Lawyerboy Report--Attended The convention--Met Ferris and JT Shaffer, former sales with FATS/Meggett--also Spencer, who said he deals primarily with law enforcement--forgive my stream of consciousness here--Ferris was very nice and all welcomed any questions/comments.
The Virtra booth was located at the end of the convention booths. It was about 30x30, a square black draped box with an IVR 300 in it. Raised platform inside--We got to shoot a glock at targets but before I left, the guys were nice enough to run a DUI scenario so i could report back--the girl up in the simulation at the time focused only on the drunk driver and she was taken out by the passenger that jumped out. While observing this, two guys in military fatigues approached to watch and to inquire about our assault rifle--turned out they worked for Meggett as it was embroidered on their uniforms. Also saw guys with TI Training badges talking to our guys earlier when I was there.
The Virtra booth is not glitz and glam--pretty much business--Meggett had very flashy booth, much larger and much closer to the entrance, as opposed to the side of the convention floor. Meggetts systems, like many others seen in the convention are like playing call of duty with a gun in your hand. Our product is superior. I believe our product might be better if the screens were rounded or seemless but still a better product.
I was told that there was a lot of interest all week but that the nature of the business suggests that the process of getting deals done takes time. I held the threatfire belt device, like a camcorder battery with a clip to hang on a belt. Saw the volts as it was shown to me. Impressive as it definately adds an element the others do not have. In all, the guys from Virtra were great to me, very accomodating. There are encouraging signs with this company but patience is going to be key. It seems a very competitive market--most there were flight sims--the shooter sims tended to focus on computer figures and scenes, not real life actors
Mark
