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An industry that does not evolve is in danger of becoming obsolete. At this most dangerous time for the amusement sector, signs of sterility are beginning to show. And this failure of the established market has left it wide open to attack from other industries hoping to profit from making attractive games.
A sophisticated player base has now matured, raised on a diet of rudimentary arcade games in the 80s and home game consoles in the 90s. This player base is now ready and able to spend its disposable cash outside the home on experiences that feed their love of interactive entertainment. “Tainmentizing” is a new term that has been coined to denote the incorporation of various elements of entertainment such as retail, gaming, catering and others.
Many of these sectors are interested in interactive entertainment products but all have their own specific requirements, not currently covered in traditional amusement offerings. The end result is that these markets are starting to build their own.
Hospitality Industry
The hotel, restaurant, bar and pub sector offers a large audience that is more than willing to be entertained. The development of this market for interactive gaming has been named “Eater-Tainment” or “Hospitality Gaming”. For this market, the conventional, coffin-like black box of video amusement is not acceptable – particularly for the highly-themed club and bar market.
The development of specifically tailored hospitality hardware has gathered momentum and there are a number of new companies exhibiting at leading hospitality exhibitions. One such example is the COMPendium – offering a multiple entertainment system for the hospitality sector, a touchscreen system with trivia content, jukebox, karaoke and even bingo content, shown on screens throughout the venue.
The concept of a DJ-style facility entertainment package has also been developed in the shape of the MediaTheme system. A self-contained package for hospitality sites that offers jukebox, video music, live-action racing channels – again with a touchscreen interface, pushed through the venue’s various television screens. The added benefit of these system is the interactive game media – supported by the ability to slot in specialist advertising, which is another significant revenue generator.
The concept of a networked trivia game experience is not new. American NTN Buzztime Interactive Entertainment has been the premier developer and distributor of interactive sport and trivia games since the late 1980s. The system offers the bar market a means to entertain an audience with live-interactive entertainment using television screens to display a special channel, which is linked to the NTN wireless, touch terminals, allowing multiple participation.
The Buzztime product has established a considerable hold over the sector with around 4,000 restaurants and sports bars in North America participating. The company has recently turned its attention to the UK. It has amassed a huge database of game-show trivia that has generated revenue exceeding US$15.9m annually. It is the simplicity of operation that has made the brand so popular – as well as the wide selection of content and themes. The next generation of the NTN technology is looking at using patrons’ mobile phones and developing new levels of interactivity, such as the style of the card game Texas Hold ’Em.
In the UK, interactive trivia content is being sold by the developers of ClickerQuiz. The company utilises a central terminal rather than a dedicated broadcast channel like NTN. The players in the bar use simple IR remotes to register their scores. The ability to drop a system into a venue – either via a dedicated terminal, or from an interactive broadcast channel – offers a level of personalisation favoured by the bars. Advertising, sponsorship and other promotions are also a very popular aspect of the systems.
These are all elements that make it an uphill struggle for conventional amusement machine companies to compete, not least because of the tight restrictions governing the placement of AWP and SWP machines. The lucrative nature of the hospitality sector is not lost on the amusement industry, however. The British Hospitality Association (BHA) represents over 20,000 hotels and guest houses with over 40,000 restaurants and bars. Internationally, the hospitality market has seen arcade companies such as Incredible Technologies modify their sales operations to embrace the needs of the hospitality client base, for example with slimmer cabinets and better presentation.
An interesting move by the amusement sector to utilise its skills in the “Eater-Tainment” scene can be observed with the launch of the uWink Restaurant concept. Legendary founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell’s latest project is a dining experience that offers a social element. Using interactive touchscreen units on every table, for self-service ordering and multi-game content, the uWink Restaurant concept aims to create a Starbucks-style franchise. The idea of interactive ‘self-service’ table terminals is also available from UK start-up Escapism Media with its Escape Pod – bringing mini-game entertainment directly to diners’ tables.
Casino/Gaming Industry
The casino and gaming sector has long borrowed elements of the amusement industry to create compelling interactive gameplay. Recently the developer Atronic Systems became the latest to show gaming technology with amusement elements. The company’s Tournamania architecture offers a tournament feature to connected gaming systems. In Las Vegas, the conventional slots are being slowly superseded by the latest flat-screen video display gaming machines, making them appear far more like traditional video games. The development of a terminal-based video horce racing wager game brings a new genre to the market. Products such as F3 Systems’ Royal Grand Prix Derby are proving to be a great success, with over 200 units already installed in Taiwan.
The need for the casino industry to entertain, maintain and contain its audience means that an extra something has to be put into the mix. Much of the investment in the past has been on splendid theming. Now, investment is being made on interactive machines. This has led to gaming companies upping the “amusement factor” in their products.
And it is not only in the US. The UK casino industry is also changing, as was seen at the recent G2E exhibition, which – despite being held in the US – attracted a record number of UK visitors, keen to look at new developments, such as interactive, SWP-style machines.
Vending and Kiosk Industry
The established coin-operated vending industry has embraced much of the new digital technology already. New developments such as e-payment and “telemetry” of machine operation are only now beginning to be adopted by the amusement industry, which has been slow to catch up.
Kiosk and self-service vending terminals that offer gaming elements are already around. SCA Gaming this year launched the Email Yourself a Million kiosk. The system offers both a customer data-collection service and a prize-draw point-of-sale element. The venue visitor adds their details to a special email service that sends them an email with a chance to win prizes.
The vending sector is now adding an amusement component to its machines, perhaps in response to the many smoking bans currently being proposed in Europe, which will take away a valuable revenue stream. Products that combine vending and amusement include the Rollerball platform from Intouch Games. Featuring a 22ins flatscreen and trackball interface, the machine is more amusement than kiosk. The mixture of point-of-sale and promotion in an entertainment package can also be seen in the Felix Everyone’s a Winner amusement kiosk.
Can we survive?
Despite the doom and gloom, it is clear there is still a strong interest in established amusement technology in markets as diverse as retail and hospitality. The only problem is that the amusement industry is not able to utilise its amassed experience in a suitable way to establish a definite presence. The industry has the skills to make its presence felt but has to do so now, before it is too late.
It is the ability of the amusement sector to offer prize payout that lifts it above the new start-up operations. No matter how interested in new technology the player is, he is more concerned with actual cash payout than the promise of a prize at a later time. The amusement industry is also far more versed in providing the right balance of skill required with entertainment offered, a difficult thing to get right.
But the development of technology to replace traditional amusement systems is a danger that needs to be addressed. The SMS Jukebox system from MuMa Music offers the possibility of music paid for by mobile phone. Special screens inform customers how to use their phone to order music and the retailer shares in the generated income. Despite this, many operators still favour the physicality of the jukebox.
Better styling is needed from the amusement sector to bring it up to date. In addition, there is a need to look at new market sectors and to be more flexible, in order to appeal to the hospitality, casino and vending industries, so that amusement doesn’t get left behind.
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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