this particular game, they'll be able to release some of their other games as uh dedicated standalones. Moving on, and told

Immersive Gamebox Goes Self-Service

SPEAKER_02 52:57

you so. Um we've been speaking about immersive game box since uh their exit from administration, some of the decisions, the hard decisions that they were going to be having to make regarding what they were doing with their system. They have pivoted quite hard away from their original aspirations of running all of their own venues with uh with their immersive game box system as a standalone installation. They have now been working with other companies on parachuting their uh set up in to uh to venues as a core attraction, uh, as seen with our friends at Gravity Max. And now uh we get the news uh bit by bit uh that they've been sitting on this press release a little bit, and uh we've had to do some digging to get to the heart of the matter. But immersive game box has now released The Game Box, which will be a complete uh product, uh Immersive Arena system, standalone. They're talking about it being self-service, uh, and it will be fascinating to see how many operators now will have to make the decision between a Valo Arena or uh having to go for a game box or having to go for a cubix or having to go for a cube, or you know, you will now see this kind of system as a category. And remember that uh the immersive game box system has quite a selection of licensed IP content on it uh already, and now they're pivoting their model away from an attendant-driven system to a uh self-service, swipe your card and jump in as you walk past it, as you're on your way to the laser tag at an FEC or an entertainment venue. We will now see if this uh product can survive on its own two legs in this category.

SPEAKER_00 55:01

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, will be interesting. They are coming into a fairly competitive market, but at the same time, um, you know, they I feel like they really needed to ship uh uh to shake things up in order to continue to remain relevant.

SPEAKER_02 55:17

For all of the other platforms I've mentioned, they're uh they're not saddled with the albatross around their neck of very high IP uh fees for the licenses that they've uh they've acquired. I feel that Immersive Game Box has got quite a lot of uh licensed IP content there that has to uh prove its worth. And again, I would argue that the content that works in a standalone attraction, how they've been running the system previously, will need to have some modification if it's going to be deployed in an amusement style uh application. And my bully wick again about what's the gameplay like and what's the compelling repeat visitation aspect will have to be proven with this. Because this now cannot be just a one-and-done game experience if you're parachuting something like this, game boxed into an entertainment facility. It has to be a wow, that was a great environment, that was a great experience, let's do it again. And I still can't answer the big question about how they're going to be vending the hats uh for the experience and stuff like that. Hopefully, again uh in September, these questions will be answered uh at IALPA.

Museums Add VR Without Going Permanent

SPEAKER_02 56:34

Moving on, and we touched upon this a little bit in uh open and shut that the Smithsonian has uh added their name to the list of uh museum and gallery facilities that are incorporating a VR or virtual adventure system uh into their mix. Uh again, the Washington, DC Smithsonian facility there has put in a free roaming experience, which is a kind of a tour of the universe, get to know the universe kind of uh walkaround experience for groups. Uh and it's been developed by uh Virtual Worlds in partnership with uh our friends at FIVA. And again, what we touched upon in uh Open and Shut, this is yet another VR experience that is being supported by Fever. Again, we're not quite sure if this is a permanent or a semi-permanent uh installation.

SPEAKER_00 57:32

Yeah, well, you know, I think one of the great things about these this type of application for a museum is that museums have on a regular basis swap out exhibitions and exhibits. And so something like this can be temporary, um, even if it's temporary for a nine-month or 12-month run, but they you know, they historically will bring in new temporary exhibitions and then bring in something new for that particular space. And so that gives them a chance to generate some additional revenue, have a really unique experience, test it out without having to really feel like they're having to go all in on something that's permanent.

SPEAKER_02 58:08

Agreed.

Hasbro Experiments With Monopoly Dining

SPEAKER_02 58:11

Moving on, and Hasbro, uh, you know, you can call this the transmedia moment uh of uh the this particular uh sound off. We are looking at Hasbro really doubling down on its transmedia investment uh uh in some surprising directions. We knew about uh their Brazil plan for a uh transformer uh attraction or visitor experience, uh, but then we've also woken up to the news that uh the Monopoly brand uh after Monopoly Live is now going to be Monopoly Steakhouse. Uh someone in Hasbro's uh experience operation that obviously has been to the hospitality trade show and decided that they needed to partner with a famous steakhouse uh mogul uh and to come up with the Monopoly Steakhouse. To coin a phrase I heard on social media, uh when I'm playing Monopoly, I don't usually have an urge for a full steak dinner. But uh I'm sure that uh this brand uh could be turned into something that would be appealing to uh an audience, uh a diverse audience.

