Quixant’s business is the supply of highly optimised computer platforms, designed to meet the specific needs of the global slot machine industry.
2013 was an exciting year for Quixant, as we transitioned to become a public company on the London Stock Exchange. As part of this process we spent time explaining to investors the unique, complex and dynamic nature of the gaming industry we work in.
This process reminded us of why we decided to build a business focused exclusively on supplying computer platforms for slot machines and why we remain so highly motivated by the opportunities this industry continues to bring to those prepared to invest in it.
As we all know, the origins of slot machines were the old mechanical and electromechanical machines from decades gone by. The big change came with the advent of video slots. Throughout this period there was one common thread – everything was proprietary and almost everything was done in-house. Internal innovation in electronic hardware was a major differentiator between manufacturers and was of competitive importance.
The relatively recent move from highly bespoke embedded electronics to PC architecture-based gaming controllers has benefited machine manufacturers in terms of increased capability, powerful software development tools, flexibility and re-programmability. This has resulted in a greatly enhanced gaming experience.
However, the characteristics of the machines have largely moved away from being identified by the underlying electronics hardware to being defined by the software that runs on it. Players are completely isolated from the hardware technology that beats inside. What matters to them is the quality of the game - and that means the software.
In gaming it is all about persuading people to play the machines you own or you supplied rather than those of your competitors. The emphasis is therefore moving more and more towards the game software and the leading companies having to focus their valuable resources in this direction, this being the most dominant factor for success.
These pressures and realities mean that machine manufacturers must increasingly focus their valuable and expert resources into creating the best possible games. These same pressures have also recently impacted the gaming console world, with the new Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles all ditching their previous proprietary architectures and adopting PC processor and graphic technology, all from AMD.
The performance benefits and most importantly the ability to use standardised game development software tools have driven this change. The computer platform, while of vital importance to the success of a machine, is not in itself a commercial differentiator.
In the past slot machine manufacturers could not easily buy in complete computer platform solutions that met all the requirements of gaming, but this is no longer the case. Quixant’s primary objective is to provide its customers with access to the latest computer technology optimised for gaming and designed to meet the regulatory standards of all the major gaming jurisdictions. The landscape has changed.
The final benefit of buying in the complete gaming computer hardware platform is time to market. Manufacturers like Quixant are able to introduce products based on the latest technology more quickly. We have a track record of releasing complete gaming computer platforms on the same day a new chipset is announced.
Internal development by slot manufacturers generally takes a lot longer, typically one to two years. This has two major effects - games are forced to run on older technology platforms and there is a more limited stable product supply lifetime. Typically Quixant can offer a seven-year lifetime on its new products, removing a major headache.
Of course it is no surprise that our industry continues to evolve at a fast rate. Things are not what they used to be. Recognising change and adapting to it always has been and always will be the key to success.
