The European scene revealed an alarming trend in the sector that could literally circumnavigate the conventional amusement hardware for a hospitality-specific version of hardware - created literally for the needs of this market. This was best illustrated by what took place in London during April. While a large contingency of the amusement industry rushed to the Middle East (Dubai), the hospitality industry gathered in London, to see a European spin on Nightclub and Bar launched concepts.

At the Pub and Bar Show during April in London, the first of two major shows for the trade took place with the largest list of exhibitors hoping to offer a platform that will enthrall and attract the trade.

What seems to be the driving force is connectivity - the development of broadband enabled infrastructures that ushered in the new electronic payment and registration systems from most bars (the electronic touchscreen till) have attracted developers to the possibility of delivery of entertainment via a connected system. Where the pub industry once saw music and television piped to their facility the opportunity of interactive entertainment systems come down the broadband pipe has created a startling selection of new systems.

For the conventional jukebox and terminal market these new systems could totally change the business landscape. One of the first of these new developments on display was ‘COMPendium’, a multiple entertainment system developed for the hospitality sector, touchscreen system that is relayed through the bar or club on the venues screens. The system offers ‘Quickqiz’ a trivia system, Jukebox, Karaoke and Bingo content all supported by television channels.

Another system offers a more complete content service. ‘IntaTV’ proposes a delivery service for the venue in a deliverable package. Five year’s in development, the system shown to the UK audience came with a Samsung LCD screen deal for the customer’s venue. The system offers video jukebox, which is accessible from a special kiosk that hopes to expand into a full-content terminal incorporating printer and a new Barcode reader from mobile phones so that the venue can deploy SMS messaging to offer complimentary services. The mobile phone barcode developed by Trinity ‘Intatv Card’ system. The service is broadband-based and hopes to offer quiz and gaming features, and already has over 150 systems in the field. The company also hopes to be a hotspot for Wi-Fi users, with free connectivity.

Also on display was ‘Buzztime Interactive Entertainment’, the new name for the NTN Communications service. Previously covered in the Stinger Nightclub and Bar coverage (Stinger #397), the company has been spending its time find itself and developing new content. The company has built on its bar side wireless game decks for the trivia sector and looks towards a faster system with more complicated games such as ‘Cutthroat Pool’ and their previously demonstrated ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ card game.

Well-placed sources revealed that Buzztime was looking towards a prize-based version of their system, but had been bogged down in a long and arduous process of gaining individual State approval for their style of gaming system. This process had proved longer than planned and had serious slowed down implementation - a benefit of opening up new States to this style of system utilized by the competition.

Still traded on the NY Stock Exchange, Buzztime faces important milestones during the next couple of months. For the once-NTN, they have proven the market for entertainment systems in the hospitality sector. They have data that proves a 47 per cent increase in spend with an interactive entertainment system in a bar; staying 39 per cent longer. Repeat attendance goes up by 72 per cent to facilities with systems per month. This data could mark out hospitality entertainment systems for a surge in popularity while amusement flounders to compete.

Rather than fully implementing a new entertainment system, the ‘MediaTheme’ system offered a self-contained package that could be hired. The system comprises Jukebox, Video music and Live-action racing as channels to hire, as well as a DJ mixing system for special events. With drop in advertising and promotion the system is run from a Touchscreen and ‘Entertainer Pro’ self contained box.

The need for new content to support the downloaded music and quiz gaming was evident at the event, with Felix Entertainment (famous for their ‘Everyone’s a Winner’ system) showing new applications of their service, previously demonstrated at ATEI.

Covered in the Stinger Report last year, the bar-based trivia system has proven a popular market niche. The ‘ClickerQuiz’ package was again on display offering full trivia-style action with an integral Quiz master terminal that controls the way the questions are presented. The company comes from a background in educational systems for schools and is applying this broadband ability to the production version of the trivia quiz system.

The deployment of entertainment systems into the hospitality scene is driven by a need to plug an expected hole in the revenue stream of the pub and bar sector. That hole is represented by the banning of smoking in these venues from the middle of next year. With the 2007 smoking ban bar games are back in vogue as venue operators envisage a shift in audience activities - the loss of the cigarette machine revenue needs to be reversed.

The equivalent of the pub games are now appearing, to support the previously mentioned trivia and terminal games, the high-tech equivalent of skittles was on display at the exhibition.

