This year's JAMMA show, held in Tokyo, Japan, was smaller and quieter than in previous years, according to Sega Entertainment's Cory Haynes, but this allowed visitors that were there enough time and space to see everything on show.
The amusement side of Sega had a large presence at the exhibition, showcasing the Tetris game, which featured a massive DLP and was designed like an oversized game controller featuring a huge joystick with rotate and drop buttons with the central console themed out like Tetris and the UFO Catcher as well as the Hummer in a standard cabinet.
According to Haynes, the UFO Catcher machine continues to be strong and several new versions for larger merchandise and hard goods were on show. "Sega Amusements also showcased its new air hockey game that incorporated a video projector and interacted with the pucks on the playfield - it is a really cool piece," said Haynes. "Tank Tank Tank, a multiple link tank fighting game from Namco, was also on show. The monitor is set vertically so the game can move players through a cityscape fighting spiders and robot dragons. Namco also showed its update for Max Tune 3 with card reader and had a Pirate Ship motion simulator on display, which looked pretty cool."
According to Haynes, Taito had a new shooting game - Elevator Action Death Parade - an interactive shooting game that takes the player through various scenes as the elevator door mechanically opens and closes as the player is trying to shoot.
"Although it was smaller, I have come back with positive feelings and was able to find a few good pieces," said Haynes. "Super sizing of games also seems to be a continuing trend."
