Under pressure to steal some of that disposable income away from other areas of entertainment, the coin-op industry is finding that the answer might just lie in 'linkable' machines. Helen Fletcher finds out more

Walk into any amusement arcade or FEC and what do you see? Families and groups of friends gathered around playing on the machines. Whether they are playing against each other or are there for moral support the key element is that they are there - enjoying the experience together.

It used to be that video gaming was a very solitary pastime with the games of the 80s built with just one player in mind. The home console market, born out of the arcade sector and an area that has invested hugely in multiplayer concepts more recently, also originated with just the one player in mind.

The appeal of playing against your peers isn’t some overnight phenomenon - the draw has always been there and interacting with friends and family, working together to achieve something, or fighting against each other for that top score is part of our everyday social experience.

Advances in technology have improved the capabilities of video games - resulting in linkable machines and the sector is now about delivering a shared and very social out of home entertainment experience. According to Namco Europe’s John Brennan, the games are about group participation, collective enjoyment and healthy competition.

"For a game to succeed it needs to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and for you to leave that game with a smile on your face," he said. "Many industry observers have written off video as a genre. At the EAG Expo in January we turned this argument upside down and inside out by writing a really good order book for our collection of star games.

"What is true is that there is absolutely no room for second best, but if you can deliver a great product at a fair price, operators will back you with orders. So providing you have strong games, multiplayers will work across all locations."

It is fair to say that all of the major players in the video arcade sector, including Namco, Konami and Sega Amusements, have strong multiplayer games reflecting the strength of investment in this category and the need for players to be able to go up against their peers.

Namco’s latest titles such as Tank! Tank! Tank! and Go Go Grand Prix, Sega’s classic driving games such as OutRun and sports game WCCF and Konami’s latest video arcade game GTI Club Supermini Festa, are all strong examples of how multiplayer video arcade games work well.

"That old fashioned head-to-head element of a game is still popular with players," said Sega’s Justin Burke. "We have had huge success with multiplayer games worldwide but particularly in Japan where they are quite big on community, with younger people not tending to spend a lot of time at home.

"Attaching a tournament to a multiplayer game can also increase its popularity with players in some parts of the world and in Europe, arcades will tend to make big features out of their linked machines, using it as a centrepiece with a lot of theming around the machines."

No matter how realistic the computer player is, it can never match the realism of playing against human opponents but this is not to say that video games cannot be successful if played alone.

Konami’s DanceDanceRevolution X, for example, is a game where players gain thrills by competing against themselves. According to James Anderson of Konami, it is not uncommon to see players battle against the high-score board rather than against another player in an arcade.

However, it is in head-to-head battle where DDR X excels. "The success of the game is largely due to the challenging nature of the game and players’ willingness to beat their friends," said Anderson.

Linking machines naturally takes up more space, meaning different operators will be able to accommodate different numbers of machines.

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According to Anderson, a machine’s footprint is always a consideration for smaller locations so games with small footprints that feature multiplayer games are often high on the wish list for many operators, which is where its new game BishiBashi steps in - a three-player game, which is relatively small in size, giving it high income earning potential and ideal for any arcade.

Unique in that it comprises of over 30 mini-games, which can be played as a single player or as a team of two or three players, the BishiBashi made its European debut at the EAG Expo in January.

"It received an overwhelming amount of enquiries and testing is planned for over the next few months," said Anderson. "Players have an advantage when playing as a team as their likeliness of succeeding increases, as does the subsequent size of their ticket prize."

Video games may lend themselves easily to the multiplayer set up, but it is not the only area in an arcade where you will find families gathered around playing against one another. Michael Green of UDC in the UK told InterGame how redemption games can sometimes include multiplayer elements rather successfully.

"We first introduced a multiplayer game a few years ago called Basket Fortune. A four-player centrepiece, it was a very successful ticket machine that still has appeal today because of the very simple and easy to understand game play," he said.

"The fact that multiplayer redemption games are almost four single games linked by bonus features - enables the operator to maximise the ROI. Multiplayer redemption games have established themselves in locations where there is space and their popularity will continue to grow."

It is not only the amusement sector that benefits from linking machines and across Europe gambling hall and adult gaming centre operators are seeing the benefits of linking their AWPs.

According to Neil Chinn of PCP, whose expertise is with the UK Category C/D games, taking a single player product and extending one machine to two, three, four plus units and adding extra features - provides the player with extended entertainment.

"Technology has extended the presentation and game design," said Chinn. "Not only the hardware platform, but the use of LEDs and modern plastics has enabled a product to be presented that is vastly different to previous games.

