Some of the big names were missing from the Malaga, Spain, trade show which opened its doors on Wednesday at the Malaga Palacio de Ferias y Congresos.

The exhibition was clearly a victim of the severe downturn in the street market in Spain as a result of the recession. Gone were major exhibitors such as R Franco, Zest Gaming, MGA, Global Zitro, Metronia and others.

The show, proper name the Feria Andaluza del Recreativo, was originally a regional trade event for one of the most liberal coin machine jurisdictions in Spain, but developed into a ‘second Spanish national show’ through the early years of this decade, as the Spanish street market has grown.

In the past two or three years, as the market became mature and the recession began to bite, questions over the necessity for another major Spanish event began to emerge.

This year’s show was clearly smaller, perhaps by 30-40 per cent over the 2009 expo, but was well attended by Spanish operators. There was also the usual influx of British, Dutch and German suppliers keen for a share of the large Spanish AWP business.

Hybrid video/reel games dominated the show again with a gradual increase in the influence of video-only games, as the remaining few Spanish provinces yet to approve the use of monitors in AWPs, gradually fall into line.

A full report on the show will appear in InterGame’s April issue.