11/9/06

.“Major New Development in IT Franchise!” (#504)

Stinger REPORT Skinny!

(25/07/06) The Stinger takes the time to investigate Incredible Technologies’ new development to cement their position, with the new connected Silver Striker Bowling, along with the largest software update for their flagship Golden Tee LIVE! series which sees contentious changes in player features at a time of the Regional Play-offs. And a new Switch Kit from an unofficial site being sold by Happ Controls that will prove interesting. Finally coverage of the impacts in the Big Buck series from intense competition.

Main REPORT:

Following the Stinger’s extensive and exclusive coverage of the Hospitality sector, one of the leading providers of amusement technology into the bar and club scene has been through great developments in recent months that are worth coverage.

Incredible Technologies have become the undisputed leader of the application of video amusement into the bar and club scene. Most recently the company has focused on their new ‘Golden Tee LIVE!’ (Proprietary Hardware) building on the Golden Tee franchise. The new kit created to retrofit existing upright cabinets with an online or off version of the game has augmented a slow adoption change-over – a factor for all amusement manufacturers to try and get intransigent operators to buy new technology. It was recently revealed that IT was working on a kit for home use with big screen display – this marks a return (beyond a special home game version made for the toy industry (Stinger #453)) to the consumer scene for cabinets, though the ban on home network variants remains.

Continuing the new investment, IT finally launched the tournament enabled version of their bowling title. ‘Silver Strike: 2007 Bowling Club’ (Proprietary Hardware), building off of the Capcom USA, and Strata bowling game experience has been ‘super sized’ with the inclusion of the connected element represented through the Silver Strike Bowler’s Club (SSBC). This supported by one of the first applications of a nationwide 'Sweepstakes' for players. Games played during the promotion period will be awarded a sweepstake entered in a prize drawing. It has however to be understood that winners are chosen randomly; high scores have no bearing on chances to win.  Players increase their odds of winning the drawing by playing more games, not by playing better.

But it is the investment in the golf franchise that has seen the greatest movement. This year IT with ‘Golden Tee LIVE! 2007’ undertook the largest remote update of the game through a connected software revision. Over five new courses added to the game, along with the inclusion of major game play changes including ‘hole-n-one’ feature returning to the game after being removed due to public demand.

Incredible Technologies has been taking great efforts to try and address the growing development in player abilities. For the last few months it has been noted that Golden Tee ‘Gold’ and ‘Silver’ players have an undue advantage in accrued playing ability and club selections towards holding onto the top section of the prize pay-out in tournament games. Several different attempts were made to address this situation.

First with an adjustment in the scoring structure for the top echelons of the Golden Tee playing that saw a perceived more fairer way for lower players to reach up the score charts, and then in July the actual play structure of the game was changed significantly with the reworking of the available players club structure – the 320 driver being altered to reduce the long drive element that was perceived by IT to distanced certain players from top points placement and was detrimental to prize games on older courses. These long driver players (known as ‘bangers’ – due to the force they apply on the trackball) dominating the top score charts and prizes, but also applying strain on the cabinets – the ability to drive long distances a factor in the 2004 fraud issue (see Stinger #340).

For many in the Golden Tee community, speaking on Internet forum sites and to the Stinger, is concern that IT may be in a transitional state of the company’s history, as the concept of the popularity of tournament gaming evolves. The company may be trying too hard to address problems with high prize games being won by the usual suspects and a need to widen the community may ‘kill the golden goose’. IT, by limiting the playing conditions, could also break the playing structure – player anger registered on the forum sites about the game codes shortcomings, a sign of a bigger issue. It may be that IT’s timing for these format changes was also less than ideal, coming near the playoff periods for many regional tournaments. Yet even the passionate complaints from some quarters, serve to illustrate the depth of feeling about the game…and how still popular the game is.

One operator source stated that for many, international tournaments are becoming a dirty word and that local and regional leagues are the bread and butter of the operator (if not IT) strategy. The importance to drive up player revenue has been maximized by IT, though the aspirations of their new tournament infrastructure, credit card support and new cabinet have not been the slam-dunk hoped – the major delays in making LIVE! operational and the restrictive testing schedule (compounded by the latest update), adding to the problems.

One interesting element that has not been receiving any coverage has been a sudden rise in new technology applications to the Golden Tee and Silver Strike game – which are not made by IT!

The small American developer Amusement Technologies LLC, released some months ago their ‘Switching Kit’, the technology was based on direct operator requests – concerned that though the alternative ‘Silver Strike Bowling’ would make more money with a player base tiring of Golden Tee, there would always be die-hard players wanting golfing action, but most operators were not prepared, in the hospitality sector, to operate more than one video cabinet. It was proposed that   with a swap option a double opportunity existed for this system.

The resulting system has proven incredibly popular to the point that Happ Controls, well-respected spare parts supplier, has included the hardware on their product list. Sources also suggest that IT (though not officially recognizing the system) has found that a number of their salesmen have been selling large numbers than normal of the kit version of their hardware of Golden Tee Live!, Golden Tee Complete! and Silver Strike Bowling!

One aspect of the Switching Kit that seems not to have been mentioned is the ability now for operators to actually gauge the popularity of the two golf games from Incredible Technologies and from Global VR. Already sources speak of a number of bars running PGA and Golden Tee enabled cabinets – we look forward to seeing the revenue split!

What Could this all Mean:
The one other element of the investment by IT into the hospitality scene was not through their golf and bowling, but also through their Big Buck game shooting property.

This property has been under fire following first the loss of the development team to a leading competitor, and their launch of a new version of the game, with a coming tournament version, and by the appearance of a competitive and network enabled system from a second leading competitor (SEGA Amusement USA’s ‘Extreme Hunting 2’) with high promises of support and special deals for operators.

This situation has left IT’s own ‘Big Buck Hunter 2006: Call of the Wild’ (Proprietary Hardware) in a difficult position – as the market competes on their turf, the speed in which they can create a connected and updated version of the game is compounded by the loss of the original developers Play Mechanix, who announced closer ties to Betson / Raw Thrills for the foreseeable future.

The state of the sports shooting market was recently covered by the MSBC web news site. The Play Mechanix latest version of the Big Buck franchise given pride of place; in the feature it was revealed that since it was launched in 2000 by Incredible Technologies over the last six years only 6,500 machines had been sold. But since the February 2006 launch of ‘Big Buck Hunter Pro’ (Proprietary Hardware), now under Betson control the company expected to sell 6,000 in this first year – Betson went on to claim they expected 10,000 sales of the first version! Very high claims indeed.

Betson claimed an 80 per cent higher average earning than Golden Tee, based on information including the RePlay trade publication best upright vote. A $3,000 a month revenue-earning machine was charted in the feature – reminding many of the golden days of video amusement earnings, sources at Play Mechanix seeing the success based on the game “bring new customers and revenue”. This stiff competition has been matched by the appearance of the SEGA shooter (Extreme Hunter), and that IT could see serious revenue competition to the strangle hold they have had over the bar and club market.

The competition will heat up with the connectivity of these systems. Play Mechanix looking at an online version of BBHP within six-months, while SEGA will be updating the connectivity of their ALL.NET enabled sports shooting game in the coming months.

2006-7 will prove a transformational period for the leading American amusement company. IT will have to adapt continually as the market moves towards greater hospitality amusement spend, as the industry sees growing impacts of revenue sharing, and as the implications of increased competition are felt. All these factors together will make for interesting times. Without debilitating legal battles, and having to launch new hardware to create new revenue – next year’s Nightclub & Bar Show should prove to be a high-water mark in the success of the current strategy.