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Interview


G2E LAS VEGAS 2018 IGT Interview


Dallas Orchard Chief Product Officer Gaming IGT


We have created a very strong segmentation model that consists of: Pure Core, All-Star Evolutions, Innovation, Waterfall and Jackpots. This was not just an exercise in creating a ‘menu,’ we went back and studied the volatility of our entire library to ensure that we were weaving together game mechanics and lifestyle games and selling as a segment. Primarily, we want all segments to be part of a casino floor as they all offer different player experiences. And secondly, it’s about giving the player alternative games that they could enjoy based on their current favourite titles.


IGT re-centres Core products to the heart of game development


As part of our games-focused series of interviews with development leaders, G3 stole time with IGT’s Chief Product Officer Gaming, Dallas Orchard, at the G2E exhibition to discuss not only the breadth and depth of the games launched in Las Vegas, but his team, meeting the evolving expecations of operators and the future direction of slots gaming within the industry


Dallas, could you describe the journey IGT’s core video slot product has taken to reach the show floor at G2E 2018?


Te development of our core video product has been a four -year journey. In recent years, IGT has been travelling extremely well in Premium, Mechanical Reels and remains the undisputed market-leader in Video Poker, but in Core Video we had lost our way. It’s a segment that represents the largest portion of the market in North America, but our supply of games had become a ‘quantity over quality’ strategy. A great deal of our software for Core Video product was outsourced, which meant that we had lost control of our own identity. We had no segmentation model or strategy to speak of - we were just throwing games into the market - so this was the urgent initiative that we knew needed immediate attention.


Te first stage was to upgrade our hardware, an area that had been under-invested for some time. We were behind the curve in terms of both technology and player experience. We implemented immediately a lot of discipline around testing our games and in particular focus-testing games. We now have a programme in over 50 casinos that spans every region of the US, with over 500 test machines on site.


We test every core game over 90 days and we take the third month’s figures, discarding the first two months’ data, comparing the figures


P54 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA


against our grading scale. If the game meets the grade according to all the data we receive, then we release to market as a Proven Performer. If not, we either scrap the game at our expense, and/or rework the game mechanic if we think we can bring the game up to our standards. And there have been some great successes on the floor at G2E 2018 that have been through that entire process.


We started explaining this process to our customers at our Customer Advisory Board in 2015 and every year since then we have given periodic updates and continue to remind them of the discipline we attach to the programme. It’s certainly something that slows down the process of getting games to market, and it’s expensive, but it has drastically enhanced our credibility and reputation - and the most pleasing aspect of the entire programme is that test-bank grades and the focus research is correlating with in-field performance, which means we are truly able to say that we are releasing games in lower quantities, but with greater quality and our performance has started to really, really travel well.


IGT has in the past been accused of being arrogant, but we have been talking about this turnaround for several years now and our message at G2E 2018 is that our Core Video turnaround is now complete. Our task now is to make sure we sustain this momentum and penetrate the marketplace with great product.


How many games, through the Proven Performer programme don’t make the cut?


We look at the hit rate in regards to our A and A+ games, which are our highest standards, those that reflect the most common house average in regards to all the data we are collecting from the market. Tis data isn’t just from our games, but from an install base of over 150,000 units, so it’s a large cross-section and an accurate representation of the market. A and A+ grade games have a hit rate of 30-31 per cent, which is outstanding. It’s the result of the dedicated programme that has been adopted at IGT over the last few years, and the stringent discipline of the team. In addition, around 60-70 per cent of games released to market are meeting expectations and will earn their way on the floor.


Do you temper the innovation of games to ensure a higher hit rate - or does pushing the boundaries yield better results in terms of A and A+ games?


We had to establish a segmentation model as we’d previously been throwing all kinds of games into the marketplace with no real strategy, so we have created a very strong segmentation model that consists of: Pure Core, All-Star Evolutions, Innovation, Waterfall and Jackpots. Tis was not just an exercise in creating a ‘menu,’ we went back and studied the volatility of our entire library to ensure that we


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