This year’s G2E in 4 words…”same old same old”. This was the comment going around on site regarding the product offerings. There was plenty of innovation and awesome new products of course, but there seems to be a lack of something really new that would be an industry changer.
One of the products I took personal interest in was Aruze Gaming’s Roll to Win Craps, and I don’t mean that as a shout out to my former company. A digital craps table that only requires 1 dealer, this product is innovative and fun, and also advantageous for the casino operator. Some photos [【リンク】を確認。
When the first casinos open in Japan whenever in the next decade, ETG’s will sure be a huge product. Players can learn to play with lower bets than tables, there is more privacy for players, and this could be the solution to small numbers of able dealers available at the time. However, a hybrid form like this Aruze product or LT Gaming’s semi-auto type tables games also brings a more flexible gaming experience to the player, while also making operations more efficient for the casino operator. Considering limited floor space for the casinos in Japan, this will be of utmost importance.
I was also asked to do a quick session on the casino floor forecast for Japan, which at this point nobody has the answers for, but is a topic we can all make some educated guesses about. I don’t like just giving answers, but giving information for people to have their own ideas. For example, is there any doubt that the casino floor will have to cater to Chinese players? If your answer is “no doubt”, then you would agree there would need to be games catering to Chinese demand.
その他にも海外でよく耳にする質問は、パチンコやパチスロがカジノで使われるかどうか。これも、答えを出すより、ゲームフロー、技術介入、乱数性に影響する要素など、カジノのゲームとの違いを説明するのが最適だと考える。そして、似たようなゲームが今までカジノでなぜ成功していないのか、それぞれ答えが生まれてくるはずだ。その人それぞれユニークな「答え」によって、現状がビジネスチャンスなのか、隙間市場なのか、成功することのない製品なのか、考えがみえてくるのが理想的な結果である。スキルゲーム（技術介入要素有りの機械ゲーム）の大手であるGamblitなどは会社の新年こそがその答えになっている。
日本で最初に発表されるゲーミング規定はテーブルおよび機械を問わず、まずはオーソドックスな内容になると予想できる。しかし、その後、日本をゲーミングの先進国として世界で確立するためには今から新しいアイディアを出す絶好なタイミングでもある。