The Stinger Report #1269 - Asian Amusement Focus - Part 1

China's rapidly expanding amusement, XR, and attraction sectors, which are driving significant investment into next-generation attractions with growing influence on Western markets. Key trends include the resurgence of immersive VR/AR experiences, innovative racing and shooting simulators, and the integration of live remote play and eSports. Chinese manufacturers are increasingly partnering with Western distributors, signaling a shift in global supply chains. The AAA’26 Expo highlighted robust technological innovation, with a focus on multi-screen simulators, advanced VR hardware, and licensing opportunities, though questions remain about the long-term costs and regulatory hurdles associated with these rapid developments. 

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Transcript

Report Setup And The Big Question

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This is the Stinger Report, Issue No. 1269, Asian Amusement Focus, Part 1, by Kevin Williams. The first part of exclusive coverage from one of China's largest amusement, attraction, and XR conventions, initially looking at the vast investment on the next generation of amusement attractions. Much of this new investment will be directly finding its way into the Western market and fueling the growth of the business. But at what cost? China Entertainment Rising. It would be impossible to ignore the ascendance of the Chinese amusement trade in defining trends and development in the Western market. And it was with much interest that the Stinger Report accepted an invitation to return to attend the largest amusement, leisure, tourism, and attraction conventions in this region. The 22nd

AAA Expo Scale And Show Layout

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Asia Amusement and Attractions Expo, AAA, 2026, held from May 10 to 12th at the China Import and Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China is not a single event, but a conglomeration of symbiotic leisure tourism and licensing expos. This includes the 23rd World Culture and Tourist Industry Expo and World Amusement and Attractions Development Summit, WAS. These summits held on the show floor, acting as an educational primer for the Chinese entrepreneurs and executives. This saw the invitation once again extended to the publisher of the Stinger Report and owner of KWP to present on trends shaping the international LBEXR sector as a leading immersive entertainment specialist. This was the fourth occasion that we have traveled to China to attend the AAA Expo, and we were grateful to once again be part of the opening ceremony and present a keynote at the summit. We were doubly honored to be awarded at the accompanying Gala event their Thought Leadership Award. This was totally unexpected and rammed home the impact that the Stinger Report has had over its long history outside of our more established regions in the West. We would like to thank all involved in supporting our attendance at the Expo and for their hospitality. The AAA 26 show is broken into roughly six core sections, including an extensive amusement component, tourism slash attractions, leisure, and even halls dedicated to billiards equipment. More on that later. The other two included IP licensing and XR, a whole hall dedicated to the latest VR, AR, and MR developments, underpinning that this technology is far from dead in the Asian sector. Overall, the show represented some 4,000 exhibitors split over 20 halls, an amazing achievement by the event organizers. Amusement

Warlap Racers Shooters And Music Games

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Impact, regarding the amusement component and the leading exhibitors and trendmakers across the AAA 26 halls, included Warlap Technology, the Chinese Powerhouse giving center stage to NBA Superstar, the Raw Thrills Developed Amusement Release, redeveloped for the Chinese market. Within this updated version that will be represented by Warlap, the game features player card vending, along with an extensive regional tournament feature seeing prize competition being run during the show. Also on the booth was a brand new version of the popular racer with Aspalt 9 Legend Arcade Plus in DX Cabinet with Motion Version, and in support was Asphalt Moto Blitzer Plus, a motorbike variant of the new game. A common trend now seen with the driving cab supported by a ride-on motorbike variant. Days after AAA 26, it was revealed that LAI Games would be bringing this latest edition of the racer to the North American market. The companion racer trend reflected on the wall-up booth with Storm Racer 2, the sequel to the popular Street Racer in a vertical big-screen configuration. Alongside the line of racers was an example of the new Rydian variant of the game from a motorbike perspective. Leading the trend of new shooters seen at AAA 26 and Demon Hunter 1892, from Warlap offers a two-player metal recoiling pistol with big-screen demonic blasting action. The game offering House of the Dead vibes and looked to be a gory shooting game against vampiric enemies. This felt like a game that could see a strong Western release, though would need appropriate certification. Overlooked by many attendees at the expo, but pointing to the return of the interactive 4D experience was Monster Eye 3 Plus, offered as a theater enclosure variant to the popular bench shooter. Two motion seat units offering four-player action, shooting at a single large screen in a theater configuration. This reminiscent of the 2009 Deadstorm Pirate 4D Plus version developed by Namco. In a market inundated by mid-scale new 4D theaters, WALAP seemed to be testing the waters for their own attraction offering. The partnerships WALLAP has established to represent certain releases in the Chinese scene was also reflected on the booth, with the new MyMaiDX 2026 music touchscreen game being played, along with Tunited keyboard game from Sega. Also on the booth was Jubeat 2026, the latest version of the Konami Bamani button music game, a brand new all-white upright cabinet design to the button music game. Being rolled out across the Asian market. There were several examples of the popular Asian music game series from other manufacturers across the AAA 26 show floor, continued proof of the drawing power of the games and associated tournament play. Still on the Warlap booth and the latest version of initial D Arcade, the Bandai Namco Experience Street Racer shown on the Warlap booth, representing the latest in the series for the Chinese market, Warlap also represented the Bandia Pokemon Mesastar Card Battler video game on display, a machine that on the surface would feel an obvious shoe-in for Western release, but would also be a licensing nightmare.

