Over the past several years, gaming system manufacturers
have been racing to introduce technologies to provide gaming operators with a
vastly improved method of communicating with EGM consumers through customizable
windows that appear on the main game display. The Player User Interface (PUI)
has the potential of revolutionizing how the gaming industry delivers customer
service and player experiences by offering a real-time, bi-directional
opportunity to communicate with the gaming consumer.
In the absence of a
standardized approach, a bountiful variety of PUI technical infrastructures and
platforms have been introduced to the market. From the perspective of a gaming
operator, the business value related to a PUI implementation is derived from
diverse competitive content, not technical infrastructure. In fact, the
increasing variety of PUI technical frameworks is proving problematic for a number
of reasons including:
• Failure to achieve optimal alignment with the
common business needs of operators;
•
Higher systems configuration costs;
•
Higher implementation risk;
•
Reduced speed to market;
•
Fragmented product landscape (i.e. not all EGM manufactures may support
your PUI investment);
•
Incompatibility of display capabilities;
•
Limited scalability to other customer touch points;
•
Uncertainty in regulatory acceptance; and
•
Overall constrained business growth potential.
Realizing that the issues
outlined above were limiting potential revenue growth, the Gaming Standards
Association (GSA) through its Operator Advisor Committee (OAC) decided to take
action. Following an in-depth analysis of the situation, OAC members concluded
that the best end-state that could be realized for all gaming industry
stakeholders would be the identification and standardization of many of the
infrastructure-related components, allowing for an increased level of
competition in the area of PUI development.
The OAC prepared a series of
use cases to help describe a large percentage of business requirements related
to PUI applications. These cases were reviewed in detail by GSA technical
committees to determine any gaps between existing GSA protocol messages and
those that may be required to implement the PUI as envisioned.
GSA has also been working to
identify a common set of PUI templates for the industry. These templates will
describe:
• How
PUI windows are to be displayed on the EGM screen, including location,
quantity, and dimensions;
• How
PUI windows interact with the EGM; and,
•
Timing and placement of the PUI windows on the EGM.
Templates are not intended to
impact, dictate, or restrict content. Instead, they provide a consistent
framework for content that everyone can work within. For operators, systems
manufactures, and EGM manufacturers the adoption of common templates facilitates
discussion of operator requirements with the vendors. This is anticipated to
increase efficiency, effectiveness, and profit potential. Common templates will
accomplish this by mitigating any need for re-working applications; ensuring
that applications are correct upon delivery to operators; reducing the need for
one-off custom environments; limiting the number of visual parameters that must
be supported; and reducing the number of overall surprises.
Sometimes it is useful to
step out of context and look across industries for ideas and confirmation of a
path of action. Along this line, consideration of other technologies that have
evolved through the course of recent history provides a sound “best practices”
business case for standardization of the base platform. Standard formats
including Video Home System (VHS), Compact Disk (CD), Digital Video Disk (DVD),
and Blue-ray effectively demonstrate how the eventual domination and
standardization of a framework results in content proliferation, higher content
availability, and higher profitability. Evidence suggests that moving
technology toward a standardized base format enables greater opportunities for
significant content creation and increased profit
potential.
GSA acknowledges that it may
be difficult, in the short term, to agree on a single set of standardized and
approved PUI templates; yet, the benefits of success are significant and well
worth the effort.
Note: The PUI template is a
common denominator that has been identified by GSA. It facilitates the
discussion of operator requirements with vendor products offerings. SlotManager
For more
information on the Gaming Standards Association, visit
www.gamingstandards.com.
COMMON GROUND
May 1, 2011
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