Online terminal management systems are intended to make the operator's life that little bit easier. The days of running from location to location uploading new game content and diagnosing technical faults are long gone, as Helen Fletcher finds out…

The coin-op industry has changed dramatically over the years and more and more games, whether players realise it or not, are being provided in an online format.

Not only does being online allow operators to update the software and provide new game content on a more regular basis to terminals, but it allows them to manage the terminals more efficiently and as a result provide the players with a better overall product.

Many SWP terminals and jukeboxes have, up until recently, had their software updated by the use of CD or USB stick, which, although a massive leap forward in technology, has meant the operator still having to go out to the sites to update the machines. However, the introduction of OTM systems is slowly but surely changing the way the coin-op industry works on a day-to-day basis as they can be applied to anything that runs online, from jukeboxes to SWPs to VLTs, with the list continuing to grow.

Sound Leisure has been a pioneer of OTM systems, having been one of the first jukebox companies to introduce such a system back in 1988. Jukeboxes are ideally suited to this type of system as they have a large database of music that needs to be constantly managed if high revenues are to be maintained.

"The Milestone range that is predominantly Top 40 based (UK charts) is the ideal product to benefit from online delivery due to the fact that the charts change on a weekly basis," says Chris Black, managing director of Sound Leisure.

"The only practical way for these machines to be kept up to date for most operators is by a remote delivery method - increasingly using the 3G wireless facility that has been rolled out in quantity this year."

The benefits of 3G are two-fold - initially there is very little wiring required on site and no additional lines to connect, but by far the biggest benefit is that the contract for the router is with the machine and not the site, so if the jukebox is removed during any period the machine is simply re-sited using the same contract.

For Black the main benefits of OTM systems to jukebox operators are in managing the music itself, which in turn can increase cash in box. In conjunction with Soundnet, each of Sound Leisure’s jukeboxes are profiled for their intended site.

"The music that arrives with the box is suited to the venue and the tastes of the clientele," says Black. "With time, a more complete picture emerges of the music played in the venue and we can ensure that more of the same can be made available. This simply would not have been possible to gauge before - now the data is at our fingertips."

A good example of how this sort of data can help operators is in the run up to Christmas. The biggest song of the year was presumed to be Hallelujah by X Factor winner (UK talent show) Alexandra Burke. However, on the Sound Leisure boxes it was US band Kings of Leon who topped the popularity charts with Use Somebody.

"For Soundnet and the operator, information such as this is absolutely invaluable and this is where the main benefits arise," continues Black. "Instead of simply replacing the same tracks throughout their estate, operators can rest assured that they have a tailor-made service.

"The OTM systems allow all operators to become good operators as a lot of the important work that separates a really good operator from a poor one is taken care of by the back-up team that is running the system."

In addition to music updates, another area in which OTM systems help the operator, which can also be applied to other types of coin-op machines, is advertising.

Operators using the Sound Leisure OTM systems can create their own on-screen adverts with visuals at any time, which can be updated via a connected system from a central point, ensuring adverts can be shown when and where they are required.

For amusement gaming machines the benefits are similar, especially if the games have tournaments attached to them as in the case of Merit Entertainment and Funworld products.

Funworld’s OTM system, Funservice, aims to support operators with a whole host of special features to manage their PhotoPlay terminals optimally. The remote set up includes game management, feature management, special offers and features for the management of the online connection. Operators can choose to activate or deactivate Photo Play games and set credits with the help of the game management function.

They can also activate the fun guarantee and make high score settings with the feature management function. Furthermore, the operators can provide their customers with special offers such as happy hours or fun weekends and can make adjustments to the internet connection such as multiplayer, language and login settings.

As well as all of this the operator can use the system to find out information on their players and clubs so they get a detailed profile about their customers and the performance of the terminals. They can also communicate with players through system messages to inform, motivate or bind them.

For Josef öhlinger, chief executive officer of Funworld, online terminal management systems are irreplaceable and necessary for cost efficiency in the future industry. "Providing a good service is very important in today’s market and determines the operator’s success immensely because it makes their work much easier and more efficient," he says.

"Furthermore, it helps them to optimise their operations and reach the highest possible income. Having a good overview of the machines and their performance is absolutely necessary for this, which can only be done by online terminal management systems like Funservice."

US-based manufacturer Merit offers an OTM system for its online Megatouch product. "It provides operators with money making features such as setting up custom tournaments and location/route specific promotions as well as advertising," says Javier Lanfranchi.

"Features that save the operator money are also included - such as remote diagnostics for preventative maintenance and collection timing."

For Lanfranchi online terminal management systems don’t necessarily change, on a grand scale, the way machines are operated but they do focus the operators on the fact that the Megatouch can generate an on-going revenue stream far beyond casual game play.

"We have been providing OTM systems since 1999 and they have evolved from simple player ranking systems for tournaments to fully-integrated management systems that deliver content, provide operators with service alerts right to their mobile phones, and are making more in the cash box than ever before," says Lanfranchi.

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"Currently they are fully-integrated with Games Warehouse’s SWP and video AWP machines, which are really taking the OTM concept to new heights in the UK and Europe."

Games Warehouse has been developing its back office support system for two years - developing features and conducting ongoing trials on its Paragon and Infiniti terminals.

With the roll-out of its wireless GPRS connectivity package during the early months of this year, the commercial vision of this system, DNA (Dynamic Network Analysis), will be made available to all its operating partners.

