Andamiro Adds 2nd Set Of SpongeBob Trading/Redemption Cards
GARDENA, CA -- Andamiro has launched a new set of nine colorful cards depicting SpongeBob SquarePants and his pals from the popular Nickelodeon television animated series, SpongeBob SquarePants. The cards further complement Andamiro's SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade, which the company reports is one of the most successful arcade games of all time.
Series No. 2 includes the same characters featured in the first card set, and the cards in both sets have the same ticket values for prize redemption operations. What's new are the character poses and color themes on the front, and the amusing "biographical" summaries on the back.
There are nine cards in each SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade collectible series. In the new set, Gary the Snail retains his top rank as the rare card, which offers the highest ticket value; the card depicts him in a new "sluggish" posture. Rounding out the featured characters, now in fresh poses, are Sandy Cheeks, Squidward Tentacles, Patrick Star, Eugene H. Krabs, Sheldon J. Plankton, Larry the Lobster, Pearl Krabs and (of course) SpongeBob SquarePants himself. Entertaining illustrations of Nickelodeon's characters adorn the front of the cards, while fun facts about these characters – "Life Goals" and "Most Likely To …" are printed on the backs. Gary's life goals are what everybody should aspire too.
Introduced four years ago, SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade is a tokens-and-cards pusher device in which the player rolls tokens down the playfield into moving pineapple targets. The pineapples (which resemble SpongeBob's famous sea-pineapple domicile) drop tokens, cards and bonus tokens onto the playfield. The cards are distributed around the playfield, and the player attempts to knock them off a support tray. A player can trade cards for tickets, or hold them until all nine have been collected – an accomplishment rewarded with a super bonus.
Andamiro reports that millions of SpongeBob cards have been sold to keep games well-stocked. "When releasing a new game, you always hope for the best," said Andamiro USA sales president Drew Maniscalco. "SpongeBob has been a very successful coin-op license, so I thought we had a good shot. We're so pleased it's become such a big hit."
Maniscalco explained that what has made SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade so successful is its rapid-fire action and collectors' appeal. "Gameplay is quick, and players love collecting the cards – especially when they see them dangling over the edge," he said. "These aspects have made the game popular among all age groups."
Operators like it too, because it has been designed to be the most competitively priced pusher/card game of its kind. "Pineapple Arcade has great value for operators," the Andamiro USA sales president added. "It is at entry-level pricing and offers swift ROI. It's a must-have for all new locations."
SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade and its cards are licensed through an agreement with Viacom's Nickelodeon network. The deal has enabled Andamiro to design, produce and market four Nickelodeon titles so far, three themed to SpongeBob, and one inspired by Nickelodeon's hit CG-animated series, PAW Patrol.
Andamiro USA will begin shipping the new SpongeBob card series this month. They will be available through authorized distributors, packed in 150-count boxes. Series Nos. 1 and 2 can be mixed in games and for redemption operations. The original series, however, will only be available while supplies last, so operators are encouraged to advise customers to purchase remaining stocks from distributors before they're gone for good.
Andamiro USA Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Andamiro Co. Ltd., a Korean arcade game manufacturer founded in 1992. Andamiro designs and produces ticket redemption amusements, prize merchandisers and sports games. Since 1999, it has published and manufactured the internationally celebrated Pump It Up rhythm and dance videogames.
ENCORE: Coming this month from Andamiro USA is a second set of SpongeBob SquarePants trading cards/redemption media, featuring the iconic metazooan and eight of his cartoon colleagues. Designed for use with Andamiro's SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade, the cards feature appealing illustrations of each character, along with a biographical sketch on the reverse.
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About SpongeBob SquarePants
Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon. The series has been the most-watched animated program with kids 2-11 for more than 15 consecutive years, and over the past several years, it has averaged more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks. SpongeBob SquarePants is the most widely distributed property in Viacom International Media Networks history, seen in more than 208 countries and territories and translated in 55+ languages. The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Among those friends are SpongeBob's best friend, a pink starfish named Patrick Star, his neighbor and co-worker octopus Squidward Tentacles, and Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas.
SpongeBob SquarePants is created by Stephen Hillenburg, who previously worked as a writer, director and creative director on Nickelodeon's animated series Rocko's Modern Life. Hillenburg graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a master's degree in experimental animation and his undergraduate degree, from Humboldt State University, was in natural science with an emphasis in marine biology. Hillenburg executive produced the series until his untimely passing in November 2018. His first feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which debuted Nov. 19, 2004 and his second theatrical, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, hit theaters Feb. 6, 2015, landing at #1 opening weekend.
SpongeBob SquarePants has been renewed through to at least the show's twelfth season, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, has its own critically acclaimed Broadway show, set to tour the U.S. from Fall 2019, and has a third upcoming movie, The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, set to be released in Summer 2020. The series is produced at Nickelodeon in Burbank.