"In the UK, linking machines allows the location to present a range of varied products and provide centrepiece products that will attract customers into the locations.

"The multiplayer AWP is a vital part of a location’s product mix but needs to continue to develop in order to compete with the changing expectations of the customer," continued Chinn. "ROI is important to operators and therefore the product pricing is also important. It is easy to get carried away and design products that are stunning in appearance but if the game within does not produce the required cash box it is wasted."

For Adrian Buckley of Diana Marketing in Spain, which is involved in Arachnid’s Bullshooter darts tournaments, it is about creating a package that is fun and motivational. "Multiplayers or sports games can only function in the long-term if an infrastructure geared to player motivation is developed," said Buckley. "An essential element of this whole structure is development of a sense of competition and of camaraderie that starts in the ‘local’ and goes through to events held in locations such as Las Vegas where nearly US $1m can be won in prize money."

Marisol Rodriguez, also of Diana Marketing, adds to this, telling InterGame: "Multiplayer games are what it is all about. They bring the element of social contact, the boy-meets-girl environment with the object of a championship and league strata so important in pure sport games.

"In our experience the single play feature is useful as a ‘filler’ when the location may be quieter. On our darts games the single player feature is interactive with the player insofar as they will play against a software program within the machine that adjusts to their level of play and decides when not to let them win."

Diana Marketing recently also launched patented multiplayer game KnockOff Shuffle, a skill game which combines reality and virtual reality seamlessly. The shuffle game has been designed with social interaction in mind as four players can play against each other or a quick in-bar tournament can be set up for up to eight players - there is also an online league mode available.

Advances in the internet have vastly improved opportunities available to operators of amusement machines and it can be used as a tool to further enhance the multiplayer experience.

Not only has the video arcade sector benefitted from the likes of Konami’s e-AMUSEMENT, which has revolutionised the gaming experience in Asia - linking players in an online community and giving them access to additional game content, while offering tournaments and online head-to-head play. But the internet has enabled gaming terminals to become much more interactive and reach out to a wider player base.

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Austrian manufacturers TAB Austria and Funworld are two extremely good examples of how using the internet and advances in touchscreen technology can make the most out of machines and provide operators with the best chance at making money.

According to Funworld’s Mario Dambauer, product management and game sales, multiplayer games have been enhanced immensely through online connection developments, as players from all over the world can play against each other in real-time. "Thanks to a live video stream and special message functions, players can even communicate interactively with each other during a game," she said. "With regard to speed and the number of players taking part in a challenge, things have really developed over the years and up to four players can now play at the same time on a PhotoPlay multiplayer game.

"Players have to be fascinated yet challenged by multiplayer games to keep them interested. They must be provided with alluring tournaments and additional attractions such as the chance to win real money and to communicate with each other. Real opponents, real-time challenges, high jackpots, fascinating game content, community features and winning chances make up the key factors of a successful multiplayer game.

"Multiplayers are becoming more and more important in a location’s game mix as they quickly get the player’s attention and provide an unforgettable game experience with real opponents instead of computers as opponents."

Always at the forefront of innovation and creativity, TAB Austria has taken the popularity of multiplayer games and incorporated it with multi-touch technology provided by 3M, which enables up to four people to play on the Fun4Four table simultaneously. The 42ins touchscreen with full HD resolution and multi-touch functionality provides a completely new game-play - the system is controlled with finger touches on the screen, but unlike standard touchscreens offers a lot more variety and can be operated by several players at once with each interaction immediately assigned to the correct player.

"When operators choose the Fun4Four multigame table they benefit in a number of ways," said TAB’s Dietmar Straubinger. "In addition to its versatility and the growing selection of games the Fun4Four presents a significant return on investment for operators, encouraging increased use through multiplayer interaction. It is very important to bring new features and games to remain attractive to players."

TAB’s R&D department constantly works on new games, features and products and the new 2.6 version for the Fun4Four is the best evidence yet of innovation from the company. "With the software update you can immediately enjoy the great range of games in HD graphics," said Straubinger. "This once again increases the entertainment value of Fun4Four enormously - razor-sharp images and crisp colours provide the games with a new dimension. We want to impress our customers with diversity, innovation and creativity. The logical step is the exploitation and development of new technological possibilities that maximise the play experience through ease of operation and high quality."

This "logical step" is one that is clearly being mirrored throughout the coin-op industry and as operators continue to see the benefits of linking their machines the innovation, creativity and passion present in the industry, tucked away in R&D departments all over the world, will continue to break through and provide that "very social out of home entertainment experience."

First published March 2010