SPEAKER_00 59:31

This just sounds stupid. Uh I mean I just don't I don't understand uh have a really great steakhouse. Uh I don't I don't know what unless there's like seven steakhouses along this road where they need a differentiation, and so they've paid IP licensing fees to Hasbro uh for for this. Now I will say some of their they've gone all in. I've got on their site here, I'll share like they've gone all in on the branding for uh for Monopoly, and you know, kudos to them, I guess, for not um you know, not not shrinking from it. Uh, but you look at their F and B, even their desserts are fully Monopoly themed. They've got drinks, their cocktails in a Monopoly silver boot, um, and other drinks in the Monopoly vehicles. So like there's some real serious cash uh being spent to enhance this monopoly experience. And uh, you know, okay, I guess um it is uh it's a swing uh for sure. Um I feel like you could have a really great steakhouse without necessarily having a in a monopoly immersive experience.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:43

The only caveat I will use here is that we've seen a other brand, uh more of a transmedia brand, uh, create a unique dining experience based on their IP with an ulterior motive. And that was our friends at Netflix who uh had the Netflix bite concept, which raised a number of eyebrows at the time, only for us to know that they were using this as a landing strip to work out how they were going to then incorporate uh branded and theme themality of food dining into their bigger picture. Are we about to see a Hasbro house uh which will incorporate a dining component and all of that? And this is being used as a as a test phase. I don't know. I don't want to read too much into it. It is an interesting one, and let's hope uh that uh the stake is uh not uh banker quality, prison quality, go to jail, have a stake kind of thing. But we it it's an interesting one all the same. Our friends at uh Five Irons Golf have added their name to the list of tournament operators. We have other um competitive socializing venues that have internal tournament capability to their operation. Uh, I think of the tournament feature that Electric Shuffle has, uh, as well as uh, I think our friends at Top Golf also have uh a tournament app supported component. Well, uh Five Irons is doing the same for their golf simulation component, and they're running big tournament games uh with uh big prizes, uh, all launched off of an app, all trying to breed the most important component of uh competitive socializing, which is repeat visitation. Um having your score beaten or getting involved with a championship where there's prizes on the line is a compelling way to get people to come back again and again, and also to bring new people to the uh mix. And we're looking forward to seeing how this works in practice.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:55

Yeah, one I'm not uh I'm surprised it took as long as it did to implement uh these guys. So good to see. Uh should be interesting and certainly is compelling.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:06

It begs the question for the other venues why they don't have their own tournament system. And again, it goes back to my earlier statement about gamification and understanding the entertainment experience you're offering, but I don't want to belie the point too much.

AI Cameras And Venue Operations Shift

SPEAKER_02 1:03:21

Chuck E. Cheese following behind our friends in Gender uh with uh the reveal that they're going to be using uh uh AI technology um towards uh the policing, the structuring, uh the general operation of their facilities. These cameras will be checking on uh the prevention of theft and loss from the facility. They will be also uh uh checking on the operation, the flow and the management, uh and they have dedicated uh ArchieNak. Uh Archinak, yes, I think, would uh for uh is a software package or a full uh firmware package that will be applied across all of their key sites using AI technology uh as well as uh a lot of um data collection to help better uh achieve a more operational experience.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:22

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:24

Uh touches upon what we were saying with uh the digital investment that uh our friends at uh Genda had been doing across the Gaigo sites. Yeah. We will see other venues do this. Most of this will be tra uh will be opaque to us because uh most operations won't be revealing that they are actually using this type of technology. But here we go.

