InterGame discovers how multiplayer games continue to open the gaming industry up to new players and opportunities
There was a time when many operators felt that table games were a dying breed. Today, however we are seeing a resurgence, much of which has come through the popularity of poker and the increase in the number of electronic table games in the worldwide market.
Electronic table games have traditionally been found in jurisdictions where live gaming isn’t allowed or only allow skill-based table games, such as gaming halls, arcades, slot halls and so on - they can normally be seen in the European street market and are increasingly popular with players.
Today, however, multiplayer games are in demand in every gaming market worldwide and operators with live games are finding they fill a niche in their locations. According to Interblock USA’s Tim Richards, vice president of product management, in most markets, operators find that when they place electronic table games, they bring in new players that wouldn’t play at a live table.
"Multiplayer games allow the operator to offer low stake games that may be too costly to operate as a live game," said Richards. "With this offering, operators are able to cultivate new players that are less intimidated by playing on a machine as well as catering to experienced players that enjoy a faster and easier game to play. Multiplayers also allow operators a format to offer games like sic bo or craps that are expensive to deal, complicated to learn and often prone to cheating. By eliminating these issues the games can be made available to players but also be profitable for the gaming location.
"Over the years, automatic roulette has solved many problems for both the operator and the player," continued Richards. "Roulette played in this format sees players more likely to spread more wagers across the layout. For players that enjoy covering many spots on a game but with low stake wagers, an automated roulette is the perfect solution to allow this type of wagering and do so cost effectively. The game is also played three times faster and there are no disputes to slow the game down."
For Interblock, it is important to introduce new twists to its existing electronic multiplayer games. These twists bring side bets and progressives to existing games with the aim of making them more enjoyable for players and more profitable for the operators. It is also in the process of releasing its new Organic Virtual platform for all of its games.
"In addition to our new line up of virtual games we are very excited about our Organic Dice Craps game that just finished GLI testing and will have its first installation this month," said Richards.
"It will be the first multiplayer craps game available that uses live dice."
Electronic multiplayers are, and always have been, copies of their live environment table ‘cousins’ and for Elaut’s Patrick Magendans, because these games are well-known with the general pubic it is important that multiplayers replicate what they are used to. "The secret of a game is that is stays simple and something players can understand," he told InterGame. "Not all variations of game have been successful and the trick is to provide the proper feeling for the players in order to get the same excitement you can on the live tables. Graphics on the player terminals are designed with today’s newest technologies and use attractive lighting and sounds projected onto the screens to provide that extra sensation to players.
"At Elaut, we will continue to use these advances in technology to upgrade our current products. We carefully listen and analyse the players’ feedback and it gives us a true reflection on our strong points and areas which could be improved."
There is no doubt that roulette is one of the most popular games with players and one of the most suited for electronic tables and the major manufacturers in the industry continue to produce high-end product for the street and casino markets.
Austrian manufacturer Amatic has recently introduced the Roulette Grand Jeu 22WS, which combines all the available features of its predecessor while introducing new features. Fitted with widescreen 22ins monitors to enhance the gaming experience, the Roulette Grand Jeu 22WS is one of the most flexible and complete electronic roulettes in the market. It is available in three versions, a five-player, eight-player and 10-player, which offers two wheels - essentially uniting two, five-player roulettes including information monitors placed centrally between the two, creating a new, unique electronic roulette gaming solution. Player tracking is integrated into the system and all current payment options are available - electronic card, TITO and cash.
"Multiplayers can be found in both the casino and street market, but the traditional ‘home’ for multiplayers is the casino," said Amatic’s Georg Steiner. "Multiplayers offer operators an essential revenue source. They are, in effect, the bridge between classic table gaming and single player slot machines. The fact they operate 24/7 and work electronically allows operators to make a very sound investment decision."
As well as the Roulette Grand Jeus 22 WS, Amatic has introduced the Grand Jeu Croupier, which enables the electronic roulette solutions from the manufacturer to be operated together with a live roulette wheel - run by the croupier, who has full control of the automatic roulette terminals. Also, Amatic’s Live Multi Wheels allows operators to offer the chance to play on several roulette wheels.
It is the technology behind these products that has allowed for such a diverse and sophisticated level of product to be available to market. "Technology is constantly improving but what is more important is that it is getting cheaper so the cost of machines can go down as well and become more affordable," Max Bet’s Ognjen Vlaskalin told InterGame. "More affordable machines means more machines in circulation, means more players and more income so everyone is happy.
"At Max Bet we are concentrating on poker multiplayer tables at present as we believe the most suited game to electronic multiplayers is Texas Hold’em. It is the most popular game in the world and is growing year on year. It is easy to understand, very attractive and a lot of younger players have been introduced to gambling through this game. The problem we constantly have to deal with, however, is that adjustments are almost always needed for every new market we enter."
According to TCS John Huxley’s Tracy Cohen, the main changes in the sector in recent years have been technical developments that allow for improved operational flexibility, increased player choice and ease of play - while delivering a truly live game experience.
"Not only are new intuitive user interfaces now available that better engage with players, TCS John Huxley platforms now boast the ability to deliver multiple live game content to players through one playing position," she said. "This allows players to compete against a live roulette wheel, dice shaker or card shoe while striking the perfect balance between the thrill of live gaming and the advantages of electronic betting. For operators, the difficult decision of what games to position on the gaming floor and what the game ratios should be are simply negated.
