This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
LICENCES


www.euroslot-online.com


HOT PROPERTIES


Licensed products appear to be a major driver in the amusements and gaming industries – but how important are they really to developers, and are they more of a gamble than they seem? Jon Bruford reports


is that a licence increases consumer awareness and, perhaps subconsciously, increases a player’s acceptance of the product because of familiarity. Of course, a licence is about more than a face on


A


a machine, or a logo in a game. As John McLoughlin of Bell-Fruit Games says: “Although there have been successful licences which have not


good licence can, there is no doubt, increase revenue in many ways. The general consensus


had an obvious ‘machine association’ such as Lord of the Rings and The Simpsons, the very best licences are those where the concept behind the licence is associated with the gameplay on the machine. “Obvious examples of this are Deal or No Deal,


Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Monopoly, where the feature board is an inherent part of the game. It is, however, important to understand that a


licence alone does not make a good game. Our industry is littered with licences that have failed to turn into a winning machine. A licensed game may well attract the player in the first place but if the game does not have sufficient depth and player appeal it will not make the grade.”


Actor licences are


unusual, but several companies have


tried their hand at character licences


To confirm that this philosophy pays off, Bell-


Fruit has a great history in winning licences, with Deal or No Deal still doing superb numbers and Monopoly showing no signs of age. Other licences are less obviously game-related,


though. At the recent ICE exhibition in London, Novomatic unveiled an attractive Marilyn Monroe mystery progressive; while actor licences are unusual, several gaming companies have tried their hand at character licences, such as Dirty Harry, or Rocky. The benefit these licences bring is that they are evergreen – they’re probably not going to go out of fashion any time soon.


Keys to success The terms of the licence can be critical to


profitability. If a licence is only available for one platform – for example online, or a single class of slot – it becomes much less attractive for a developer, because it’s more cost-effective to develop a product once then deploy it to multiple platforms, such as mobile, online, FOBT and slot. Acquiring a licence before the property becomes


a hit can bring big benefits too. One of the most successful licences of recent years is the Bullseye SWP from FatSpanner, where online content director Paul Slavin explains: “Historically we had


26 MARCH 2012 THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE AMUSEMENT AND STREET GAMING INDUSTRY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32