Last month, we looked at some of the unique slot games being launched this year that use game presentations outside of the traditional spinning-reel array. But there’s another style of game just beginning to get traction in the market—games that go outside of the traditional slot-machine cabinet.
Arcade-style games have a long history in the casino industry. As far back as the 1970s, carnival-like games, such as the Flip It! machine that allowed customers to shovel quarters out of a pile, were commonplace as a novelty offering, and in the 1980s, the biggest hit of the former Sigma Game was the Sigma Derby mechanical horse-race game.
Konami Gaming—a company whose parent, Konami Holdings of Japan, is one of the most successful amusement and video game producers in history—has tapped into a new desire among casino customers for something different, launching its Fortune Cup multi-player racing unit with an introduction at the 2016 Global Gaming Expo.
Fortune Cup is a modern version of what Sigma had done with the Derby game, which featured play stations around a miniature horse-racing track. Players would wager at at the stations before races of electro-mechanical horses. With Fortune Cup, Konami took that same basic formula and added digital technology.
The game features 12 betting terminals around a 274 cm-wide mechanical track with eight horses that travel freely and independently across the course. The horses’ actions are mirrored by real-time digital animation on connected LCD screens in a sports broadcast format, and players place their bets through touch-screen stations with race stats, horse odds, and comprehensive bet options for win, place and quinella.
Within a year of the 2016 trade show, Fortune Cup would debut at the Venetian and MGM Grand casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and at the D in Downtown Las Vegas. At MGM Grand and the D, the Konami unit was placed alongside of the last two remaining Sigma Derby units in Las Vegas.
Konami would soon launch Crystal Cyclone, an arcade-style ball-drop game, and Beat Square, a music skill game, as well as a casino version of its legendary Frogger arcade game, Frogger Get Hoppin.’
Meanwhile, other games that look nothing like a traditional slot are coming from the few companies involved in producing skill-based games. Many of these new entries are produced as multiplayer experiences in which players compete in the games while standing around a gaming table like nothing currently seen on slot floors.
Several other prominent slot suppliers are dabbling in these alternative game styles, particularly the horse-race genre, which is now being offered by AGS through its distribution of Alfastreet’s Royal Derby horse-race unit in North America. AGS officials say it’s too early to comment on the Royal Derby installations, and representatives of Scientific Games, IGT and a few other suppliers that have experimented with arcade-style games say they are not ready to comment on the subject.
Companies that are experimenting in these styles of games say they are doing so to attract a different customer: younger players, namely, who tend to prefer a social experience at the forefront of their game play.
“Community multi-station games like Fortune Cup have become a growing interest for casinos around the world,” says Steve Walther, senior director, marketing & product management for Konami Gaming. “Operators are looking for new types of gaming entertainment that will help generate energy and excitement—attributes which are characteristic of the multi-station product because it allows players to share in the experience of the game outcome together…
“Unique multi-station developments like Fortune Cup provide a greater game diversity, in order to reach more diverse audiences. It is an expansion on available entertainment, giving more opportunities for creative interaction and social engagement for players that want that type of experience.”
Walther says initial results for Konami’s Fortune Cup indicate the game is in fact bringing in new players. “It is especially effective in attracting uncarded play, so we have limited data available on returning activity,” he says. “However, we are seeing the game attract a following of engaged fans in top locations.”
Many in the industry trace the appeal of these games to trends in the larger consumer entertainment market, with the phenomenon of “barcades” like Dave & Buster’s and other similar adult attractions popping up around the U.S.
Non-Traditional Evaluation
Measuring whether or not non-traditional games are worthwhile from a profit standpoint is a tricky prospect. “If you try to compare new entertainment to traditional slot product, it’s probably not going to match traditional evaluation metrics,” says Konami’s Walther. “You have to identify the goal of introducing that new entertainment, such as increased zone traffic or uncarded play; identify how success is measured for that particular product. and evaluate accordingly.”
Walther notes that while the market for these community-style games is still in its infancy, it is growing fast. “Interest in community slots is growing both among players and operators, and popularization is just beginning,” he says. “They like what’s available now and they want more. It has an element of instant social gratification, where people can celebrate together within the moment and be a part of something. It’s an experience that’s surprisingly universal, and especially appealing for younger adults.”
Konami is forging ahead with Fortune Cup, with more than 30 installations across three different countries. Konami Australia Pty. Ltd. Recently announced the first Vietnam market installation of Fortune Cup at Club AKOZ, Eastin Grand Hotel Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Konami Australia plans to expand Fortune Cup installations throughout Asian gaming markets including Macau, Singapore, Cambodia and Philippines.
“For Konami in particular, we come from a steep tradition of innovative entertainment through our parent company in Japan … we actively work to leverage that technology to bring new R&D to the casino industry,” says Walther.
That community experience is growing. It’s a good bet the game libraries of more slot suppliers will soon be adding these types of game styles to their offerings.
