Summer social
“The UK coin-op industry’s bank holiday” is how one attendee described the Park Avenue Open Day and, given how well attended it continues to be year-on-year, it’s a title that’s hard to dispute.
Hundreds made their way to the Hanger Lane area of London in early June to socialise, network and check out new product in what may be the most relaxed atmosphere at a trade event anywhere in the world.
For the past four decades or so, the amusement companies based in Park Avenue have thrown open the doors to their showrooms to showcase the best the industry has to offer. Today, the two remaining companies on the industrial estate, Electrocoin and UDC, keep the tradition alive.
While the weather may not have played ball for the first time in recent memory, it didn’t dampen the spirits of those that bad made the trip to north−west London, with a fine turnout from a number of familiar faces.
Over at Electrocoin, its sales and marketing manager, John A Stergides, was pleased with the number that had made the trip, calling it “a unique event in the calendar.”
“There’s a bit of rain but at least it’s brought everyone inside,” he said. “I think people still enjoy coming to the open day, It’s the last chance before the summer to catch up with everyone and see what’s been going on and what they hope will happen going forward. It’s the last chance to see some new games as well just before the summer season kicks in.”
Standout products on show from Electrocoin were the latest Dance Dance Revolution arcade game which continues to be popular with operators up and down the country and the new Transformers game from Stern Pinball, which the company had airfreighted over to make its UK debut today.
Stern Pinball’s own Gary Stern made the trip over to the UK for the show and brought with him John Buscaglia, who is set to make the move over to Europe permanently as the new head of Stern’s European operation.
UDC’s showroom also provided welcome respite from the rain, with a large display of the company’s newest titles including Breaking News, a photo booth-type machine which prints newspaper front pages featuring an image of the user, and Demon Tower, its popular coin−op game. Jonathan Lauder, sales director, said it was great to once again be able to welcome so many friendly faces to the firm’s offices for a day of friendly chat.
Also at UDC was Elaut’s E-Claw 2.0, which is now shipping across the world. It was the first trip to the open day for Elaut’s global marketing lead Laura Verstraeten, who told InterGame she was enjoying her time in the UK capital.
Newman Sales was at the open day once again, this time with a new employee. Gary Newman confirmed that his son, Reece, would be returning to the industry and taking over the reins of the company, allowing him to take a step back. He said: “I’m delighted to have him back. I want to wind down and I need someone to start pushing the pedals quicker than I can now. I don’t even need to change the name of the company.”
Reece Newman added: “I want to try and make an impact and get some good machines in for arcade operators. There’s absolutely a big gap in the market.”
Sega took advantage of the interest created by the World Cup to show off Kick N Win, a football−themed arcade game. James Clarke, recently appointed as the company’s sales and marketing executive, said: “It’s a good machine and you can tie it into what everyone is talking about at the moment. It will outlast the World Cup as well; everyone loves football.”