"Hybrid game products are proving extremely popular in all worldwide major gaming territories," continued Cohen. "For example, MultiPLAY was designed to meet the demand for a live table with a lifelike, life-sized electronic betting screen. This means that players can gather around the table as they would with a traditional live table and still enjoy the social elements of the traditional game.
"Feedback from day one has clearly identified that location management and players alike, love the real technology ‘spark’ in MultiPLAY. The system features unique touch ID technology, meaning that unlike any other touchscreen betting interface, by sending an electronic frequency through the metal disc at each player station, all players are able to touch
the screen simultaneously and still be recognised individually."
TAB Austria is another manufacturer that has made use of multi-touch capability through its Fun4Four multiplayer terminal. Although an amusement terminal rather than gaming, it offers players the chance to play and compete with one another on the same terminal. "Touchscreen technology has strongly influenced the multiplayer industry," said TAB’s Dietmar Straubinger. "We have been using this technology since 1996 and our customer feedback tells us touchscreen is more intuitive and faster than navigating with conventional input devices. The reason being that touching something is an instinctive human process - players have the feeling of interacting directly with our machines.
"Multiplayer games are a very social experience that is fascinating for millions of people all over the world. They are attractive to all sorts of people because even the most inexperienced player has the chance to win or to challenge someone."
TAB’s Fun4Four gaming terminal is suited to pubs, bars, lounges, bowling locations and entertainment centres. Recent additions to the game portfolio include Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit - both games can be played by up to six-players that offer a completely new game and communication dimension, guaranteeing maximum entertainment and ensuring an even better return on investment, according to Straubinger.
While roulette remains popular with players and is considered the "most popular" by some in the industry, the very set up of a multiplayer allows for new games to make their mark on the industry. Building on roulette’s popularity, Apex Gaming recently introduced a new electronic multiplayer offering a new game, Quikker, and poker at the same time. Quikker is a card game first seen at last year’s ICE exhibition, it is a simple game that combines the best of blackjack and roulette; operators also have the opportunity to offer players Texas Hold’em poker. According to Apex, this unqiue combination ensures maximum uptime and the table includes all the latest technology to allow for 24/7 operation. A TITO version of the Quikker and Poker Table was due to be shown at the ICE Totally Gaming show as InterGame went to print with this issue.
For Alfastreet’s Albert Radman, the industry has been making a "logical transfer to multigame platforms" for the past few years, which as noted earlier, has resulted in players having several choices of game to play. "If you combine such multiplayer machines with multigame software and connect all this to several live stations, you get a winning combination," he told InterGame. "This is definitely a trend that has been occurring for the past few years and so most of the serious manufacturers are already offering the product. Such machines are even more cost efficient and bring more advantages to the operator."
One area where multiplayers can fall down, however, is in the area of tax. "The biggest issue for operators is when the taxes are raised unreasonably high with the intention of gathering additional funds for another project," said Radman. "As a result, operators become more careful with their spending and buy less terminals for their venues. Problems can also occur when governments and legislators find issues with the live wheels that are commonly used on the multiplayer machines. In such cases manufacturers have to modify the machines, which usually results in them being less attractive to players."
Interblock’s Richards adds to this, telling InterGame: "Every market has different regulations and obstacles as it realtes to regulations and tax requirements. As a vendor this is a constant challenge and often a moving target. From a regular standpoint our fully automated products are most often approved as a slot device. Some jurisdictions have been more proactive in their regulations by offering a third category of multiplayer devices or electronic table games. At Interblock we have worked to provide varying formats of the same product to help our games fit each category.
"Tax regulations may sway the operator’s decision on the type of game they install. For instance, operators with a high slot tax and low table tax may choose to install a game played from a live wheel or an automated wheel if permitted."
Alfrastreet will introduce its new single terminal R1SL M3 for 2011, which has been improved in many ways according to Radman and includes the use of a 23ins display instead of 19ins as well as its new Baccarat multiplayer. "The R1SL M3 terminals have been our best sellers for the past couple of years and we continue to improve them to suit the ever-changing players’ tastes," he said.
Looking ahead, for TCS’ Cohen, gaming locations will continue to demand products that satisfy the craving of the table game player - enhancing the experience, while simultaneously driving cost and error out of the business. "These type of products enable the dealer to interface with the player more and create a much better playing experience than just ‘sitting at a table’. It is the kind of technology that operators are demanding to ensure accuracy, better returns on valuable floor space and secure player retention."
While slots will always remain popular with players, there is now a new generation of player that feels more comfortable with the technology used behind electronic multiplayers and, more importantly, trusts it - opening the world of live table games up to an audience it might not have attracted previously. There is something reassuring about the low stakes and semi-privacy available through a multiplayer terminal. "These new generations of players create the perfect scenario for multiplayer games to continue to succeed in the future," said Richards. "Many operators have also found that between the economy and the fact that these younger generations’ bankrolls are a little smaller, that catering to them through multiplayer games is a natural solution. For multiplayer games to change the gaming landscape, manufacturers will be required to expand beyond just duplicating live games and become more innovative."
According to Richards, over the next five years we will see many great games developed that will include additional wagers and side bets that have always been too complicated to deal or play at a live game. The industry will also see new game play methods that are easier to grasp and understand when automated, as well as more slot-like features of bonuses, multi-outcome play and immersion technology. "Essentially most multiplayer platforms are proven, self-contained server-based gaming systems making the opportunities endless," he said.