Bandai Namco And Western Deal Hunting

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Moving away from WAHLAP representation and Bandai Namco Experience had their own Expo booth representing their range of new releases. Many of the Bandai Namco amusement pieces were also represented on the adjoining Techway booth. The majority of these we have already covered in previous coverage from the Japanese and North Amusement events, but this was a strong indication of the importance of the region. The booth run by the Bandai Namco Hong Kong Experience team, but also walking the AAA 26 show floor were representatives from Bandai Namco Amusement Europe, BNAE, indicating the Western interest to acquire representation of the latest hotness seen from the extensive Chinese manufacturing pool. Obviously, BNAE was not the only representation at the show, with their colleagues from Sega Amusement International, SAI, also walking the floor, along with working extensively with key Chinese manufacturers on new Western releases, as were manufacturers like Raw Thrills and distributors like UDC, all front and center at this Chinese extravaganza. Another

Unis And Ace Push New Cabinets

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major amusement exhibitor was Unis Technology. Their booth included the production version of Cyberpunk 2077 Arcade, the final version of the futuristic motorcycle racer and brawler, with the updated play features from the IP prototype that we reported on from AEI 26 back in March. Other final versions of new releases on the Unis booth included Ski Hero, the skiing game reminiscent of the classic Namco Alpine Racer from 1995. The game had hoped to have been debuted at AEI 26, but was one of several victims of shipping difficulties into the States during March. The Uni's AAA 26 booth also had a brand new multi-screen street racer, Turbo Nova. The game is expected to be shown in its final international colours at IAAPA26, which AAA 26 reveals will be filled with DX-style racers heavily trending with manufacturers this year. Moving on to the other major amusement exhibitors, and Ace Amusement seemed to be building on their access to the Western market towards creating hybrid releases borrowing from the lessons learned. For example, they showed Dragon Kingdom, a motion seat VR tethered experience that seemed to borrow heavily from the Raw Thrills King Kong VR. While at the same time, ACE presented their new Jet Fighter cockpit game, Thunder Jets, that borrowed also from the previous Raw Thrills Top Gun release, though using a yoke rather than joystick, and more eclectic air combat action. We will have to wait and see the reaction to these two titles from the Western sector. We were getting flashbacks to the US versus Japan situation from the late 1980 amusement scene regarding this sincere form of imitation, regarding more original innovation and ACE showed cold trigger, a four-player shooter using the innovative multifunction shooting feature, with the gun able to be detached from a mount to shoot like a normal pistol, the machine gun mount including a sniper mini-screen, impressive graphics and fast-paced military shooter feeding off the Battlefield PvP game vibe, a vibe that would appeal to the modern amusement audience in the West, we feel. Another shooting spectacular given pride of place on the booth was the new Ultraman shooter from Ace, licensed from Tsubuya Productions. No word if this game will get Western support, especially as the IP is lesser known in that territory. Also shown on the Ace booth was the new racer Hover Rush, employing multiple screen and motion cockpit. Alongside the other new Ace driving title, Racing Extreme, and new Biker's Madness, a ride-on, twin-player motion motorbike frame. Ace obviously represented in the Western market, especially through their partnership with UDC in Europe, executives from the operation making the trek to China. One of the new races from ACE, Biker's Madness, was revealed at the show, and soon after UDC confirmed they would be selling the system in UK, EU and UAE markets. Developer 3 Mindwave had their own booth on the AAA 26 show floor, though only showing previously released titles, but they did have new developments at the show. The company working very closely with Sega Amusement International on releases such as Alpha Op VR Strike, the Gunvisor VR approach trending, emulated by other exhibitors across the show floor. Moving away from this approach, 3 Mindwave's new release was a more traditional shooting game called Aegis Unbound. The four-player game used a novel large portal-shaped LED display for the Fantasy Blaster. The game was shown on the HY Technologies booth, but no word on a Western release.