About Andamiro USA Corp.
Andamiro USA Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Andamiro Entertainment, a Korean game manufacturer founded in 1992. Andamiro designs and produces ticket redemption amusements, prize merchandisers and sports games, along with the Pump It Up dance simulator line. Andamiro opened its U.S. office in 2000 in southern California. It has since brought to market dozens of high-earning arcade titles that operate in a wide variety of entertainment destinations. Despicable Me Jelly Lab, SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade, SpongeBob Order Up, Paw Patrol, NFLPA Super Star Football Coins, Baseball Pro and S Cube are among its games.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 39th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 90 million households and has been the number-one-rated kids’ basic cable network for 22 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).
Original source: Vending Times.
Update (4/22) - From Vending Times
New Andamiro USA Kiosk Automates Card, Token Prize Redemption
NEW MEDIA: Andamiro's Redeem Machine kiosk automates the conversion of popular new types of prizes like cards, chips and tokens into corresponding ticket values, saving time for players and tightening accountability while saving labor for operators.
GARDENA, CA -- New from Andamiro Corp. is a self-service redemption kiosk designed to speed and simplify prize redemption in gamerooms of all sizes. The new Redeem Machine is designed to validate and secures new types of redemption items' notably, collectible cards, character coins, tokens and chips featured in a growing number of arcade games.
The state-of-the-art Redeem Machine, which is now shipping, will give the operator greater peace of mind by protecting assets and improving the customer experience, according to Andamiro USA president Drew Maniscalco. The kiosk centrally secures valuable redemption currency, prevents theft, defeats counterfeiting and reduces labor costs, he explained. It allows the customer to 'skip the line' at the redemption counter when exchanging the new redemption items for tickets, which are transferred to their player accounts immediately.
The Redeem Machine's dual 23" screens create an elegant user experience, Maniscalco explained. Customers follow prompts on the touch-enabled lower monitor while the upper monitor displays inserted items and the progress of the transaction. Instructional graphics guide the player through the process. Using the Redeem Machine is straightforward: the player inserts cards, tokens or chips in the equivalent acceptance mechanism to begin the transaction. The player presses 'finish' to complete the transaction, and then 'swipes' to transfer tickets to his or her player account. When a high-value rare item or super bonus set is detected, an attendant alert is enabled.
The Redeem Machine is compliant with all industry-standard debit card systems, including Embed, Intercard and Sacoa. It's also equipped with two ticket dispensers, included as a standard feature for classic gameroom operations that use paper tickets.
The Redeem Machine can be activated to validate and accept barcoded or RFID cards; it cannot operate with blank cards. Barcodes must also be present on souvenir coins like Andamiro's NFLPA pro football player heads and coins for the company's forthcoming Ticket Man device. Chips can be validated and redeemed according to color (blue, green, orange and red); in busy chip locations, color recognition can be disabled to speed up service.
Card games, including Andamiro's own SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade, Despicable Me Jelly Lab and WWE Superstar Rumble, are the most common amusement devices integrating new redemption media. The Redeem Machine supports Andamiro's three card games and Bandai Namcos DC Superheroes, along with card games from other manufacturers. Its robust computer system can simultaneously store about 10 item sets, depending on memory requirements, during operation.
There are an estimated 15 million collectible game cards circulating through games and redemption centers, and that number is expected to double over the next few years. "As more and more operators started to add card-based games to their equipment portfolios, Andamiro recognized a need for an automated solution that could streamline item-to-ticket exchanges and improve loss-prevention strategies," Maniscalco observed.
"We took the time to understand the needs of redemption operators of all shapes and sizes," he added. "For family entertainment center operators, the Redeem Machine's self-service operation eliminates the need for staff intervention, reducing gridlock at redemption checkout counters. For route operators, it makes possible the placement of high-earning, card-dispensing games in small, unattended gamerooms."
The Redeem Machine's attractive compact form factor makes it easy to place and sure to stand out. It measures 25.6" W. x 32.5" D. x 91" H. with marquee (71.6" H. without marque) and weighs 220 lbs. The kiosk's setup provisions are intuitive, allowing operators to program machines with their barcodes or RFIDs, along with the card, coin and chip sets required for their particular locations. The kiosk also has bookkeeping features that provide counts for total and individual items, tickets and bonuses, as well as other data.
Andamiro USA Corp. is a subsidiary of Andamiro Co. Ltd., a Korean game manufacturer founded in 1992. Andamiro makes ticket redemption amusements, prize merchandisers, sports games and videogames, including Pump It Up dance simulators. Andamiro opened its U.S. office in 2000, and since then has brought to market dozens of high-earning arcade titles that operate in a variety of entertainment destinations. NFL Players Inc., Nickelodeon, Universal and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. are among the firm's licensing partners.
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