Alexander Petrov of Brunswick/KidsPlay told InterGame at the recent RAAPA show in Moscow, Russia, that business was “picking up well.”
Brunswick/KidsPlay is one of Russia’s largest distributors of amusement games. “The winter months are traditionally slow here,” he said. “However, in March it usually gets going again and this year has been no exception. This should now continue until the end of the year.” He added that the number of projects requiring amusement products in the country is increasing. “Shopping malls are still opening and most of them have FECs. The difference is that most of these openings are taking place in the regions rather than the big cities.
“Large cities like Moscow are reaching saturation point but there is still a lot of potential in the provinces, so we are actively seeking out easier opportunities in the regions. There are a lot of people living in the regions who are prepared to invest in amusements.
“These are, of course, smaller projects, but there are more of them. So, before there were big projects but they were fewer in number. Now there are a higher number of smaller projects, so business in general is the same, if not steadily increasing.
The company is a distributor for around 20 manufacturers, including Sega, Bay-Tek, Namco, ICE, Adrenaline, Coastal, Tecway and Unis. “We use these manufacturers in most of the projects we are involved in,” said Petrov. “Video and redemption are a must for these projects – no amusement centre in Russia can do without them.”
He said that the majority of FEC revenue now comes from redemption, but that video still has an important role as a ‘showpiece’ to attract customers. “Most of our projects involved a combination of the two, usually about 25 per cent video and 75 per cent redemption.”