China AAA Expo Trend Report

SPEAKER_02 1:04:47

And to finally the talking point, and uh you know, I've been away for a couple of days now in the glories of China. Um I would like to thank the uh operation team uh at uh the Asian amusement and attraction show in Garjong. It is a show I have uh presented at a couple of times before, and uh you know the experience just gets bigger each time uh I'm there. We were lucky enough to be invited uh to be one of the keynote speakers at the uh the summits that were being run on the show floor at the same time uh as the exhibition, if you're not familiar. You know, we're talking a vast uh entertainment uh uh exhibition, much bigger than the uh the the fest that is IALPA in Orlando. It it is multiple halls, uh over 4,000 exhibitors, vast number, and you know, over 200,000 attendees. It is split into various areas. And it is a slog to be able to get around and grab all the trends and information as well as present at the event, as well as attend many of the mixes that were going on. But we've I wanted to share a snapshot of what we captured while we were there. So the the World Summit is kind of an educational, it's a two-way street, really, from my point of view. The organizers invite uh individuals from the international and uh local Chinese sector to present to an audience mixed up of operators, executives, and new entrants into the market. So it's also part of an educational program, and we get to present on trends and technology. Well attended, all of the different uh ones, specific on VR, specific on theme park attraction, specific on amusement and application. Uh I would also like to uh thank the organizers for uh awarding us the Thoughts Leadership Participation Award. Only joking. The the issue here is that it you actually feel compared to many of the times when I'm doing presentations, where I feel sometimes I'm preaching to the choir, uh on this particular occasion I am presenting to a clean slate of uh executives and developers that are eager, hungry to know more about the international market. In many cases, they don't have the access to the research and development that we have to compile for our Western clients. That said, I really uh would like to congratulate all the speakers for the depth of information. We were lucky enough to have uh uh some uh some individuals from Fun Labs uh come over from Australia to give us some details on uh their application into uh the market. We had some of the leading Chinese uh amusement developers as well as the VR developers. But uh that that was the core reason why I was dragged kicking and screaming out there. Uh the secondary, of course, was for the products and for the trends. The amusement mix there was vast. Adam has done a fantastic job in going into detail over what was seen at the show. Uh, and I'm not going to repeat that again. I'm just going to try and talk about some of the aspects that uh uh weren't touched upon then and also stood out to me. Copying, uh emulation, whatever you want to call it, it is clear that the Chinese amusement manufacturers have developed a number of products that uh in the lineup that we will be seeing in the next couple of months coming into the Western market that borrow heavily from uh Western releases uh from uh last year and the beginning of this year. How the market deals with that, uh the Western market deals with that, how much is an emulation or uh a copy, and is there anything to do to address these facts, or even if anyone cares and they just uh focused on the ROI and the coin box, uh those are those are issues that need to be policed. And we I think uh at IAPA September and Ayalpa November, we will kind of see a denominator of where where the Western market feels about the emulation from the Asian market and how they can work together. We've been here before on this kind of problem. We had exactly the same situation in the 80s between the American amusement and the Japanese amusement sector. So we will find a way. That's always common. One of the uh elements that uh Adam didn't have enough time to touch upon, which I wanted to draw our attention to, was the appearance of uh amusement attractions or what I used to call mid-scale attractions. These are amusement products that are built on a much bigger scale to be an attraction in their own right, their own immersive enclosure kind of system. Uh, and our friends at Wallap had uh the Monster i3 system set up like that. I'm just pointing this one out because it reminded me very much of the uh uh Deadstorm pirate uh mid-scale attraction, the big machine from uh the early noughties. And I'm wondering if we're going to see a resurgence of that type of approach. We really are now at the cusp of the deployment of the LED uh project, the anti-projection screen LED enclosure system. Uh we had a number of examples on the show floor uh at AAA that you know really proved that the uh micro LED display panel systems are versatile and very compelling uh for um 4D ride theatre and flying, soaring kinds of uh theatre installations. I've never seen so many installed, and I am sure that our friends in the projection industry are sweating bricks, if not bullets, uh, over the appearance of this technology because the prices are down, comparable if not better than uh projection, offering a wider versatility, uh, and also some interesting applications, domes made from LEDs, curved or tube style immersive tunnels made from LED technology. Very compelling, very compelling. FX. I was surprised to see uh uh cues upon cues of uh uh eager participants to get in uh get into one of a number of uh 4D theatres that were running at the show. And I was wondering why they were wearing Pac-Macks. Uh well, the wet 4D ride seems to be the thing that we're going to be experiencing in the uh market as a new trend uh or genre, as it were, and we're talking about deluge. Uh, you get into the simulator and you're taken on a uh sea voyage and water is thrown at you. Uh it's a quite a compelling experience. Uh, it seems to be managed well, and everybody that was coming out of these experiences seemed to enjoy it profusely. So uh uh watch this space. I am interested to see how much this would fit into the Western market's approach, and I'm hoping that some of these systems will be brought over uh for uh IELPA, uh especially Orlando. I would really like to see if this is going to be the next genre on top of the soaring kind of uh 4D simulation experience. And again, it is uh using the the latest of the compact uh motion 4D theatre attraction systems, so they can really throw interesting FX at you and um drenched after the sorry the non-flume ride drenched simulator experience, maybe something in our future.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:27