Sanctions Shift Demand Toward China

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Along with these Western executives, a major contingent of executives from the Indian operation and distribution scene were present, along with a considerable representation from the Russian amusement trade. The Russian attendance indicating the importance that the Chinese trade represents to the continuation of their business in the face of sanction conditions. Western distributors' loss of market access, Chinese manufacturers' gain. One well-placed UK distributing source confirmed that the closure of access to the Russian market saw a 10% impact on lost business to them. Continuing the amusement aspects of AAA 26 and racing simulators were the big ticket items at the show once again. Uto Games had on their booth chasing speed, offering an amusement interpretation of a realistic F1 racing rig with a laid-back racing position and a very realistic multi-function race wheel supported by motion, a system crossing the boundaries between arcade racer and realistic F1 simulator and should prove of interest to several Western operators. The company also had their own multi-screen space blaster aimed more for Chinese audiences, along with presenting their Panzer enclosure shaped like an APC, players able to sit inside and play Gun Visor VR games within this attraction enclosure. Moving further into the amusement halls and the more obscure Chinese manufacturers, and Skyfun had a strong showing at AAA 26 with their new shooter, Elite Sniper, along with their new peak speed multi-screen racer. The offering of an esports-style racing experience was represented in the licensing and branding side of AAA 26 from Maisto and Barago. Their booth promoting the creation of pop-up race sim installations, promoting the brand and offering Paddocks Club as an entertainment installation. Exhibitor Race Bear also showed their Race SIM setup and promoted their tournament system supporting their networked racer. Competition plays on amusement releases looking to be in the ascendance for the region, a trend that will hopefully bleed off into other territories. It was interesting to see so many race sim products now available through Chinese manufacturers

Racing Simulators And Tournament Play Surge

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presented at the amusement show. This event taking place the same month as in the U.S., the Sim Racing Expo at Charlotte, North Carolina was held. Powered by D Box and with a selection of the latest race rigs and presentations from leading providers. The Race Sim sector continues to offer prosumer interest while new generation of race lounge venues start to flourish. Many looking at the investment into F1 arcade venues as an impetus. Even this market still burns a candle for high-end VR application, an example of which was the latest PIMAX Dream Air SE PC VR headset being displayed at the Expo. Many racing lounges continuing to offer VR-configured race rigs to their clientele. Regarding this sector and Xcape Entertainment Group announced a strategic partnership with CHE Group to focus on expanding immersive technology-driven entertainment opportunities across Australia and New Zealand. Xcape Entertainment have developed corporate entertainment pop-ups based on race sim installations, while CHE, as an advisory in hospitality entertainment and cinema, has already represented in the region Topgolf, Batfast, Kidsania, and the Rec Room, along with other properties.

Classic Cabinets Live Play And Remote Apps

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Returning to AAA 26, and another aspect of the Chinese show was the interesting platforms being exhibited. This included the appearance of SNK property represented on the Yongli U-Booth, with their superconsole range of cabinets offering games such as Samurai Showdown and Metal Slug, along with a deluxe cab running King of Fighters 50 Fun. No information was available if this was a direct license from SNK Japan or a special licensing agreement just for this region. One interesting aspect of the growing trend migration into the Chinese sector was seen with an example of live play machines. Amusement prize machines able to be played remotely from an app. On the Dianwan Lian Meng booth, some working examples linked up to an app were in operation. Live play gaming expected to gain continued momentum in the Chinese scene. While live play is not new to Western markets, it has not taken off to the level of Japanese application, and this new Chinese approach may ignite new interest.

VR Hall Shows Tethered VR Momentum

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VR continues to impress. One hall of the vast exhibition had been dedicated to VR developments, hall 8.1 VR slash AR and tourist products. Though many other exhibitors across the multiple amusement halls included their own VR hardware offering, starting the exclusive rundown of representations, Framestone's booth included a mounted headset game system that ignited memories of the global VR Vortech from 1999. The players looking through the mounted weight relief system, looking round the virtual world, an old approach given a new lease of life with improved visual fidelity. The machine was a three-player and seemed to build on the proven gun-mounted visor genre. We hope that this product is given a Western test to see if lightning can strike again. The company also had the original Framestone Cannon, the large artillery prop shooting cabinet that has been rebranded Gijo for the US market. Amusement VR applications were also seen from manufacturers such as Daca VR, who had their new Ace Rider motorcycle racer using a tethered VR headset, along with their children-focused ostrich racer also using a tethered VR headset. The company also had an environmental motion cabinet with a haunted fairground slash manic clown narrative with tethered VR. These games felt like what we like to call Phase 2, tethered VR amusement, being superseded by Phase 3, Free Roaming Arena products.