InterGame finds out...

YES Simon McCarthy, JPM International The AWP product in the UK has changed significantly. Conventional mechanical formats are giving way to hybrid and, more recently, dual video. In some of our overseas markets, conventional product is still the order of the day but there is much enthusiasm for our Video Max Power, our recently released gaming system based on a local or remote server and offering ultimate flexibility. We’re seeing more exploitation of popular licensed brands, mainly from the entertainment sector. JPM International was a pioneer of this and is currently having great success with the Al Murray The Pub Landlord brand. The development of more sophisticated platforms with advanced sound and graphics and the use of TFT screens means that games developers have more tools at their disposal and in the UK, the advent of the recently revised technical standards for Category C has given JPM the ability to enhance player appeal. There have also been significant improvements in coin and cash handling and float management. This is particularly relevant in the UK where some sectors of the market still suffer from coin starvation…

NO Nick Hardy, Games Warehouse Apart from the shift from analogue to digital presentation, a change that has met with a very lukewarm response in certain markets, the AWP has not changed that much as a product in the past quarter of a century. In terms of creative product development, this is disappointing and a contributing factor to the lack of interest among younger age groups, who have seen numerous products arrive that are creatively superior. Obviously the main technological advancement within the AWP sector has been this shift towards digital presentation. In terms of improving the product, it has certainly given it more relevance to the emerging younger player base that is familiar with video, touchscreen interfaces and online play. In terms of the street AWP that sits in a pub or bar, I would say that the biggest thing that video has provided is ‘potential’ because as yet, the vast canvass that the digital medium provides is being massively under-utilised by AWP content developers. The sight of a video monitor displaying a replica of a previous reel-based game is sad for anyone who wants this genre to move forward and grow. That is like buying a colour TV and setting it to only show black and white pictures…

This feature appears in full in the January 2012 issue of InterGame.