The Publican - Amusement In The Hospitality Landscape

Kevin Williams looks at how the latest entertainment technology is bringing a games revolution to pubs and bars

The amusement landscape has changed drastically from the Pac-Man days of the 1980s. Coin-operated amusement is moving from the arcades to the entertainment scene - and that includes pubs. At the same time the slowdown in the popularity of home game software means players are having to go out to find something new. "Unachievable at home" is the new mantra. And it is a change that has ushered in some of the latest technology in the amusement arsenal.

Video

Amusement With Prizes (AWP) machines have been the mainstay of the majority of pubs. But the technology of video amusement has evolved into skill-based gaming to create the Skill With Prizes (SWP) category - video amusement ranging from trivia quizzes to mini-games that offer instant financial prizes.

Building on machines like the phenomenally popular "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", new SWP technology is demanding more advanced skills from bar and pub players. SEGA's CashCube, for instance, squarely targets hospitality with its maximum £40 payout and uses the latest video game hardware. Leisure Link, one of the big pub industry machine operators, has, through its interactive media division Inspired Broadcast Network (IBN), developed its own SWP platform with the ITBox, and can now offer uploadable gaming through more than 3,000 machines in pubs, including the JD Wetherspoon chain and others.

The ITbox hopes to become an entertainment portal for pubs with the platform allowing marketing and public service information to be downloaded through the touchscreen.

Connectivity

This kind of connectivity means that not only can games be downloaded but player details and scores can be collected for tournament gaming and network communication has been behind the success of the most successful video amusement machine.

With over 30,000 connected Golden Tee machines worldwide, the golf game series has a vast loyal fan base and pays out millions to players through their prize tournament network.

Pubs and bars have capitalised on this, embracing the concept of prize tournaments. Now manufacturer Incredible Technologies, through UK distributor Electrocoin, is moving to the next level with the imminent release of Golden Tee Live.

The golf game market has become a crowded scene. American powerhouse Global VR, supported by UK distributor Cosmic Video Amusement (CVA), has its own PGA Tour Golf Championship, a development of home gaming software in a package to suit the drinking public.

Global VR has taken the idea of the prize tournament a step further with a player able to acquire a VIP card that will store their details and be used across its range of games. Prize tournament systems will be a major part of the video amusement future.

Furniture

The creation of stylish flat screen cabinets to suit the hospitality environment is now commonplace. One of the biggest enhancements has been interactive touchscreens that bring mini-gaming to casual players in bars. Systems such as the MegaTouch series from Merit, represented by CVA in the UK, has proved lucrative for certain sites.

Taking the concept further, CVA and Merit have built an SWP version hoping to add a new dimension and increased revenues. Upright SWPs have migrated into stylish and eye-catching cabinets such as CashCube and ITbox, but there are more opportunities in this changing field. One newcomer is Digital Tables, which has created entertainment furniture for the style-hungry bar and club scene. The company offers both classic game content, in a unique table-top configuration, and an additional touchscreen configured SWP variant, using the same platform but with a different gaming experience.

This kind of highly fashionable piece of furniture is seen as a way to bring comfort to hospitality gaming.

Networks

The need to have these new machines linked to the latest high speed communications network has seen these systems go beyond pure gaming. Leisure Link, for instance, wants to see its broadband system used to encourage wi-fi connectivity, an agreement with BT aiming to open up a third revenue stream. The ability to pull other communication technologies into gaming has seen the new generation of systems target mobile phones. New broadband systems include digital jukeboxes that can provide music direct to phones and MP3 players.

Player accounts

The deeper player experience enabled by connectivity has built a bridge to a revolution in gaming. Global VR's VIP Card takes memory card technology similar to that used for credit cards and some manufacturers are looking at using mobile phones to store player data.

Machine companies can create an elaborate internet ranking

infrastructure that enables successful players to collect prizes and people can customise their persona in the games. This provides a vast wealth of detailed information on buying habits and preferences - marketing data many would kill for.

E-money

This brings us to what could prove the largest upheaval to the relationship between machine manufacturer and operator. Cashless amusement describes the use of credit cards to pay for gaming. Technology based on the connectivity of broadband networking allows micro-payments to be collected from credit cards - the latest Golden Tee golf game is one of the first credit card enabled arcade machines.

Certain manufacturers are also looking at activating payment from mobile phones, with systems already in operation in Japan. Also being looked at in Asia is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), special tags that can transmit data and pay for games in a similar way to the swipe cards used on London Transport.

With the removal of the cashbox - especially in gaming machines - the problems of security are minimised, along with vandalism. For the operator, however, a vast slice of revenue will need to be replaced if cashless amusement gains ground. The possibility of renting venue space to machines operated by a new style of manufacturer/distributor is one example an exciting future for hospitality entertainment.

" Kevin Williams, a former "imagineer" for Walt Disney, is founder and director of the out-of-home leisure entertainment consultancy KWP, famous for the industry e-newsletter The Stinger Report. Go to www.thestingerreport.com

(First published in the May 2005 issue of The Publican)

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