Amusement has had a considerable impact on coinage. In 1979, a shortage of ¥100 coins in Japan, triggered by the explosion of Space Invaders, once again proved the currency-hoarding capabilities of the amusement cashbox established during the heyday of pinball. More recently, digital cash has made a large impact on the public sector, with purchases at convenience stores and railway stations using cashless systems now a commonplace occurrence.

The vending industry has rapidly advanced in offering a broad scope of payment means for its services, but the growth of this new payment methodology has been slower in the amusement sector. One of the most popular new Asian technologies being applied to amusement is the FeliCa Integrated Chip (IC) card-payment system, called EDY. This cashless procedure was developed by an offshoot of Sony, embracing non-contact operation via radio frequency identification (RFID) - also known as RadioWare - technology, transmitting card data to receivers in terminals.

The international mobile-phone operator Vodafone recently joined a growing list of providers adding EDY technology to their handsets, creating the wallet phone, or e-wallet, with an estimated 5m EDY-equipped phones in circulation throughout Japan. EDY is used mainly by commuters on phones or cards, replacing tickets for train journeys, and there are 12.4m prepaid EDY card systems in operation.

Taking contactless payment out of the convenience store and train station, the first amusement applications have seen Namco Bandai Games use the system in its Ledzone arcade sites. Players on the Counter Strike Neo networked first-person shooter can use EDY cards to pay for their terminal time.

Sega has also added an EDY capability to a number of test facilities, looking at the top-up card as a means to increase expenditure on site. It has also developed its own environment that mixes payment with tournament gaming. The Sega Amusement Linkage Live Network (All.Net) provides its venues with high-speed fibre-optic tournament architecture, with players using IC cards to store data and e-credits. The cards are based on technology developed for the company’s previous Amusement Theme Park (Joypolis) ticket systems.

The amusement giants’ love affair with cashless payment systems has blossomed on account of dual benefits - not only the attraction of increased guest expenditure, but also the ability to compile detailed logistical information on player habits and popular systems beyond the mere collection of revenue data. Sega has developed a crane game using RadioWare-equipped prizes - mascots and teddy bears - that remotely interact with the machines their owner comes in contact with. The ability to chart the movement of players and their preferences will go towards shaping venue layouts. The company has also supported the competitive Suica electronic payment system, ensuring a wide adoption as it moves towards a final standard.

More systems are being developed by other Asian games manufacturers. Taito, for example, recently started an experiment using Netcash. Developed in 2003, the Netcash concept offered a convenient payment method linked to credit cards and online access. This interchangeable payment platform works well with Taito’s own Net Entry System (Nesys) tournament environment.

This year, Taito’s street-racing title Battle Gear 3: Tuned was supported by the Taito Nesys Tournament, with competing players receiving Netcash prize payments for victories.

Internet-based systems such as CredEcard, WireCard or Netcash already provide online payment services, and are also starting to offer physical goods for online monetary units. The amusement industry is one of the many sectors that could benefit.

In Europe, e-payment has been mainly conducted through the use of credit cards. But the adoption of chip and pin (particularly in the UK) in 2004 has meant that cards are now used for a greater variety of sub-£10 purchases, making them ideal for payment at vending and amusement machines. With over 77m UK Visa cards in circulation, being able to accept a card transaction has become a necessity to exist in the marketplace.

Amusement manufacturer Incredible Technologies’ popular Golden Tee Live tournament golf game, which is usually located at the heart of the hospitality sector in pubs and bars, has been designed to accept credit cards. The company has worked with Chase Paymentech to administer the card programme. It has also developed a prize-payment environment that gives ranked players the opportunity to pay for games with “virtual credits” from accrued points - the ultimate cashless experience.

Other products recently seen in the gaming sector - from manufactures such as ElectroMatic, with its EZ-Play IC card-based payment system for casinos and gaming

are broadening the application of IC-style payment. A swathe of video-game developers hope to follow suit, borrowing from the digital-jukebox industry, which has emulated the vending sector and turned to credit-card and even mobile-phone payment models.

Family entertainment centres have also turned to cashless and tokenless systems to facilitate usage and generate additional payment opportunities. The “food-n-fun” venue operator Dave & Busters, for example, has championed smartcard payment, and other entertainment venues designed for all the family are converting to using card payment.

The technology is advancing in the restaurant scene too, as social gaming, bars and restaurants consolidate. The new venture from the founder of Atari, uWink Bistro, offers a cashless hospitality environment with contactless RadioWare payment supported by automated touchscreen food and beverage ordering, all held together by the group mini-gaming experience.

The use of an e-payment methodology in this kind of venue points to a future where buying a single credit will be replaced by the purchase of gaming time. Some sources suggest that adding e-payment to traditional cash-only industries can generate a 20 per cent increase in business well worth the effort.

Relatively young US companies Incredible Technologies, with its Golden Tee Live game (below left), and uWink Bistro (below) are among the first to investigate cashless payment options for their games

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Feature writer Kevin Williams is founder and director of the out-of-home leisure entertainment consultancy KWP Limited (www.thestingerreport.com/kwp.htm). His extensive experience in the global video amusement and hi-tech attractions industry includes top management and design posts, with special focus on new technology development and applications. A well-known speaker on the industry and its technology, he pens an extensive number of articles. He is also editor and publisher of The Stinger Report, a leading free industry e-newsletter and web-based information service (www.thestingerreport.com).

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