Namco Bandai continues to play a pivotal role in the amusement industry. Now at the beginning of a new year, Helen Fletcher spoke with subsidiary company Cybertainment to see how it continues stay ahead of the game

Namco has been providing entertainment to the world since 1955 when Masaya Nakamura formed the company in Tokyo, Japan. From the creation of one of the most popular video arcade titles Pac-Man (now considered a retro classic by many) to the Tamagotchi digital virtual pet, Namco has grown into a multi-national corporation involved in many different forms of entertainment.

2005 saw the merger with Bandai, one of the largest toy manufacturers in Japan offering character toys such as Power Rangers and Gundam, creating Namco Bandai Holdings.

Namco Cybertainment is one of the many subsidiary companies under the Bandai Namco Group, which operates coin-operated games in many venues throughout the US. The company is a consolidation of many arcade-operating companies purchased by Namco in the 90s such as Barrel of Fun, Aladdin’s Castle, Time Out and Pocket Change.

Now with about 20,000 games in nearly 1,000 locations, Cybertainment is one of the largest operators in the US. Its location venues include large destination locations such as indoor water parks, theme parks and bowling FECs. It also operates in other venues such as major retail stores, restaurants and theatres. Partner locations include Mall of America’s Nickelodeon Universe, Brunswick Bowling & Billiards and KeyLime Cove water park resort to name a few.

As part of the Namco Group, Cybertainment has the advantage of working directly with Namco America for its products. According to Cybertainment’s vice president of business development, Darin Pilcher, 2009 was a very good year with regard to product - thanks to Namco’s runaway hit merchandiser Barber Cut Lite. "We have been seeing some great results from this new style of play merchandiser," he said.

"Our relationships with other manufacturers are also quite strong as we test a lot of the machines for income potential and product reliability. We are able to provide them with recommendations for improvements on the design and game play. This helps the manufacturer produce a game that is better earning with fewer operator issues."

Being part of a multi-national company does not, however, make Cybertainment recession proof and over the past 12 months the operator has noticed a reduction in customer count and fewer dollars spent on the games.

##image2##

"Many new games offered in 2009 were actually pretty good but with the uncertainty of the market, we’ve seen many operators hold back from making large purchases of machines," said Pilcher.

The recent IAAPA show held in Las Vegas, in November, proved a worthwhile visit for Pilcher in terms of product and games that caught his attention included: Terminator Salvation from Raw Thrills, Batman and Operation from Coastal Amusements and Deep Sea Treasure from ICE.
"Re-invention is key to the industry," said Pilcher. "Too long has the industry been offering the same type of entertainment without much, if any, new type of game play.

"It seems that many players today are more interested in playing coin-op games that will instantly award them a prize. Just as we witnessed many hardcore players shifting into console units and playing at home back in 1995, we are now seeing many casual players using their mobile phones and PDA to entertain themselves in various venues.

"Where they may have had an impulse to play a video game in a theatre lobby a year ago, they may now take a seat and begin texting or playing a game they have just downloaded."

The coin-op amusement industry is continually changing and while Namco Cybertainment has diversified its portfolio of venues to ensure a more stable operation, Pilcher feels that the US, in general, will see a continual route consolidation with a few of the smaller operators as some decide to retire.

Others may simply disappear if the economy worsens. In the meantime Cybertainment will seek to operate in additional large destination locations such as indoor water parks and multi-attraction FECs.