Products HYBRID GAMING


The hybridisation of gaming


Hybrid table games have fought hard to earn a place on casino floors with momentum growing thanks to new high quality low cost solutions


Hybrid table games have been part of the international casino landscape for several years. The motives of early games developers centred primarily around reducing labour costs and enhancing security on traditional table games.


Initially, many traditional casino operators believed that there was no place on their gaming floors for products such as electronic roulette and poker games, seeing them as more appropriate to electronic street casinos. There is no doubt some early products were bulky, garish and out of place in a traditional gaming environment.


As casino operators sought to improve operating efficiency, manufacturers began to step up to the mark. As a well-known operator once put it: “I can rely on my slots to generate income, my table games generate risk. If only I could bring to my table games the level of control I have on my slots.”


Products started to appear which not only looked at home on the casino floor, but also enhanced traditional dealer operated games. They were successful, not only because they delivered a package of benefits to the operator, but also because they delivered added benefits and choice to the player. Taking roulette as an example, the player can sit at a traditional


“At Astro Corp we


have a long tradition of delivering high


entertainment value. It’s important to engineer back the


original excitement when traditional games are


transferred to the


digital environment.” Simon Herbert, CEO Astro Corp.


table or can play the same game in privacy on a terminal. He may play several tables at once and may opt for a dealer or mechanically generated results. The outcome is that players are happy with the wider choice and the operator benefits from improved efficiency. There is also a third significant factor; the player base grows as new players are attracted by a ‘soft’ introduction to the games.


Astro Corp is already a very successful business, creating exciting video slots and VLT games for the world’s gaming markets. With a 300 strong development team, Astro Corp originates and delivers games which are right at the cutting edge of digital media. The company’s entry to the hybrid gaming market caused something of a miner shock wave when the first products were showcased at international gaming expos. So why would a company, relentless in its pursuit of new technology as a way of delivering an increasingly exciting immersive gaming experience consider a retro look at games that have been around for centuries?


Simon Herbert, Astro Corp’s Chief Executive explains: “A number of our customers had suggested that we look at the multiplayer and hybrid games market. The benefits of such products, both to the operator and to the player are well documented and our customers were telling us there was no shortage of product out there, but that they felt prices were high and excitement was low.


G3 I JUNE 2011 I PAGE 58


“We have responded by developing a range which challenges not only the existing price model but incorporates new and exciting features to engage the player,” he added.


Astro Corp has a point. Originally casino games were by their very nature, social affairs. Hybrid and multiplayer games have introduced a whole new generation of players to the gaming experience. The privacy, comfort and lack of intimidation which they deliver is attractive to many. But could it be that for some players the experience is now excessively sterile?


Simon Herbert is in no doubt: “At Astro Corp we have a long tradition of delivering high entertainment value. It’s important to engineer back the original


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