Covered in Stinger #450 coverage concerning new development seen at CES ’06 in January, the London hospitality event became the first European appearance of the Philips Research new entry into out-of-home systems. The company showed their game table that offers multiple player touchscreen technology in a package from bars and clubs. Though still in a highly prototype ‘proof of concept’ stage, the system showed their thinking regarding pub style board games via a network video system. Philips confirmed that they had not been the first to develop this technology though the revealed 3M multiple user touchscreen tracing technology had been suspended from release.

Philips showed their system in conjunction with Beta Minds, the company represented a number of new entertainment systems. On a second part of their booth they included the ‘Guitar Hero’ amusement system. Based on the consumer game developed by RedOctane, this system included a full Gibson SG guitar with buttons that allowed the player to strum along to the beat represented on screen. A mixture of BeMania meets karaoke, the system had a varied selection of guitar heavy legends to strum along too. The game licensed for amusement / hospitality application, it proved an unusual mix of centre-piece attractions and promotional tool.

Beta Mind’s is a two-year start-up into the hospitality scene with an executive background in the dotcom scene, the company has now turned its efforts to placing entertainment and novelty promotional systems in the major chain venues of the hospitality scene.

RedOctane the software developer and publisher of the original 5 million seller consumer release Guitar Hero, launched in 2005, has been heavily promoting the original consumer version with the use of actual rock band guitarists in their media promotion. The appearance of the game in the hospitality sector was met with interest at the exhibition, though the company saw it initially as a proportional karaoke style guest experience, with possibilities of amusement application. When questioned on the possibility of clashing with the already established Konami ‘Guitar Freak’ (Psone) system, Beta Mind’s claimed initial discussions had been made to avoid any difficulties.

The Stinger was recently approached by the software publisher (RedOctane) who wanted to clarify the statement by Beta Minds. As originators of the game, they had been approached for possible bar and club application. Market studies showing a favorable response to a bar orientated version; initial evaluation will flavor RedOctane’s decision on future market presence.

Of the products on display that actually came from amusement scene to be recognized by the hospitality sector included Digital Tables and their series of retro and SWP touchscreen tables. The hope now that independent operators looking for machines for their venue will move away from the conventional upright AWP or SWP and look at more stylish designs to suit their venues layout; also a smattering of Sound Leisure jukeboxes.

Breaking Stinger News - While many of the amusement and attraction scene missed the Pub show, even more didn’t even know that Fly! - The London Air Show, was taking place the same week. Increased investment in private aviation however warrants closer attention; the Stinger has covered this new event when launched last year, and found its simulation component an interesting mirror on the attraction scene.

The event represented the sports flyer, the private fixed wing, and rotary market - but also the hobbits. The hobby market has the greatest predominance of home flyers supporting the strong PC flight simulator market, dominated by Microsoft, who had a big presence at the event. The company had 30 stations running their latest release ‘Microsoft Flight Sim City’. With the popularity of home simulators, the consumer market has also seen an increase in expensive simulation for what has been nicknamed the Pro-Sumer (pro consumer) market - with vast amounts spent to create the most realistic layouts for home use.

A company that has received Stinger reporting in the past made an appearance at Fly! ‘Cyberseat’ showed their latest version of the system, offering a simple motion package based on their unique magnetic actuation system. Looking at low-cost motion for the ‘pro-sumer’ scene, the company also hoped that some of the smaller pilot schools looking at the inclusion of simulation to their air training facilities would be interested in their system. Along with the conventional Cyberseat running a reconfigured home simulator package the company showed a version of the seat with realistic flight controls. Sources spoke that the company was working on an amusement variant for wider application.

At the same time as trying to create the best home experience for simulator flying, a number of the exhibitors at the event showed top of the range simulation to achieve the best out-of-home experience. One such company, ‘Combat Edge’ - Fighter Mission Simulator, offers leadership and team building at their simulator venue. Specialist attractions and corporate entertainment is offered using full F-16 cockpit with large screen projected displays for networked air combat. Specialist software created for the entertainment scene, the company owned by Jetlinx Flight Training Group, who also run commercial civil aviation flight training at the venue.

The use of air-combat as a marketing tool was in evidence with the Breitling fashion timepiece, building their private pilot customer base by running a head-to-head competition for dogfight combat skills. The importance of simulation now in the ProSumer sector offering a heighten effort to the application of the latest consumer technology supported by amusement thinking.