Yeah, interesting. It's like a carrying on it's like a small footprint log flume, uh uh dark ride. Yeah, interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:36

Yeah, and and this and this is one of four of the different ones that were dotted around the show. So though I'm only using maybe one or two examples in these pictures, there were many examples of these systems uh to show that it is more of a trend than just a one-off. VR was still there. Anyone that says that uh VR wasn't as big as some previous uh years, I I beg to differ. Compared to last year, I would actually argue that there was a little bit more VR at the show. And it was interesting that that additional VR was coming from arena VR systems, free roaming. Last year at AAA, and mainly across most of the Chinese facilities, we weren't seeing major manufacturers developing free roaming VR experiences. Well, now they have fully uh brought into that technology and they are throwing all of their resources at developing those. And we, you know, I have list upon list upon list that we'll go into in the uh Stinger report coverage showing how much the Chinese are going to be playing their part in the VR arena as well as the virtual adventure market. And uh I think this could be a new face of the sector, though again it's dependent on how much the operational model works on the revenue. Technology coming back and biting us again. Uh, I was interested, I grabbed a picture of this particular system because it just brought back memories uh of uh you know the beachhead VR machine from the 1990s. It is that what was old technology is new again. This is that periscope system where it isn't really virtual reality head-mounted display, but you're looking through a periscope visor, uh, a battle zone kind of approach to the VR entertainment experience. And I can see this system, especially as it's the next generation of the gun visor shooting VR experiences that we've seen in the market uh finding favor with some operators. Another blast from the past was actually seeing a 360 rotational uh VR machine uh and then suddenly being uh transported back in history and remembering the Sega R360. Uh, it offers a compelling experience. The R360 was a very popular machine in its time, and uh, if handled right and distributed right, I wouldn't be surprised in seeing this type of system also making some waves. Though uh again, uh I can only vouch for watching people ride it. I did not have the guts to ride it myself on this occasion. VR being transported into mixed reality, that crossover was writ large. We have companies now taking VR carting to the next level. Companies like Lecce VR and others that had uh systems using the latest uh e-carts uh linked into virtual reality experiences was one approach. Though the second approach, and the one that was much more prevalent on the show floor, was the projection-mapped uh bumper car and karting experience. You know, what has been started a few years ago by battle carts, now everybody is producing their own interpretation of either a bumper car or a karting experience using projection mapping. Maybe this is the redoubt for the projection industry as they lose the uh their hold on the 4D market, uh they can uh uh salve their pain by putting all of their energy into the uh projection mapped carting scene. Uh mixed reality also being used in uh RC games. Uh I quite like these. Uh it's not a new technology, it's been played with over the years, uh, but now uh what some people called AR uh racing games, I like to call mixed reality racing games. What we have is a radio controlled vehicle with a camera, and what the camera sees off the bonnet of the vehicle is represented on the driving sim rig. There are a number of examples at the show, and I feel that the technology has come along enough that it is uh compelling as well as cost-effective, and we can thank the drone racing scene for a lot of the technology now being cost-effective to be deployed in this kind of approach. It's it's a two-way street. It's both interesting to watch the vehicles driving around the uh miniature racetrack as much as it is compelling to race the vehicles. And, you know, I I feel that this is something we need to look at in our market uh for utilizing dead space by having this kind of uh platform.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:37

