Review G2E LAS VEGAS 2016
Confidence and clarity shone brightly from the new IGT booth at G2E, not just through its extraordinary use of 4K and 4D, but in the focus and precision of its game releases. G3 spoke to IGT’s Victor Duarte about the launch of SPHINX 4D and the direction of game development
Buried for most of its life in the desert sand, an air of mystery has always surrounded the Sphinx, causing speculation about both its age and purpose. While historians have spent centuries seeking to uncover its secrets and mysteries, IGT has cracked the riddle, not once, but twice, creating a revolutionary game- changing slot machine on both occasions. IGT’s SPHINX 4D game, launched at G2E 2016 in Las Vegas, introduces unprecedented immersion and interaction with air haptic technology, gesture recognition and new hardware, the CrystalCurve TRUE 4D cabinet.
No product on the exhibition floor in Vegas has stunned audiences as many times as Sphinx. Te theme is derived from the mythological hybrid that stitched together the body of a lion and the head of a woman, while the Sphinx slot machine has become one of the gaming industry’s most successful evolution stories. It too has hybridised itself, incorporating the very latest technology to create the cutting-edge SPHINX 3D, and now the unbelievable SPHINX 4D slot machine.
Te original game title was launched by Atronic in 1998 and has been a phenomenal success in every market into which it has been translated. However, it was in May 2013, with the launch of SPHINX 3D by GTECH, which saw audiences around the world recognise this product as unlike any other. Speaking to Victor Duarte, IGT Global Chief Product Officer at G2E, he described the development of SPHINX 3D as a landmark moment for SPIELO, the GTECH subsidiary that took the Atronic game and created something mythic. “At the time, SPIELO was looking for a game-changing internal product for the casino sector that would be a must-have for every location,” states Mr. Duarte. “SPHINX 3D was to be a conversation opener that would help the company sell its wider portfolio. It would be the one title from GTECH that everyone needed on their floor.”
SPIELO’s remit at the time was to launch SPHINX 3D as a niche product, a highly entertaining game that leveraged 3D glasses- free technology on an internal non-licensed theme, which didn’t require a third party licence, but was already an internationally recognised slot title. SPHINX was a perfect fit.
Revealed to the public for the first time at G2E 2012, SPHINX 3D instantly caught the imagination of the gaming community. Positive responses turned into a backlog of sales and a widening of the initial focus. “It was obvious at the G2E launch that we had created a
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Renato Ascoli. CEO, North America Gaming/Interactive (DoubleDown Casino), pictured with the new Wheel of Fortune MEGATOWER
IGT delivered a MEGA-towering performance with the launch of six new cabinets, tightly honed new licences and amazing SPHINX 4D
compelling product and that we shouldn’t be too narrow in our focus,” describes Mr. Duarte. “We re-shaped the roadmap and created both entertainment and gambler titles, adding more entertainment with Bejewelled and gambler math models with Dragon’s Temple and Aladdin. Te launch of those titles saw us blow through our original business case for 3D, and as the company became IGT and we gained access to Wheel of Fortune, we took the concept into WAP (wide area progressive), effectively creating a third content stream.”
WHEN NICHE BECOMES MAINSTREAM Te 3D technology that launched with SPHINX
3D is now an essential part of 2,100 placements in the US alone, part of an entertainment, gambler and WAP mix of product lines that now includes a mechanical reels version of SPHINX 3D shown at G2E 2016. In addition, IGT launched Double Diamond 3D at the Vegas show in a non-WAP format, creating four product lines that Mr. Duarte believes could see the number of 3D machines in the US rise to 4,000 placements. “When we launched 3D, it was an evolution based on player and customer feedback,” says Mr. Duarte. “Te six new cabinets launched by IGT at the show have evolved in a similar way, through the constant
drive to improve our product lines. We have sought to maintain our unique position on the slot floor, continuing to develop our expertise in this technology. If necessity is the mother of invention, complacency is its enemy.”
Observing players interacting with IGT’s 3D games, the IGT product development team watched as they tried to reach out and touch the 3D images appearing before them. Te question was asked: ‘what if we could deliver on that natural instinct to touch the 3D image, giving gesture recognition that players could interact with?’ “We looked at how players would reach into the screen and sought to deliver a mid-air haptic sensation of touch combined with the 3D image and gesture recognition with the latest screen technology,” explains Mr. Duarte of the idea that would become the genesis of the 4D experience shown at G2E 2016.”
Te SPHINX 4D game combines IGT’s glasses- free 3D technology, gesture recognition functionality, and never-before-seen-in-slots air haptic technology. Air haptic technology gives players the chance to experience real-time tactile feedback from the game, while gesture recognition enables players to interact with and manipulate the game's 3D objects. IGT presented
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