Asu Su/Shelly Liu
The GTI team visited several major shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, such as Pico Plaza and Vivo City. In the process, we learned that most of the local game machines are imported through cooperation with foreign companies, mainly from China, Taiwan, the United States, Korea, Japan among others. In addition, it is rare to see kiddie rides on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City like those in China. Various types of game machines are mainly seen in shopping malls and cinemas. Consumers are mostly young people.

Superbowl Vietnam

Address: A43 Truong Son St | Ward 4, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
Business Hours: 9：30—23：45
Area: about 1,000 sq.m
Quantity: about 65 game machines + 18 (3 groups) bowling lanes + escape room
fishing game machines 12%, prize machines 50%, redemption machines 15%, children’s amusement machines 13%, simulators 10%, sports machines 8%, others 2%
Price: RMB：VND=1：3000

Escape Room

Superbowl Vietnam is located on the 5th floor of an old-fashioned shopping mall in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Covering an area of about 1,000 sq.m, Superbowl Vietnam is divided into 3 parts, including room escape, game machines, and bowling. Some people have already gone into the escape room for playing before the author arrived at the store. Experiencing it needs a long time to wait, so the author didn’t visit it. Perhaps because of the scarcity of players and the fact that the day was a weekday, the indoor lights at the game machines area were barely switched on, and the colorful lights of the game machines sketched the whole site of the store. At the entrance are "Hammer" and "Street Basketball" basketball machine of Saint-Fun International Co., Ltd., which seems to imply the theme of sports entertainment. In the middle of the store are two 8-person fishing game machines named "Mermaid". At the corner of the store, there is also a special area where six 8-person fishing game 'Mermaid' machines stood. There are simulators like "Power Boat", "Super Motorcycle 2" and shooting game machines from SEGA and Bandai Namco. A 10-meter-long "Gifts Street" is formed by various gift machines such as "PP Tiger 2" of Guangzhou Baohui Electronic Science & Technology Co., Ltd., "Toy Story" and "Fancy Cuter" of Feiloli Electronic Co., Ltd., creating a feeling of diversity for players. In terms of children's amusement equipment, you can see "Intercity Train Hockey" of Nitto Fun Technology Co., Ltd. and "Beibei’s Piano". In addition, there are also a small number of lipstick machines and mini KTV of Guangzhou Mi Music Electronics Co., Ltd., which are quite popular in China. In general, there are quite a variety of game machines in the store, and players mainly gathering in fishing game machines and simulators area.

The bowling area is divided into 3 groups with each group 6 lanes and totally 12 tables for players to relax before taking their turns. The bowling area is full of players, and seems to be more popular than the game machines area. The players are mainly young people, many of whom are students from nearby universities. The price is different between holidays and non-holidays with non-holidays also charging differently for different time limit. Before 17:00, the price is 300,000VND (about 100RMB per hour) and 350,000VND after 17:00 (about 116RMB per hour). The time is exactly when classes in Vietnam are over, indicating that young consumers are the main roles in the entertainment centers in Vietnam. The business model that combines the game machines, sports and escape room together is very similar to the current new trend of the domestic entertainment industry. Young consumers are also gradually becoming the main role players in the industry. Only Chinese entertainment centers that seize this new revenue idea to present more diversified forms can help the industry to survive this depression period.

Princess Party Crane Machines Store

Address: nearby the Bitexco Financial Tower, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
Business Hour: 10：00—24：00
Tel: +84-827-001168
Area: about 100 sq.m
Quantity: about 24 prize machines of Seven Fairy series
Price: 15,000VND/Once (about 5RMB/Once)
This crane machine store, covering an area of about 100 sq.m, operates about 24 branded series crane machines "Quick Cut Master" of Seven Fairy International Co., Ltd. You can still spot the "Seven Fairy" logo from those crane machines marked with the Princess Party logo. There are no cartoon images with Vietnamese characteristics inside the crane machine cabinets, which are mainly stuffed toys in shape of various animals. In the store, there is only one storekeeper in charge. Due to the language communication problems, it is a pity that we were unable to exchange more information with the storekeeper. However, the store has automatic currency exchange machines, which can basically support the unattended operation, so the storekeeper’s role is only in replenishing toys.

Crane machines at cinemas

Takashimaya Vietnam Children’s Land

※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No.188 in July 2020