Focus REFLEX GAMING
partnership with operators who have been asked to commit to the development of DigiSlots. The company already has five operators onboard, which has totally justified the development of the platform. It's the perfect push-pull model in practice. However, the measure for digital has to be different than for analogue, warns Mr. Stott. "You can't measure digital against analogue site averages. You need to look for the site average to grow as a result of the introduction of digital," says Mr. Stott. "We can see the release being a gradual one as it's proved that there's a backlash if you try to force this kind of product on the market. The great thing, however, is that people in the marketplace will be the ones owning the capital and they'll work with us to get the best from the product. The customers that have committed to DigiSlots have invested in their own futures. They are not just sitting back and waiting for this product to 'materialise.' They have taken the initiative and sought out the product they want. We don't see digital as a replacement product for analogue, but rather a complementary product that will grow the player base and increase the cashbox at the same time."
BROAD PORTFOLIO While success in Category C has dominated the news from Reflex, the company continues to support each of the different machine sectors in the UK, with club machines and B3 arcade/bingo product also topping the charts, though sales of these games are at significantly lower volumes. "We are a major supplier of machines purchased in the bingo sector, currently No.1 in club operations and we are working with major arcade operators in Cat D-C and B3," states Mr, Stott. "We have a bespoke bingo product for Mecca Bingo running on 13,000 tablets and exclusive MegaSlots B3 product for Gala Bingo. We have established strong relationships and cover a wide geographical area - we don't just cater to the UK pub market, but have a complete portfolio of product across all the sectors."
The politics and commercial models that so dominated the UK market in the past have also changed. The cost of failure simply rose too high for manufacturers to effectively supply the market. The former models by which manufacturers needed 100 machines to test, and up to a year to see a return, have been consigned to history. There has been a realisation that if this model had continued it would have killed off the market completely - though it very nearly did. "Retailers are more flexible," admits Mr. Stott, "but everything is still measured by the cashbox. If licensed games were the only driver of the cashbox then we would have to follow that path. However, we have shown that we can engage players purely
The great thing, however, is that people in the
marketplace will be the ones owning the capital and
they'll work with us
to get the best from the product. The customers that
have committed to DigiSlots have invested in their
own futures. They are not just sitting back and waiting for this product to
'materialise.' They have taken the initiative and sought out the
product they want.
We don't see digital as a replacement product for
analogue, but rather a
complementary product that will grow the player
base and increase the cashbox at the same time.”
QUENTIN STOTT, Reflex Gaming.
through gameplay and operators and retailers have been willing to take that chance. If you look back at the last 15 years of gaming heritage in the UK, with JPM, Bell Fruit Games, Maygay, Barcrest, etc., each had their own profiles and game house styles that have been pretty much whittled down to a single brand - Deal Or No Deal."
"It's been said that Reflex's product takes money simply because it doesn't have Noel Edmunds' face on it," says Mr. Dawson, referring to the multiple versions and iterations of the successful and seemingly omnipotent DOND brand. "What's true is that we are producing something different that's standing out from the rest. Alice and Jailbreak are not licensed games, which means there's a greater margin for all concerned. It's also a refreshing change as the market was getting close to being so reliant on brands that there was a mode of thinking that only branded product would be successful in the UK. We've shown that's not the case"
Having whet the market's appetite for Reflex's content, extending its pipeline of games has been incredibly important to maintain momentum. When Reflex first came to market the company could complete a new model every two months; six in total per year. Extra software and graphics personnel and more play testers since then have meant that Reflex has upscaled to one new pub model every month utilising almost identical resources. "We could increase to two per month if
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