Electrocoin reinforces its support for DEAL and the ME market
ELECTROCOIN’S familiar John Stergides makes the same point every year: “We are the only company at DEAL that has supported the show right from the start.”
It will be there again, this year, as son John describes the Dubai event as “the key show for the region.” He added: “We try to participate in one way or another by enjoining both distributors and the media to support the Dubai exhibition. There has been the odd year when we have now been able to attend but generally, we have been there since 1980, either as manufacturers or distributors.
“We are pleased to see how successful the DEAL show has become. It illustrates the belief that the organisers had in the industry right from the start and now it is the epicentre of showcasing equipment for the whole region.”
It has been a busy year for Electrocoin, beginning with the EAG show in London in January and then following that up last month with a display at the FIJMA show in Madrid.
That degree of activity reflects Electrocoin’s belief that the pandemic is on the way out and business is rapidly getting back to normal, says John Jnr. “There are only a few sporadic cases and only China seems to unable to really shrug it off now. But the fallout has been an effect on the production of games. That is manifesting itself in supply difficulties that can hold up supply by months.
“We are not yet fully back to where it was,” said John Jnr., “but we are on the way there. It is interesting to see that players have a slightly different attitude to certain games now, mainly to gambling; but the amusement sector is strong. We are seeing more families going out together, notably to bowling and that in turn helps the returns on redemption games.”
The Electrocoin display this year will be dominated by Skill Cut Winner and Skill Shooter games that were so successful at the EAG show in London. They will be displayed on the ASI booth and will then go on to the SEA show in Riyadh at the end of May, said Stergides.
The Skill Cut Winner was a big success at the Deal show last year and its latest version will be there this year. The game surrounds a precision challenge to cut the string emerging from the top of a giant teddy bear. It is a game for younger players with an attract mode that needs no more than the giant teddy to draw players in.
The game needs an accurate shot using the cutter and that will win the major prize. There are optional redemption features in the game that comes in a wide range of colours
The Skill Shooter has been the most successful in UK Operations in the past year. A development from China, the game is best used in pairs to give a competitive edge, whereas the Skill Cut Winner can be used in banks – even trailer-mounted assemblies in order to appeal to the travelling fraternity.
Prakash Vivekanand and his ASI Team are our distributors; they are very professional and we cannot believe that their service can be bettered,” said Stergides.
The London distributor has been working at markets internationally, including the Middle East, since 1970, making long-term relationships built upon mutual trust and support.
Stergides accepts that the UK and Europe now take up the majority of the company’s time, but it will not lose sight of the Middle East markets, nor of the operators with whom the company has built up a relationship over the years.
Published Intergame Magazine March 2023 Vol 29, Issue 3 on page 48
