Sega Amusements Europe had plenty of new video games to talk about at its annual distributors' day, held over September 4-5, but the main focus of the event was the company's first offering to the European crane market, UFO Catcher.
Having dominated the Japanese crane market and taken the US by storm, the UFO Catcher is, after two successful months on trial, ready for the European market.
Alan Smith, general manager of Sega Kids, the division responsible for the crane, said: "The UK crane market has declined significantly over the past five years and this is a reflection of what is going on at street level.
"The knock-on effect to players is that play price lowers, which could then have an effect on the chance of winning.
"Lower play price also results in low quality products on offer resulting in disappointment if they do win. There is also the chance of player apathy, which means fewer players," Smith continued.
"The UFO Catcher is a new generation in skill-based games, it has a 50 per cent share of the Japanese market and, after its launch at IAAPA last year, it has had a significant impact on the US market."
Video games on show at the distributor day included Primeval Hunt, a two-player dinosaur hunt and shooting game, Shoot This Win This, which will be showcased at UK show Preview, Let’s Go Jungle Special, an adaptation of the original game, and Race TV, which will launch at ATEI 2008.