Yeah, the one, I mean, I no, I don't typically chime in too much on your uh your talking points, but the one thing I'll just mention about this that I think is is really compelling is you know, we talk about uh making sure your especially your arcades and and amusement pieces are uh have a spectator component. And this is like a fidgetal experience where the spectators actually get to watch like physical cars move around on a on a themed track, and then you get to race those cars through a virtual uh you know racing rig. And so I really think it's super compelling and enhances that spectator aspect significantly.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:17

Yeah, I uh you know, for transparency's sake, I have to hold my hands up. I when I was at uh Walt Disney Imagination, we worked on a live uh RC controlled game concept. Uh it was a kind uh rather than racing around, it was a kind of uh a maze game using uh little trucks, an Indiana Jones-based uh maze game. The technology was very early then, so early that uh the attraction nearly burnt itself down. Uh but now we're at a point where it is easy to operate, very compelling, and as you've hit the nail on the head, offers that audience experience. Just think of a uniquely themed race course that can be updated constantly by changing the models. Uh, and so one day you're racing in the Alps, the next day you're racing around a city, and all you have to do is change the model work. Uh, and then suddenly you can see that this could prove a very strong draw to your facility. Robots, robots, robots, they were everywhere. Um, I have never seen so many humanoid robots being employed uh at an exhibition, and this is our future. They were used in the uh presentation or the performance. Uh, all of the stage uh activity was uh uh started by a dance troupe of robots going through their paces. Really compelling, very audience-friendly and very enjoyable. Um, and these are the latest generation of the humanoid robots. I was surprised how advanced these systems were compared to what I've been researching. And then we also now have the service robots, where there are a number of ice cream, coffee, uh, and other service vending kiosks using uh touchscreens and robotic arms and offering a high level of service, as well as the new generation of art creation systems. Uh, we have a robot there that uh, you know, the kid goes up to the robot, the robot says uh cheese, uh captures your picture and then draws uh a caricature of you uh and hands it to you for payment. This this is very compelling, this is very interesting, and this is also the future we need to be mindful of uh regarding service robot applications in venues. One surprise for me, uh we've talked about live play before in Japan and its attempts to be established in Europe, the usage of uh webcam and special software so you can play via an app, uh, redemption machines, train machines, uh novelty. We've now started to see the first applications of these dropped into the Chinese market, and I expect this to explode. I expect this to be very big, especially now that we also see that they're using the live play systems not just for redemption machines, but also for the pachinko and the metal machine uh or coin pusher type machines. It'll be very interesting to see if this technology will be applied on a much larger scale in China and if that could have a boomerang effect and then come back into the Western market for another go-round. And one of the aspects about uh the AAA show is that it's it has a number of other components to it, along with the tourism and the leisure, there's the theme park and the attraction, along with the attractions, there's also the um the licensing and IP. Virtual reality, as I said, had its own dedicated hall, as well as having its own dedicated hall, billiards. And the billiards and the amusement industry are kind of hand in glove in the Chinese market, and the billiards market is a vast multi-billion dollar business for the Chinese sector, and it showed they really did have a vast showing at the event. I only had a very brief time to zip around. Billiards isn't my uh penchant. I uh I'm just interested how much it uh has uh an investment in the amusement side uh and the entertainment side, and then surprise, surprise, uh how much it's applying technology. Now, many of you will remember that I was at the pool house uh uh mixed reality uh competitive socializing venue a couple of weeks ago. Well, surprise, surprise, we're seeing uh that projection mapping technology already being uh deployed into the Asian market with a number of examples. But also we're seeing the next generation of uh billiards using not just um camera tracking of the balls uh for scoring, but they're also incorporating AI now into that scoring so you can have live tournament play and uh scoring information and gamification added. And then round the sides of your table, you know, you've got the availability of putting some LED screens. I'm not quite sure what the fidgetal billiards table brings to the table, but it was an interesting investment in technology for this particular game. Uh just on uh finally, uh the key points, active entertainment was big, big, big, big, a lot of soft play, uh a lot of slides, a lot of active entertainment ropes, uh pedal power, climbing walls. We also had quite a few, what I would say, emulators of the virtual arena, camera vision kind of experience. We had a lot of examples of interactive floor systems, we had a lot of uh examples of projection map, ball pits, uh, and game environments. And we saw sports tainment actually being talked about uh for deployment into the Chinese market, and that was quite a surprise for me uh that uh what we're seeing here in the Western market has already made landfall in the Chinese market so quickly and so established. As I said, 4,000 uh exhibitors, very sore feet from the multiple halls, you know, 240,000 attendees can't be wrong. You know, for three and a half days worth of show, that is amazing. And everything that we saw at that show will soon be turning up uh into our market straight away. So this is a valuable snapshot of the sector. I would like to thank uh all of the exhibitors that I met, as well as the hospitality from the uh uh organizers while we were out there. Um it is clear that the Chinese market is much more than just uh uh a workhorse for uh Western manufacturers to depend on, it is becoming its own standalone environment. And I bring up the point that I witnessed firsthand from walking around the show, which was the Russian attendance. Russia, as you know, uh under the current sanctions following the Ukraine war, uh, have not been able to come to the Western market to buy machines. And I was speaking to one Western distributor saying that that was about 10% of his business as a European distributor came from Russian facility operators and distributors. Those individuals now, the Russian side, are buying direct. And a lot of the people, Westerners walking around uh the show uh this year, as well in previous years, were from Russian or countries that were affiliated to those that were buying direct. But also this year we were seeing a lot of Western distributors as well as operators attending the show towards buying direct. And this is something that is very concerning for the future of our businesses, which is buying direct from the Chinese market, even under the uh the issues of tariffs and uh uh the imports and stuff like that, still shows us how important this market's product range is towards the future and how this will have reverberations through the distribution market in the West, as well as where all of these products go, because one of the things about purchasing products for facilities in the amusement side is that you only Have those products for about nine to twenty-four months uh before they have to be replaced because they've lost their shine and uh uh players want something new. If we're now looking at the market pivoting towards a direct sale uh kind of approach, and that will turn uh uh the House of Cards on its head, it will be interesting to see how much of this is reflected in Ayalpa Asia that will be taking place in a couple of weeks' time in Hong Kong, uh, and how much of what we saw at AAA will migrate across ILPA Asia, Ayalpa Europe, and Ayalpa North America. Anyway, Brandon, I zipped through that. Uh any comments or points that you want to reframe on?

