While a few early preliminary reports in regards to estimated AOU 2008 attendance numbers have been positive, it wasn't until day that we learned how positive they really were. AM-net and the official AOU expo website posted the final attendance figures for the show and included the year to year numbers showing a dramatic increase in attendees at this year's AOU expo. These numbers follow a similar trend of increase that was seen with the 45th AM Show back in September.I'm eager to see if these numbers begin to reflect a stronger 2008 for the amusement industry since while 2007 wasn't necessarily a bad year, some negative press in the Q3 financial reporting for several companies has skewed most of the attention away from the early gains that were made. With as strong of line up as we are seeing for 2008, including a handful of games that should really drive up demand in the arcade amusement industry, this may be a sign of even more positive things to come.
The final numbers for AOU 2008 are below (the number in parenthesis is the amount gained over the 2007 show):
2/15 (Friday) - 21,249 (+4,519 visitors)
2/16(Saturday) - 17,193 (+6,010 visitors)
Total - 38,442 (+10,529 visitors)
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