Whether it is for a low stake gaming machine or a terminal built purely for entertainment purposes, improvements in technology have allowed the digital product to develop and enable content providers to be far more proactive with their content offer.
They can tailor the choice of games to suit a particular venue’s customer base and make alterations to menu layouts or game selections if performance dips in any way.
These advances in technology have become particularly useful in the AWP and SWP sector as, according to Andrew Ludlow of UK content and terminal provider Games Media, the technology invested in allows the company to get much closer to the player in terms of wants and needs relating to game choices.
"Our end-to-end networked solution provides turnkey reporting and content management so we are able to make changes to a particular machine’s configuration in real time," he said.
"The other key differentiator with digital is our ability to provide remote technical fixes without the need for engineering visits, coupled with real time visibility of the status of key periphery devices such as coin/note acceptance and hopper level status.
These are key drivers when developing terminal income and digital terminals with network connectivity have been instrumental in making this a reality."
Similarly for Nick Hardy of Games Warehouse, which is also involved in the UK SWP sector, the importance of technology to the digital sector is unquestionable. "The SWP sector is the core business of Games Warehouse and we have established ourselves as one of the market leaders, just as our parent company AMI Entertainment Network (formerly Merit) has long been one of the global market leaders in the touchscreen amusement sector. Every one of these games is a digital product and there would never have been a market without this technology.
"If you add up all the touchscreen multigame terminals, it amounts to hundreds of thousands, entertaining players and earning money for operators and retailers throughout the world. As far as the coin-op industry is concerned, no other digital development can come close in my view."
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Tab Austria has been providing digital terminals to the amusement industry since the mid-90s with the launch of its Silverball terminal, which has since become somewhat of a trendsetter in the industry. For the company’s managing director, Siegfried Dattl Jnr, there have been a number of great developments within the sector over the years thanks to technology, but the most important has been the introduction of the internet.
"It has offered completely new ways of communication, data transfer and game play," he said, "Software updates, games and music can be easily downloaded via the internet and players can battle each other without face-to-face contact as well as send messages to someone on the other side of the world within a few seconds.
"The internet has established itself as an essential part of the amusement industry. Email function, browser, online tournaments, multiplayer solutions and online services are all now considered standard features of our cabinets."
As the quality of digital gaming and amusement products has improved in terms of graphics and game content, so has touchscreen capability and reliability.
"When I first saw touchscreen applications in our industry in the mid-90s, we nicknamed them ‘punchscreens’ due to their lack of responsiveness," said Hardy. "But even then we all knew that this was a huge step forward. Today’s screens are super-responsive, accurate and reliable and there is healthy competition within the supply sector and this encourages further innovation and improvement."
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Touchscreen provider 3M currently works with TAB providing the screen for its Fun4Four digital poker table and for Paulo Pedrazzoli the growing popularity of touchscreens in the gaming industry is easy to understand.
"Replacing mechanical buttons with virtual controls on a screen gives system integrators complete freedom over the user interface design, while avoiding the mechanical reliability issues associated with traditional input devices.
"Technologies such as computer graphics and multiplayer networking have opened up exciting new avenues, but human nature guarantees that the attraction will fade if more compelling, creative directions are not introduced quickly enough."
There are many different touchscreens on the market but manufacturers need to choose the best technology to meet the gaming industry’s aspirations for exciting, fast-moving graphics. It requires attention to detail, not only to ensure the best price and performance but also to ensure reliability in the supply chain.
"Touchscreens such as 3M’s surface capacitive touchscreen technology are the most popular for casino and arcade games - they are durable, reliable and optically clear to allow the full brightness and colour of the graphics to shine through."
Today, new multi-touch and multi-sensory capabilities can also be added to the gaming touch interface. True multi-touch functionality has been long awaited by game designers. The ability to support standard flick and scale gestures, as well as accurately track 10 individual fingers from single or multiple users is proving ideal for next generation games and user applications.
"By also incorporating tactile feedback gaming machines will be able to convey a variety of touch sensations to the user’s fingertips ranging from simple clicks and variations in resistance to communicating dynamic effects such as pulses or vibrations," said Pedrazzoli.
"We are entering a significant era for the touchscreen product with the emergence of multi-touch and multi-sensory gaming," he continued. "These functionalities will hold appeal for all the demographic groups, for seasoned players to youngsters who have grown up with the delights and opportunities accompanying pervasive technology.
"It is certain to dramatically increase market expectations. Even more exciting, it will ultimately encompass all gaming and entertainment experiences."
The gaming and amusement sector has been totally transformed by touchscreens - the improvement in player interaction they provide has enabled game designers to extend the boundaries of their own creativity and, as Hardy puts it, "without touchscreen, the sector may have stagnated and become a niche pastime restricted to enthusiasts only."
