The success of this year’s IAAPA Attractions Expo, which comes to a close today, suggests that the US amusement industry is getting back on track.
Held once again at the mammoth Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the 2013 edition of IAAPA has broken floor-space records and, although attendance figures are not yet available, the suggestion is that visitor numbers have exceeded expectations.
Interestingly, while the event continues to attract international visitors in their thousands, this year’s show has seen a resurgence in the number of domestic visitors – affirming the widely held belief that the US market has turned a corner. Those in attendance are believed to be in the mood to spend money.
Pay-to-play amusements make up just a fraction of the show floor, although the majority of exhibitors InterGame spoke with stated that this is the most important show for the sector and provides the best platform for launching new equipment to the international market.
Among those unveiling new games for the first time were Namco, whose Mach Storm game has been drawing crowds of players all week, and Sega, which bookended its enormous booth with two product releases – Transformers Human Alliance and Plants vs. Zombies. ICE, Benchmark and LAI Games presented new redemption pieces, while Adrenaline Amusements continues to impress with its latest releases, Jetpack Joyride and Skylanders Cloud Patrol.
Embed, Semnox and Intercard are on hand to present their latest systems technologies to the wider attractions industry, while kiddie ride manufacturers Falgas and Jolly Roger are benefiting from the demand for "younger" attractions.
There are, of course, a variety of weird and wonderful products on display, many of which are surely unlikely to see the light of day in the marketplace. Then again, that is perhaps part of the appeal of this show.
A full report will be included in the December issue of InterGame.
