InterGame assesses the important role of technology and innovative thinking in the coin-up amusement industry

Technology has always been at the heart of the coin-op amusement and gaming industry and continues, every day, to allow game designers to push the boundaries further - producing innovative product for an ever-demanding player-base.

Whether it is a five-year-old playing on a redemption game in an FEC, a 25-year-old playing on an SWP machine in a bar or a 45-year-old playing on a multigame machine in an adult gaming centre - the use of technology and innovative thinking plays a crucial role in a machine’s success.

Changes in technology have allowed the industry to introduce everything from online play, connectivity between machines and multigames to high quality graphics, sleeker looking cabinets, online back office management, touchscreens and cash control.

For Astrosys International’s Robert Bird, the advent of the internet, USB technology, wireless communications, replaceable memory cards and so on - all of which, are present in the cash handling sector - all provide opportunities to make cash handling more manageable and accountable, since remote access and audit trails become much easier to implement.

"From a currency handling supplier viewpoint, changes in technology present a double-edged sword," Bird told InterGame. "It provides us with opportunities to explore different ways to validate and discriminate coins and notes. However, on the flip side, technology also makes fraud manufacture easier and more detailed.

"The result is that technological advances both help and hinder currency handling suppliers. We produce ever more complex and advanced validation techniques just to stay ahead of the fraud game."

The introduction of computer assisted drawing software is another tool, which thanks to technology, has greatly improved the efficiency of the coin-op amusement and gaming industry. Gone are the days of the drawing board, a pencil and ruler.

Bird told InterGame, how in today’s environment extremely powerful computers support CAD packages, which can design a product from the ground up, right to the point of delivering manufacturing instructions to the tooling floor. Lengthy design times are now very much reduced with faster review cycles and efficient collaboration between design teams, leading to an output which can undergo virtual prototyping for form and fit testing, leading to rapid SLA modelling and final product approval. The end result is a more efficient product-to-market solution.

Technology has had a dramatic effect on what the industry is able to do regarding machine development and the majority of operators are forward thinking and want to try something new. They are receptive to games featuring new technologies and it is essential manufacturers always try do something different by pushing the boundaries.

Touchscreen technology for one, is becoming increasingly prevalent in the amusement and gaming industry and for Mike Sigona of Elo Touchsysems, the introduction of SAW technology to the gaming industry has given manufacturers a choice and some much-needed competition between touch suppliers. "Since the introduction of SAW we’ve added APR technology which allows the use of fingernails and pens on the all-glass screen with an edge-to-edge flat design," he said. "After nearly 40 years in touch, our catalogue features nine touch technologies - more choice for taking gaming to a new level."

As discussed in our payment solutions special issue another great introduction to the coin-op amusement industry in particular, has been the debit card system, which has got better and better as technology has advanced - introducing more and more features to aid the operator run their locations. Whether it is used for managing monetary transactions in games or redemption balance, the impact and possibilities have been tremendous. QubicaAMF’s Players Club is just one example of customer database management tools that continue to expand marketing possibilities for retail establishments. There are numerous companies taking advantage of this in various ways - such as wireless debit card systems introduced by Sacoa.

For bowling expert QubicaAMF, another great advantage that has come out of advancements in technology has been the possibility of online competition, which creates the possibility to expand product offerings and increase customer player loyalty for retail operations.

"The pace of technology in every part of our lives is moving exponentially," said a QubicaAMF spokesperson. "Whatever fictional scenarios that exist today, will be transformed into reality tomorrow. I am certain that the amusement and gaming industry will take advantage of these possibilities. Seeing the light is easy - discerning its source and direction is the challenge."

As well as opening up opportunities for competition, the internet enables operators to better control their machines, particularly on the gaming side. For JENSIgame’s Jens Goransson, it is essential that new technologies are embraced by the gaming industry to ensure its long-term success. The manufacturer’s latest product - the ILT - allows the traditional slots operators to embrace the ever-growing online gaming market. It embodies technology and operators can choose from a whole range of cabinets to fit their needs and player requirements, which according to Goransson, is a fundamental point. "The ILT can be integrated into all types of gaming environments from street gaming, low end and high end arcades, VLTs and even casinos," he said.

Not only have advances in the internet changed the way gaming machines are operated and controlled - but they have also allowed for better game offerings and the multigame format is now standard across many European gaming halls. For Georg Steiner of Amatic, which is heavily involved in the multigame offering, it gives operators real game choice so players can pick and choose their preferred game. "The major change in the gaming industry has been the advancement in video-based gaming technology," he told InterGame. "This has allowed the growth of the multigame and we continue to play a major role in bringing optimal player solutions to the world of multigames."

It is not, however, just the gaming side of the industry that has benefited from improvements in technology and everything from video arcade games, redemption machines, jukeboxes and simulators have become more innovative in their design and customer offering thanks to advances in technology.

Justin Burke of Sega Amusements Europe told InterGame: "One of the most innovative and forward thinking products I have seen is a concept that has come out of Japan called Touch Striker - a football game housed in a single cabinet that taps into the Nintendo DS type of game - it is something that hasn’t been seen in the arcade sector before.

"It is something different and pushes the boundaries by introducing a touchscreen element to video arcade games. If the video arcade sector can tap into the Nintendo Wii culture, which has become a phenomenon, it will open up a whole new market and will have massive implications."

In the past, it was difficult to convince operators to embrace technology, but today it is so infused into their business that they’ve come to accept that it’s here to stay. In the industry’s infancy, games were far more basic in their appearance and game-play. Now, there are plasma and LCD screens combined with surround sound to give the player a whole new experience and a reflection of the age we live in - the public demands extravagance.

Improvements in technology have also opened up the possibilities available to simulator manufacturers and the sector continues to make the crossover with video more and more. Looking back we can see the various leaps that have been made in simulator technology and how falling costs allow it to gradually be deployed in more affordable applications. The early simulators were all hydraulic and had low to medium resolution backlit displays. This moved to HD, high luminosity systems and then to 3D projection. For the larger park capacity, the displays went off-board the simulator base and into large arena or shared displays across many motion bases.

The jukebox sector has also be revolutionised thanks to improvements in technology and the product now offers pub and bar locations a wealth of additional features. The market has changed in  leaps and bounds - digital jukeboxes maximise revenue through the constant provision of the latest music in combination with music on demand functionalities, which can increase cash revenues of up to 50 per cent. For the consumer, online machines look better, sound better, can allow personal playlists that can be accessed from a server on other sites and contain a vastly improved choice of music - thousands of tracks are accessible at any one time with regular updates available too.

The amusement industry like any other must change with the times to remain commercially viable. A greater realism from enhanced game-play and graphics, sometimes combined with theatre style presentation, are new approach formats that will be released in the near future and will enliven the overall experience for players. Only the best games generate the levels of income required for today’s locations. Development is therefore much more thorough and painstaking.

As new technologies arise, there are bound to be many more developments across the coin-op amusement and gaming industry. But one trend that seems to be a major influence across the board is the rise of the internet - whether it allows for online machine management, tournament play in real-time, connectivity of machines or greater choice for the consumer - it would seem the industry has a lot to thank it for.

Changes in technology will continue to invigorate the amusement and gaming industry and provide the game designers with that much needed inspiration to come up with that all-important winning formula. The industry does, however, face challenges and tough times ahead so must keep up with its competition in order to stay at the top of its game and continue attracting the players.

First published July, 2010