ATEI Amusement Exhibition – Sega Preview

There’s always one thing to cheer us all up in the first week back at work after the Official Drinking Holiday week off, which is the fact that we have the Amusement Trade Exhibition International (ATEI) event to look forward to at Earl’s Court at the end of the month.

ATEI, for the uninitiated, is the world’s leading coin-op and amusement exhibition, and while many in the console gaming industry don’t really take too much interest in it, anybody with a true love of what’s going on in the arcades this year has to make the pilgrimage.

Amazingly, the event is in its 63rd year and one of the leading arcade exhibitors (and the one we always run to first) is Sega Amusements, which has kindly send us the latest info and pics on what it will be showing at ATEI 2007.

Tantalisingly, Sega will be taking the largest stand space ever seen outside of Japan at this year’s ATEI from the 23rd to the 25th of this month. The stand is located in the upstairs hall at Earl’s Court and, at over 500sq metres, is over twice the size of last year’s.

It's good that it's upstairs as it means we don't have to fight our way through the horde of dodgy-looking, gangster-lite arcade owners and fairground vendors that clutter the main hall as they hunt out the next must-have teddy-bear grabber cabinet.

“The need for more stand space is more apparent than ever this year with the quantity and variety of equipment we are showing, aside from the fact that we will be showing the largest amusement machine the industry has ever seen in the form of Out Run 2 Special Attraction”, commented Justin Burke of Sega.

See this awesome machine pictured right here. From Sega’s release just in: “Measuring 8.25m wide the 8 player Out Run 2 Special Attraction is a hot contender to steal machine of the show before it even starts. Without being shown in Europe yet the orders are coming in thick and fast according to Sega – proving ‘size does matter!’ Featuring the moulded rear end of four Ferrari’s the game has four 62” screens, overhead live leader board monitor, full motion based simulation, and the unique ‘Driver Switching System’ allowing two players to drive the same car! The product will be available as a two and four car version.”

Among loads of other must-play arcade goodness, Sega will also be showing a House and Dead 4 Special Attraction. Plus, in other Sega arcade toy news, a new format Too Spicy (pictured) turns the usual format of players fighting with each other to fighting against each other. The game comes as two single upright cabinets that are linked and set up back to back and is based around the murky world of gangland tribes, set in the backstreets, warehouses and subways of Hong Kong. Sounds intriguing.

Let’s Go Jungle (pictured) is a two-player fantasy jungle shooting game housed in a ‘can’t miss’ Jeep-themed theatre cabinet. Sega has already multiplied its original production quantities four-fold for this cab already.

“It is been the winter success story as far as we are concerned” commented Sega’s Justin Burke.

Finally, it will be showing off the pink and girly Love & Berry (pictured) – described as a ‘fashion based card collecting game’ although we doubt we’ll take much interest in that, as we’ll be too busy queuing up to get on one of the Initial D or Afterburner Climax cabinets.

Stay tuned for more news from arcade giants Konami, Namco and other ATEI gaming exhibitors in the coming days.