Has server gaming’s time finally arrived?
It seems like every year, slot makers use G2E as a forum to tout the benefits of server-based gaming, how it will revolutionize the gaming industry, and help pump profits while expanding the slot customer’s experience.
And every year after G2E we don’t hear any more about server-based gaming, at least until the next G2E.
Well, this year may be different, as MGM MIRAGE (MIRAGE) opens its Aria Resort at CityCenter in three weeks, with most of the machines on the casino floor server-based. So far, most of the applications have been in "beta test" situations, with only a handful of machines affected.
Plus, casino managers are beginning to take notice of the new technology, especially as they try to bring back old customers and cut costs through a more streamlined operation.
"Delegates will be looking for new cost effective strategies and methods to address both increased competition and the current challenging economic climate," said an upper-level manager of a Las Vegas casino operator. "In particular, they will want to see what practical technology solutions exist that can be easily implemented to deliver immediate results."As its name suggests, server-based technology eliminates dedicated slot machines. The system allows the player to download from a list of (presumably) hundreds of games any game she wants on her machine. Plus, she can order a cocktail, keep track of winnings or players’ club points and even participate in a slot tournament – all on digital 3-D screens on the generic slot machines.
"Server-based gaming will be a big talking point," said Avron Goss, director at BetStone, an Irish company that has been providing server-gaming solutions for more than five years. "Because it is a proven technology with the ability to deliver both on games and benefits, delegates will see it as something that they can implement and manage for themselves to deliver high demand games and tangible business benefits."
Though there may be numerous "tangible business benefits" to server-based gaming, some experts feel the state of the economy could hamper casinos from totally re-vamping their slot floor."There will be a lot of tire kickers but not many buyers," Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "A lot of people have postponed the decision (to buy new machines) because of the recession.
"But at some point they’ll just have to turn in their old clunkers and that will benefit the gaming-manufacturing section," Easington continued. "They will experience a comeback but if that comeback occurs this year or next year or the year after is difficult to say because the industry is still in pretty rough shape."
Another difference this year is that IGT won’t be the only major manufacturer displaying its server system. Other companies like Bally Technologies (BYI) and WMS Gaming (WMS) have developed sophisticated systems of their own, and it will be interesting to see how they present their products, in what is a competitive environment for the first time.
But IGT must still be considered the industry leader in server gaming. About 1,000 of Aria’s machines will be IGT machines, connected to its central server system. Another 1,000 machines from other manufactures such as Bally, Aristocrat and WMS will also be adaptable to the central server network.
Question? Comment? E-mail me at: David Stratton
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