2009 IAAPA Tradeshow Review

ILTA 2009 IAAPA Review by Eric Gaizat

This year’s IAAPA Trade Show was a breath of fresh air compared to past years. Not only was attendance up from last year, but our industry was also well represented with 15 different laser tag manufacturers exhibiting at the show!

There were a lot of exciting booths outside the laser tag industry, which made for some ineresting phot opportunities (as you can see in my picture to the right).

Below is a recap from my visit with each of the laser tag booths to see what was new or being highlighted.

Indoor Laser Tag

Darklight
Just a stone’s throw from the ILTA booth, Darklight was at the show showcasing their equipment. Keith and Mary Schell, Darklight sales representatives and owners of the E.D.G.E. in Belleville, Illinois, were on hand to lend their years of expertise to both existing operators and potential future laser tag owners. To learn more about Darklight and their laser tag systems, visit www.darklight.co.uk

Delta Strike
Delta Strike returned to IAAPA this year with their Delta Strike version 6 laser tag packs and with a couple of very interesting announcements. The first is that they have signed exclusive deals with AMF Bowling in Australia to be the laser tag system of choice for their facilities and another exclusive deal with Sudden Impact Entertainment (www.suddenimpactentertainment.com) that designs many interactive attractions tied to successful movies and television shows like Terminator and Aliens vs. Predator to only name two.

Delta Strike has also worked with their software to help make their operations run even smoother during peak weekend hours. To download a copy of the brochure they handed out at the show, click HERE or visit www.deltastrike.net for more information.

Laser Blast
Laser Blast was on hand this year promoting their new Zeta Blast System, their new top-of-the-line gear that immerses your customers in a high-action game environment that rivals today’s most popular on-line games. That’s great news for you and your customers who are looking for the ultimate laser tag experience. To learn more about Laser Blast and their laser tag products, visit www.laser-blast.com or download their brochure HERE.

Laserforce
Laserforce had a great representation at the show this year with a number of operators attending from all around the world. Two new announcements they had were the creation of their new FEC product, Zap-Tag and the roll-out of their new website. To read more about Laserforce, their products and see their new website, visit www.laserforceusa.com.

Lazer Runner
Lazer Runner also attended the show with their well staffed booth and promoted their upgraded battery system for their packs that can fully charge in less than 3 hours. They also promoted their gaming software called the Lazer Runner Central Processing Unit, designed to make game management simpler. For more information, visit www.lazerrunner.com

Media Vision
Media Vision is known for their diversity in attractions and were there to give us a taste of what’s to come in the near future. The first announcement was their exclusive deal to work with the Star Trek producers to create immersive Star Trek laser adventure games to play through.

Media Vision also wanted to show off a new attraction called Laser Kart that combines the attractions of laser tag and go-karting. The prototype of the phaser for the Laser Kart was on display as well (see picture on right). To read more about Media Vision’s latest developments, please visit http://www.mvisioninc.com.

Veqtor
Veqtor was also there to show off their cordless (and vest-less if desired) system. Veqtor is another company that is well known for their wide range of attractions that can often interact with one another. Their equipment is also one of the lightest in the industry, which makes the younger players a target for any Veqtor market. You can read about their system at www.veqtor.co.uk

Zone Systems
Zone Systems also debuted two new products, one for the FEC market which is their RIFT laser tag system. RIFT is a product with the look and feel of their Nexus laser tag series, but with fewer features to keep the price tag low. The second is their Begeara 2 system for the mobile laser tag market. You can read about all of Zone’s products at their newly designed website www.zonelasertag.com.

Creative Works
Not only did Creative Works have a great looking display this year, but they also won 1st place for the best new product from IAAPA with their Lazer Frenzy attraction! Congratulations goes to the hard working Creative Works Team. You can find out more about Creative Works and their arena themes at http://www.thewoweffect.com and you can read about the Lazer Frenzy by downloading their PDF file HERE.

Outdoor Laser Tag

Adventure Sports
Adventure Sports was at the front of the tradeshow floor with a large array of products on display. The phasers that stood out the most were the ones with the removable clips for reloading, the Stinger/Stinger Pro, AK47, and the M4 models. You can find out more about Adventure Sports at www.adventuresportshq.com.

Battlefield Sports
Another company returning to the trade show floor was Battlefield Sports with their focus on bringing its new digital technology S*A*T*R™ into North America. S*A*T*R (small arms transmitter receiver) is the world's first real-time hit feedback system with compelling real-time in-game statistics without requiring a central computer system.

“With S*A*T*R gamers can take their skills from virtual matches into a live game, to experience the excitement of a Hollywood blockbuster, with themselves as the leading lady/man,” said Ken Dubay, Battlefield’s US sales representative. You can read more at Battlefield Sport’s website www.battlefieldsports.com.

Steradian Technologies
Steradian Technologies were present and continued to focus on their two newest. The first was a carrying case that can charge the batteries in the phasers in just a few hours. The other product was a wild-west style tag with bandana targets and revolver style pistol-phasers. You can read more about Steradian’s products at www.steradiantech.com

Tippmann Sports
Tippmann Sports, the newest company to get into the outdoor laser tag market showed off their product that combines laser tag with paintball. Tippmann’s laser tag system opens a whole new market to paintball field owners who want to offer their fields of play to those too young to play in the competitive sport. To read more about Tippmann's new laser tag products, visit www.paintballlasertag.com.

We at the ILTA wish to thank the Manufacturers that attended the IAAPA Tradeshow for their professionalism and wish them luck in the upcoming year. A special thank you goes out to the operators and developers that attended the show to offer their input and experiences during this tough economic year.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this year's IAAPA Tradeshow, please feel free to contact us at info@lasertag.org