INTERACTIVE PLANS FOR POKER MACHINES

25 April 2008

Advanced graphics and more interactive will pull 'em in, predict experts


The Future Trends in Gaming conference in Queensland, Australia recently gave an interesting glimpse of the way in which poker machines may develop going forward....and the influence of the interactivity and advanced graphics used in online games may be impacting the land sector.

The plan for more sophisticated, hi-tech 'pokie' machines was canvassed at the conference, where major industry organisations outlined their vision to attract younger players.

"I don't think (gaming rooms) are an environment Generation Y wants to be in. They get bored easily," Justin Brown of Aristocrat Leisure Industries told the conference, suggesting that a new and futuristic line with Xbox-style graphics and interactivity may have more appeal, and some of the versatility of games played on a PC or laptop. "Group activities and games are the way of the future - as are challenges and tournaments."

Ross Ferrar, from the Australasian Gaming Machine Manufacturers Association, backed the plan, saying gaming machines needed to be updated to be more in line with 21st century technology. "At the end of the day where all this is headed is making the equipment more similar to mass IT equipment," he said. "Gen Y wants to do things like change the background colour or put their favourite character in."

Ferrar said the shift towards more user-friendly machines was partly because of younger gaming designers. "It may be more appealing to Gen Y but it's also about making the game as entertaining as possible to everyone," he said.

He said there was a 10-step process of gaining approval for new games, which could take up to three years.

Anti-gambling bodies canvassed on the idea by local newspapers were predictably against any changes, and underlined a recent study which apparently found that young men who left school at Year 10 were over-represented among problem gamblers in Australia.

"I am concerned that research has shown that problem gamblers are more likely to be 18 to 24-year-old males," a spokeswoman for Gaming Minister Graham West said. The government is working on a campaign that will use internet and SMS technologies to educate young gamblers.

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