“There is no question that the market is facing extremely difficult trading conditions and whilst the turnout was, in our opinion, significantly lower than in previous years we found the quality of customer visiting our stand was one of the highest ever,” explained McKenzie. “Our sharp focus on ‘best of breed’ games stuck a chord with European operators and our business write-ups remained constant and spread across all product sectors.” He continued: “With such breadth and depth in the range, it’s difficult to pinpoint any single machine as our star attraction, but Crazy Typhoon, Clena-Flex, Maximum Tune 3 and Safari were all in extremely high demand. The new Drift Deluxe and our range of Superdeluxe videogames also attracted great interest. Other highlights included Pop Noggins, Fun of the Fair, Barber Cut and the new launches from ICE, NFL 2 Minute Challenge, 3 In A Row and Hollywood Reels. We’ve experienced a growing take-up of redemption, particularly in light of the new Tickets To Prizes automatic prize redemption station.” The company’s growing portfolio, further strengthened on the eve of the show with the appointment of Chris Bell as General Manager of the newly created Kiddie Rides Division, sees Namco Bandai Games targeting new areas of operation. McKenzie concluded: “We are grateful to all the operators and retailers who continue to show faith in our games; thanks to them Namco Bandai Games can expect a busy year ahead. In return we will be working more closely with our customers to seek out further opportunities in and around the coin-op sector with games that are carefully selected and tailored to meet an ever more discerning player.”

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