E3, also known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publishers, hardware and accessory manufacturers use to introduce and advertise upcoming games and game-related merchandise to retailers and to members of the press. E3 includes an exhibition floor for developers, publishers, and manufacturers to showcase titles and products for sale in the upcoming year. Before and during the event, publishers and hardware manufacturers usually hold press conferences to announce new games and products.
An amusement arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers, or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or pachinko machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets. The term used for ancestors of these venues in the beginning of the 20th century was penny arcades.
Namco Limited was a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Shanghai Namco in mainland China.
National Amusements, Inc. is an American privately owned theater company and mass media holding company based in Norwood, Massachusetts, and incorporated in Maryland. It is the parent company of ViacomCBS.
The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) is a governing body for cue sports in North America, the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). It was established under this name in 1948 as a non-profit trade organization in order to promote the sport and organize its players via tournaments at various levels. The BCA is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The voting members of the organization are mostly equipment manufacturers.
The Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association, abbreviated JAMMA, is a Japanese trade association headquartered in Tokyo.
WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities. In contrast to consumer fairs, only some trade fairs are open to the public, while others can only be attended by company representatives and members of the press, therefore trade shows are classified as either "public" or "trade only". A few fairs are hybrids of the two; one example is the Frankfurt Book Fair, which is trade only for its first three days and open to the general public on its final two days. They are held on a continuing basis in virtually all markets and normally attract companies from around the globe. For example, in the U.S., there are currently over 10,000 trade shows held every year, and several online directories have been established to help organizers, attendees, and marketers identify appropriate events.
Global Gaming Expo (G2E) is a gambling industry trade show presented by the American Gaming Association (AGA) and organized by Reed Exhibitions. The flagship G2E convention debuted in 2001 and is held each fall in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Entertainment for All Expo or E for All was a public video game trade show, created to allow the general public to see and experience new products from the video game industry. The inaugural E for All Expo was open October 18 to October 21, 2007, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Second E For All Convention took place from October 3 through October 5, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Incredible Technologies (IT), based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, is a US-based designer and manufacturer of coin-operated video games and Class III casino games, best known for the Golden Tee Golf series. The company employs over 200 people at its suburban Chicago campus.
Neo Bomberman is an action-maze arcade video game developed by Produce! and published by Hudson Soft for the Neo Geo MVS on May 1, 1997. It is one of two games in the Bomberman franchise that was released for the Neo Geo platform, the first being Panic Bomber, and the only one to retain its traditional top-down gameplay. It was released for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and has not received a home console release to date. It was the last original Bomberman title to be released for arcades until Konami's Bombergirl in 2018.
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida, is recognized as the world's largest attractions trade show in the number of attendees and exhibitors and providing members insight into current amusement trends, laws, operations and industry methodology. IAAPA also helps to promote guest-safety and ride-safety guidelines in conjunction with ASTM International and assists its members to uphold the highest amusement-industry safety and professional standards.
The Asia Game Show (亞洲遊戲展), also known as AGS, was an annual video game expo held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Hong Kong. It was organized by MP International and sponsored by The Chamber of H.K. Computer Industry (香港電腦商會) and commonly held in December. The 2011 Asia Game Show was held from December 23 to December 26, and it broke previous attendance records with over 450,000 visitors.
EB Games Expo, commonly known as EB Expo or EBX, is a video game trade fair / convention held annually in Australia. It is organised by EB Games Australia. It is used by many video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware. Unlike E3, EB Expo allows members of the general public to attend. The most recent show was held in 2017 from 7–8 October.
Retail’s BIG Show, or the NRF Annual Convention & EXPO, is the flagship industry event of the National Retail Federation (NRF).
The Japan Amusement Expo (JAEPO) is an annual trade fair for amusement arcade products, such as arcade games, redemption games, amusement rides, vending machines, and change machines. The event is hosted one weekend per year in the Greater Tokyo Area. The event is held at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba.
Play Meter was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op and arcade game industry. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. Lally II and it is published in physical form by Skybird Publishing on a monthly basis. Together with rival publication RePlay it chronicled the arcade industry from its nascency, through market fluctuations like the video game crashes of 1977 and 1983, and the rebirth and maturation of the medium through the 1980s. It is the earliest example of video game journalism, establishing such practices as individual video game reviews and the ten-point assessment scale for video game reviews.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 1995, commonly known as E3 1995, was the first Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from May 11–13, 1995, with 50,000 total attendees. Highlights of the 1995 show include Sony's announcement of the PlayStation's release date and pricing, Sega's surprise launch of the Sega Saturn, and Nintendo's showcase of the Virtual Boy console.
Sweet Licks, known as Okashi Daisakusen in Japan and Choco-Kid in Europe, is a 1981 coin-operated redemption arcade game developed and published by Namco. Players use a foam-covered mallet to whack the eight "Pyokotan" cake monsters that emerge from the colored holes placed on the machine. Points are awarded for hitting them, and the speed of the game increases until the time limit runs out. Hitting 40 Pyokotan will increase the timer by 15 seconds.
