With the rise of redemption, is video in decline? Not so, said Kevin Bachus, senior vice president of entertainment and game strategy at US operator Dave and Buster’s.
Redemption has been a major success story for the industry in recent years and is now the main focus for many operators. In general, video appears to account for less of the game floor than it previously once did, yet it is a more complex situation than has been suggested.
“I don’t think there’s a decline,” Bachus told InterGame. “As we introduce new simulations they certainly perform very well but I think that it’s more down to the strength of redemption rather than a weakness in simulation. Also, I think it is a self-perpetuating situation where, because of the strength of redemption, you tend to get a lot more redemption games and a lot more compelling redemption games. There may be a little bit less investment going on in simulation.
“I see the simulation market being much more akin to Hollywood blockbusters. You see a smaller number of much more compelling games, so as a result the masses stick to redemption because it is what the larger market is looking for and it’s what a lot of the manufacturers are looking for.”
Looking ahead, he said, there is likely to be a great deal of “convergence” between the two categories towards what he described as “redemption-plus.”
“We’re seeing a lot of that convergence so, to some extent, some of the work that would have gone into pure simulation is going into simulation that has a redemption aspect to it, or to redemption games with aspects of simulation.”
