Simon Johnson Senior Vice President & Managing Director, EMEA, Light & Wonder
strategy, by doing so it allows us to invest in our people and products. Without the dept reduction we would not be able to move forward as the way we have as a new business.
Jamie also described Scientific Games as a company that had lost focus on R&D. What’s different about Light & Wonder today as opposed to content and technology in the past?
Simon: I think a tangible change has taken place within the business. We are far more calculated as regards the creation of our content, focused on what each game is intended to achieve and how it fits into the marketplace. Tere was an overdue recognition too that while we had talented and strong teams, our portfolio lacked strength in certain areas. We have had the chance to look at ourselves as an organisation and understand the ways in which we can manage things differently. We have made changes accordingly as regards the way we work with studios, including significant investment in our R&D. We have changed the metrics from the previous regime by recognising that to drive creative output - you have to make
sure the inputs of energy, focus and numbers are all correct. Whether that’s acquisitions on the gaming side, recruiting talent or buying studios, this is a very different approach that’s mindful and conscious of the need to nurture creative talent.
The Investor Day said that the lack of R&D focus at Scientific Games was due to the fact that it was preoccupied as a business in servicing debt, as opposed to creating games. R&D is not just about talent, it’s also about the dollars you have to spend.
Simon: Cash does dictate the number of studios you can fund and acquire, which has a key role in fleshing out the portfolio. Te understanding that Jamie Odell and the management team bring, is that they know R&D is a non-negotiable in the business, without which we’ll never achieve the market position we deserve. We are now putting dollars to work in creating games, as opposed to concentrating corporate focus on paying interest charges.
Light & Wonder hosted its Barcelona
Jon Lancaster Vice President of Sales, EMEA, Light & Wonder
Customer Experience in May. What was the feedback from the event - why did you hold it and what impression did you get from operators about the state of the market in Europe right now?
Jon: Tere was a lot of uncertainty around the ICE London show in regards to the dates of the show and the ability of the exhibition to meet our needs and those of our customers. Te expense of the show is enormous and without confidence in a significant return of that investment we didn’t feel the time was right to exhibit in 2022. We made the decision not to attend and many followed suit. However, we wanted to get in front of our customers after a period of 18 months due to Covid.
We were mindful that this was a risk, as we’re aware that while customers enjoy travelling to our facilities and have a great time when they do so - they can’t do this for every supplier in the market. We knew we weren’t going to attract the numbers we usually see in London at ICE, but that we were going to attract the quality that we were looking for, which was the case.
In Barcelona we were able to present the
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