There was a definite air of celebration as EAG 2024 opened its doors yesterday at ExCeL, London.
Trade association Bacta was marking its 50th anniversary, holding a drinks reception at the end of business on day one. Across the hall, leading distributor UDC was celebrating its 40th anniversary, cracking open the champagne on its stand, which also featured a huge array of new product.
Attendance was excellent on the first day and visitors were treated to a host of new games and innovations.Some eagerly awaited new product appeared on the stand of Electrocoin. The new pinball from Stern based on the iconic film Jaws attracted much attention from visitors, as did the Dance Dance Revolution A from Konami. Other exhibitors at EAG with innovations included JNC, E-Service, Harry Levy, Sega and Reflex Gaming.
While attendance rates were high on the first day of the event, the new start time of 9am was not a complete success, with sparse attendance during the opening hour. However, this is a minor niggle about an event that has moulded itself into a significant marker of the industry’s return to success following the pandemic years.
Pictured are Derek Horwood, the 90-year-old founder of UDC, and his son Mark breaking open the bubbly to mark the company’s 40th year in business.