SPEAKER_00 1:28:47

No, I mean I think the only thing I'll say is this is definitely a show that uh I feel uh that uh you know I feel a little bit of FOMO. And so um looking forward to attending next year. And um, you know, I was I was literally in China like just the week earlier. So if uh you know next time I'll try to align my trips a little bit better if I can, but uh but definitely miss attending the show and I look forward to going there uh you know going there next year for the first time.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:18

Well, it'd be really helpful if you could do that, especially if I'm presenting again next year. Uh I would love to do a uh sound off from the show floor for a change. It would be amazing.

Upcoming Events And Where To Connect

SPEAKER_02 1:29:30

So it is very arduous. Anyway, uh just to wind down now, uh Amusement World Expo is uh a month away as we record this, uh off to California soon. Uh we have some breaking news that uh Synthesis VR, the uh leading distributor of VR content, will be exhibiting, having a taking a major position at the event. We also can confirm that uh our friends at Dave and Busters will also be uh presenting at the event uh a very uh detailed thought leadership uh observation on the application of mixed reality and XR into their business model going forwards, which uh I'm looking forward to uh moderating that particular session. Uh obviously, we also have VR Cave and Pico and uh Snap uh and Qualcomm as key exhibitors. This is the event for the industry, and we have a mixer planned for the uh LBE XR scene that is being incorporated into this year's events going forwards. Uh and be there or be square. It's uh really uh you know, taking the time in June to come to uh the uh the event, I think will be valuable for a lot of our friends in the uh XR sector. Anyway, that's more than enough for me. Uh hit me up on LinkedIn. Um also look at our Facebook, Friends with the Stinger Report. We have some nice pictures that we've grabbed from the uh AAA show. We have some Stinger Reports coming out. We will have a very detailed Stinger report covering the show coming out, and we also have some entertainment social arena issues too. Anyway, that's more than enough from me.

Closing And Next Sound Off

SPEAKER_00 1:31:22

Perfect, perfect. All right, well, that was a very robust but uh but solid sound off. And uh thank you so much for your coverage on uh the AAA Expo as well, and uh looking forward to the next sound off next week.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:36

See you next week.

Brandon Willey

Host