I have not yet been to the US for an Expo, or some of the other pinball events which some members regularly attend; much as I would like to. I shall have to wait until the children are old enough to appreciate what is on display. So for me, the biggest event in the pinball calendar has got to be the ATEI. I don't understand why it is not more popular with the membership. Maybe the POA as an organisation should publicise this industry showcase more fully. To my mind the ATEI is the show to see for all machine enthusiasts.
For those not into acronyms, ATEI stands for Amusement Trades Exhibition International. ATEI 1996 was held at London's Earls Court 1 exhibition venue from 23 - 25 January. By buying my tickets in advance I was able to take advantage of the pre-purchase price of £10, as opposed to paying the full entry fee of £20 on the door.
On entry, two stands assaulted the senses; Atari with a strange 'Alien' hanging from the ceiling, and Electrocoin with two back-to-back banks of pinballs, namely Sega's Apollo 13 and Goldeneye, and Capcom's Pinball Magic. The familiar crashes and intermittent sound bites from assorted machines left one in no doubt that you were in a coin operated paradise. It took some time to wade through the large interactive bank of simulators, let alone the lines of SWP's and AWP's, to reach Deith Leisure's contribution of pins. This was a somewhat more discrete line up consisting of Bally's Attack From Mars and Whodunnit, and Williams' Jackbot and Congo.
Direct Machine Distributors (DMD), located next to Deith, showed Gottlieb's Big Hurt, Strikes and Spares and Mario Andretti. Solney Automatic Services displayed Williams' Demolition Man alongside Flintstones. Apart from the main pinball attractions on the Electrocoin and Deith stands there were many other stands displaying pins. Amongst these I noted two 'foreigners', namely Petaco's 10 Moon and Bike Race. I have not seen these Spanish machines before but a couple of members I saw giving them the once over were not very complementary! I have attempted to list all games on show, but just in case, apologies to any standholder that I do not mention:
Well that was the pinball, but what else was there? Of note was a new area in Hall 1, given the title 'Parks Rides and Family Entertainment'. This particularly appealed to my wife with our two small children in tow. There were rides galore for them to try, and I left them to it whilst I cruised the stands taking photographs and noting the machines on show. This year too there was actually some seating space! I have heard many complain of the lack of civilised refreshment facilities - well the Organisers are certainly trying, (Yes, very trying -ed!) but perhaps still have a lttle way to go. Let's hope that the Parks Rides and Family Entertainment comes with a relaxation area next year.
What else was there of note? Plenty of Table Football and Billiards variants. Gift vending and Crane machines..... in fact the Show guide lists 61 categories of Stand. The Simulators become more and more sophisticated by the year, with the wrap around digitised video images, the surround sound systems, and the hydraulics built into the ride seating, all adding to the thrills.
One area of disappointment was the Juke Boxes on show. I saw no real innovation from that segment of the industry - the same old CD jukeboxes. With the onset of satellite piped music to pubs, clubs and retail outlets, one wonders what the future for the jukebox industry holds.
Due to my children trying out all the kiddie rides they could, I missed the opportunity to play any of the new pinball games, so I will have to rely upon the news snippets and any forthcoming reviews in Pinball Player.
Nevertheless, as we left Earls Court at 5.30pm., we agreed that we had seen another spectacular Show, and, in closing, I cannot recommend enough making the effort to visit ATEI '97, due to be staged January 21-23 1997.
