Getting back in the game!
As midway and arcade games become an ever more popular secondary spend revenue stream in parks around the world, Andrew Mellor investigates what makes a good games operation, the benefits this area can bring to park operators and what well run games can add to the overall guest experience
MIDWAY and arcade games have become a decidedly more prominent and important part of our amusement and theme parks in the last decade, providing a significant revenue stream for many venues which have recognised the true potential of such attractions. With more park operators themselves taking games more
seriously and specialist suppliers now offering bespoke services to supply and operate games on a revenue share basis, the sector has improved vastly and all parties would appear to be reaping the benefits of more professionally run games operations. One of the companies involved in the operation of midway
and arcade games, particularly at the present time in the UK and Europe, as well as the Middle East, is UK based HB Leisure. With many years of experience and a reputation for transforming the games operations of numerous venues, HB Leisure offers a wide range of products covering midway games, coin-op, extreme attractions and go-karts, and as managing director Alex Sparks notes, when operated properly such attractions can be a very valuable area for secondary spend. “Arcade and midway games, along with the other
attractions we offer, are clearly an important part of the overall offer in parks today,” he comments. “They provide the opportunity to offer additional types of attraction, additional revenue streams and help create a really fun atmosphere, both for those who play them as well as others just watching.” And he maintains games are important to both small and
large park operations. “In a small park they help to add more to the day for
visitors, while in a large park they are something for guests to do when they are not on a ride,” he says, adding that similar spend per head is achieved in small and large parks.
17
As far as the type of equipment a good park arcade and
midway area should include is concerned, Sparks notes a variety of the latter are important to provide a suitably attractive mix to maximise game potential. “Examples of different midway games would be trophy,
trade up, race, prize every time, change games, sports and high/low skill. Coin-op equipment should include redemption, videos, AWPs, cranes and novelties.” As far as target age groups for games go, HB Leisure
believes they should be available to all, so doesn’t offer, for example, kids only games. “There should be a good mix of games with different
levels of skill,” notes Sparks, adding that park operators should consider a variety of operational aspects when it comes to coin-op equipment and midway games. “The main areas for owners/operators to
think about would include visitor profile (i.e. age groups), the level of repeat visitors, the selection of employees - just as important as the selection of games and prizes as they are the main point of contact for visitors -, employee training and motivation, visible winners - other guests see people winning on the games and carrying prizes around -, prize displays and clear and concise game rules.” He notes that it is important to have good
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44