GTI Came Back With Fruitful Results

■ Carrie Chan／Jasmin Zhuang

The 10th Anniversary EAG International & VAE drew to a close with an overwhelmingly positive mood among both exhibitors and visitors on January 17th at London ExCel.  Organisers of the bacta event reported a large number of favourable comments about the high calibre of visitors, many of whom were buyers who had travelled from overseas.  The show had a slightly different look and feel from previous years, with a wealth of exciting new products from exhibitors of every size. There was also an increase in first-time exhibitors, mainly technology businesses, adding an exciting new dimension to the show. GTI has attended the show for several editions, and this year we also came to celebrate this grand feast!

As a well-known exhibition in the industry, EAG & VAE is getting stronger and shows that the industry is progressing with each passing day.  Since 2015, VAE Expo has collaborated with EAG Expo to be held simultaneously.  In the beginning, all the participators were the insiders.  Now, there are corporations and buyers from not only amusement and coin-up games fields, but also attraction and leisure fields.  The show had a slightly different look and feel from previous years, with a wealth of exciting new products from exhibitors of every size.  Among the 100+ exhibitors, apart from BANDAI NAMCO, SEGA and the local representative manufacturers such as JNC Sales, Instance Automatics, The United Distributing Company (UDC), and Electrocoin, there were Paokai and Yuehua, and others from China.  The first-time exhibitors, especially the technological companies also increased in number.  New products from every country and region came in great varieties, which brought the show into an exciting level.

EAG International & VAE Chairman Martin Burlin commented, “There is no doubt that this year’s show had a particularly polished and business-like feel.  Some commented that they felt after 10 years the show had ‘come of age.’ For us, the most rewarding comments were those about buyers having a genuine appetite to commit; if you come to EAG with the right products, you will do well,” assured Martin. This point was echoed by Electrocoin’s Kevin Weir, who said, “Redemption continues to grow but to succeed you have to have the right products and that’s what we’ve delivered. A very good show,” confirmed Kevin.

EAG International & VAE has been fortunate in attracting support from some of the industry’s most iconic companies, many of whom launch new products at the event.  Sega Amusements International’s Justin Burke confirmed, “This show is a great kick-start to the season. Our sales team has been busy and there is definitely a desire to commit. We’ve chosen EAG for the world premier of ATV Slam, an immersive motion video experience that takes racing to a whole new level.”  Ingemar Kroiss, Export Director at TAB Austria reported a strong show. “We’ve been much busier than last year and are happy with the results.We’ll be back next year,” he revealed.

At the Formula K International stand, Graham Liddle commented, “We always do good business at EAG and it’s at the right time of year. Sales of our Children’s’ Driving School Cars continue to grow.”GeWeTe UK, Sales Manager Mark Edmundson also confirmed a positive show, revealing, “A busy show which has delivered some great leads.  Cash-Recycler has been the focus of much of the attention at the show.  Its TITO capability and its contactless, multifunctional and high security capabilities are meeting the requirements of a broad cross section of the industry.”  On the RLMS Sales stand, Managing Director Tony Glanville was delighted with the 10th Anniversary show, saying, “We’ve had a strong presence with new product launches.  The show has brought serious buyers and they’re responding well. We’ve been delighted.”  New exhibitors fared particularly well. “This is our first year and we’ve had excellent visitors, especially from Europe.  We’re still learning about the business but have done business with both operators and other exhibitors,” explained Neeraj Bhatia of Kwikpay Ltd.

The most popular products at the show were the amusement machines, even though some gaming machines were also exhibited.  Numerous visitors experienced games at the booths of Sega and the like.  Indoor games such as redemption game, simulator, children game, gift machine, VR/AR, hockey, sport racing games, sonic games were the trend of the show.  What’s more, re-popular boxing machines and pinball machine could also be seen at the show floor.  Products that own their agent in China and innovative equipment such as outdoor equipment and creative small children amusement equipment were also found at the exhibition.

First-time exhibitor Marston’s Telecoms also had a great show with Managing Director Tony Ford revealing, “We’ve had a brilliant three days!  There is a real need for a gaming communications expert in this industry.   As a first time exhibitor we came to increase awareness of our brand but will be leaving with a very long list of serious prospects.”  Arletta Wiencek of staff rostering specialist Planday also reported a successful first-show, saying “It has been Planday’s first time at the EAG Expo and it has been an enjoyable experience.  We’ve had the pleasure of meeting interesting exhibitors as well as given the opportunity to showcase our software to new prospective clients.  Thank you to all the organisers who have put a lot of effort into this show. It has been a success and we hope to be back next year!”

Gary Newman of Newmans Sales is no stranger to EAG International & VAE and was very happy with his new company’s first outing, revealing “A very good first show.  We’ve showcased our own brand-new products plus four exciting games from Electrocoin.  The reaction has been very positive.”

Global buyers’ charms

With regard to visitor numbers, Martin revealed, “There is a rigorous process for cleansing the data and we’re still awaiting the final results.  It appears promising, however, with numbers likely to be around the same as or slightly ahead of last year.  In the light of current political uncertainties, this is a very positive reflection on the industry.  The proportion of International visitors at 25% is also in line with last year,” continued Martin.

Towards the 10-year development milestone of EAG＆VAE, Martin expressed: “The industry’s support during the show’s first 10 years has been unswerving. Lots of exhibitors started to cooperate with us from the initial stage of the expo.  Every year, there are more and more innovative and exciting products.  That is the key reason for the success.  We are thankful to thousands of insiders from Euro and other regions.  Because of you, we make this feast!”

Bacta Chief Executive John White was very pleased with the 10th Anniversary show, saying “The EAG was once again a fantastic showcase for the industry.  With new product and reinvented concepts the amusement machine and entertainment sector demonstrated that inexpensive fun was, is and will be, available for our customers in high quality venues up and down the UK.  With strong visitor numbers, more exhibitors and a positive vibe I would argue that EAG 2019 was one of the best in its distinguished ten year history.”

GTI successfully finished its first station

GTI’s team also came back with fruitful results.  EAG &VAE was the first station for GTI to do global promotion in 2019.  At the show floor, GTI spared no effort to promote GTI Asia Taipei Expo, GTI Asia China Expo and related exhibitors as well as products.  What’s more, we also invited overseas buyers to the show.  In order to furnish greater creativity into the Chinese game & amusement industry, GTI brought the latest foreign industrial information for Chinese manufacturers.  EAG International & VAE will take place at ExCel London on 14th-16th January 2020. GTI will keep on focusing on the latest development of the show and the industry. We will always share the latest dynamics with all of you!

※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 174 in April 2019