Games Warehouse’s Nick Hardy told InterGame that the first phase of the DNA system will enable remote terminal management, allowing operators to collect, collate and compare performance data on individual terminals and across their entire connected estates on a daily basis.

"In addition we will be able to manage game content within individual terminal menus and carry out remote diagnostics should any discrepancies occur," he says. "Downloading of software updates and even new game content directly to the terminals will also be available."

The second phase, applicable to the Paragon network, will be direct connectivity to the company’s new tournament network, delivering a range of tournament game opportunities directly to the connected estate.

For Hardy, connectivity and OTM will totally transform almost every aspect of operation and as systems like DNA evolve, an almost limitless array of benefits will be presented to operators.

"The financial aspects of every part of the business are now under more scrutiny than ever before," he says. "And if cost control is the first step towards improving profitability then DNA will prove to be one of the most significant innovation’s imaginable.

"In terms of real costs such as time and labour, etc, the difference between having to physically visit terminals to gather information and carry out work and not having to do so is immense," continues Hardy.

"By enabling operators to carry out numerous important functions without the need to visit each terminal, DNA will massively reduce operators’ costs."

Games Media, another UK SWP manufacturer, has also invested time and effort into developing a bespoke system to support its digital gaming terminals specifically for pub retailers, which is managed and operated entirely by Games Media on their behalf.

For Adrian Scoffield, director of technology at Games Media, it means the company is able to offer a complete end-to-end digital gaming solution.

"In addition to supplying cabinets, providing content and managing and promoting the terminals, we are also able to offer turnkey content management and reporting," he says.

"The principal benefit is the speed at which you can react to changing market conditions, customer behaviours and any issues in your estate. With an online system the ability to download content updates, change existing content or correct faults is instant, allowing maximum terminal uptime."

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Managing a portfolio of terminals across a pub estate used to be a logistical nightmare, according to Scoffield and this is something that OTM systems solve.

"Terminals would have to be moved every 12 weeks from pub to pub to ensure a regular change of game for the customer," he says. "The task was very much field based, hugely time consuming and expensive."

So far we have only really covered OTM systems that are bespoke to individual products, however, if the future really is in online gaming machines wouldn’t it make more sense and be more economically viable for companies to develop ‘open’ OTM systems - especially in the current economic climate?

That is certainly the viewpoint of Inspired Gaming and Synot, which are already producing such products. "Our OTM system PitBoss, which was developed in cooperation with Boss Media is an open product which is constantly being developed and amended to the demands of individual customers," says Michaela Lejsalova of Synot.

"Every customer has different organisation structure, different demands for accounting of gaming and its own ideas of optimal communication with players. We try to completely satisfy all of these individual needs."

For Inspired Gaming Group, based in the UK, OTM systems, or server-based gaming as it sees it, means different things to different people. Inspired’s view has always been that it needs to be an open environment allowing any developer or organisation to write games for the platform via an accessible API (application programming interface).

Secondly the platform needs to be able to be implemented in different ways to adapt to operators’ security and data management stipulations, as well as abide by any specific regulations that may be in force governing the behaviour of the network.

"Server-based gaming (OTM systems) has the potential to change industry dynamics," says Luke Alvarez, co-chief executive officer of Inspired Gaming.

"Because it peels the game content apart from the physical machine through which it is delivered. This means the retailers can buy machines from manufacturers, depreciate them over five years and keep them in fixed positions on site, with the game novelty provided by the new content delivered over the network."

There is no doubt of the importance of OTM systems to operators involved in online gaming and amusement terminals, especially small operators who will benefit as they can manage their terminals with less time and effort spent.

"Without question the future of our industry is connectivity and OTM systems are at the heart of this future," says Hardy. "This is particularly true in the SWP sector, where the opportunities are almost limitless.

"By creating widespread networks of terminals that can be remotely managed, we will open up a whole new world of possibilities, way beyond the ease of management for operators, which will be a fantastic thing in itself."

Hardy continues to say that as an industry "we have to be able to offer players entertainment opportunities that are unique. We have to compete more effectively with the remarkable, and fully deserved, growth of online gaming, console gaming and mobile gaming and offer something new that captivates the player’s imagination."

It could be argued then that the big question looking forward is open or closed? In a closed OTM system model, the content can only be provided by the company that has manufactured the machine and developed the download platform, or by a limited number of affiliated partners.

This model, according to Alvarez, limits the retail operator’s choice, creates monopoly pricing for incumbent game developers and constrains creativity and new supplier entrants. In this case, Inspired clearly sees the need for an open system, particularly in the current economic climate where operators need to focus on maximising income.

However, we mustn’t forget that for all the good that comes with OTM systems, they are not necessarily for everyone, as Black explains: "From experience collated over 40 years in the industry the team at Sound Leisure firmly believes that operators have many different ways of approaching their business and as such require many different solutions to reach their end goal.

"Throughout this time it has become apparent that to some operators there is little benefit to going online; if they are updating their music regularly and they still have to go to site to collect from the jukebox and other machines, the jukebox has to increase its takings by around £15 a month just to break even," continues Black.

"The main advantage is to operators that have machines on a rental, sited over a long distance - this is where the cost savings currently come into place."

Black does agree, however, that essentially OTM systems are here to stay and that not many people out there can run their business without them - and it would seem he agrees that they should be ‘open’ systems, when he says "they will have to communicate better across the board so jukebox revenues and AWPs - everything - will be accessed from the same program."