Anthony Baerlocher, Vice President of Innovation and Mechanical Reels for IGT, Roger Pettersson, Senior Director of Marketing Research for Core Video, and Phil O’Toole, Director of Core Video & PMM, shared their perspectives on what makes these  two new cabinets special.

Can you tell us about the research that went into developing the new PeakSlant49™ cabinet and what sets it apart?
Baerlocher: Typically, our priorities are content, player ergonomics, cost, and serviceability. We started asking ourselves, which one is really the most important? And we said, it’s really about player ergonomics. So, at every point of contact, design, and value discussion, we asked, how can we go through and make this machine comfortable to play?
Something we came up with that was different in the industry was the progressive curve. We did a double curve. So, it starts out at a wider-angle curve and then sharpens upward and then almost goes flat. This progressive curve is beneficial for a couple of reasons. One, the player viewing angle is the most comfortable for the neck, and it puts the game interface right in the player’s face. As it goes up and becomes more vertical, it’s attractive for people walking by and grabs their attention better. And that was a huge discussion, do we go with a C curve, a J curve, or this progressive curve? We had our monitor vendors bring in different samples, and we were looking for what feels right.  I believe we made a great choice.

What about the research for the  PeakSlant32™?
Baerlocher: We built this chassis for the 49-inch portrait, and we realized how comfortable it was to sit down and play: larger DPP (digital player panel), the bash button, a built-in charging station for your phone. So, we wanted to see if we could reinvent what a dual screen slant would be like using the base we had for the PeakSlant49™. Fairly quickly, we decided to do 32-inch monitors, which is bigger than most.

"We’re really proud to be innovators in this space," he said, and added: "Just by making some small changes, we became the first in the market with the triple 32. When you physically see it, stand next to it, it’s breathtaking. It’s different."

In the Core Video area, both the PeakSlant32™ and PeakSlant49™ cabinets are used. What do you consider when deciding on whether to release a specific game on one or the other of these cabinets, or on both?
O’Toole: Sometimes the screen actually dictates that to a degree. The portrait cabinet can give you a little bit more creative freedom to do things like expanding reels where the graphics go up and down, uninterrupted by the break in the screens. The main difference is really how to best utilize the formats that are available.

Just by making some small changes, we became the first in the market with the triple 32. When you physically see it, stand next to it, it’s breathtaking. It’s different. And man, does it play well. We know we’ve got everybody’s attention, and the best thing is, we see the performance of games on this cabinet, and it really drives higher performance, sometimes fairly substantially.”O’Toole: “The PeakSlant32™ was born out of the desire to have something a little bit unique in the market. We wanted to be a little bit different, a little bit bigger. We saw a market gap that we wanted to fill, and we wanted to make an impression with a large, eye-catching cabinet, and we did that with the PeakSlant32™.

In the Core Video area, both the PeakSlant32™ and PeakSlant49™ cabinets are used. What do you consider when deciding on whether to release a specific game on one or the other of these cabinets, or on both?
O’Toole: Sometimes the screen actually dictates that to a degree. The portrait cabinet can give you a little bit more creative freedom to do things like expanding reels where the graphics go up and down, uninterrupted by the break in the screens. The main difference is really how to best utilize the formats that are available.

Where do you see the demand for dual versus portrait screen format heading in the future?
Pettersson: There’s no question that portrait screens have kind of stolen the show over the last few years from a performance perspective, but that being said, that’s where most of the focus has been from a hardware and a content development standpoint. It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that the portrait screens would do better. At the same time, operators are looking for variety on the casino floor.
If every cabinet on the casino floor was a 43- or 49-inch curved cabinet, it would look a little boring, very uniform, and not very exciting. Dual screen cabinets are important for operators for floor diversification and for improvement in sightlines when needed.

The PeakSlant32™ has some great performance metrics. In your opinion, what drives that positive performance?
Baerlocher: It goes back to our design philosophy of focusing on the player. Our players continually tell us “bigger is better.” The cabinets in this industry keep getting taller and using bigger displays, so the 32-inch screen gives us a big advantage. But the difference was really in the design process. It’s hard to believe how many weeks we spent trying to get the right angle on each of those displays. Lots of debate, lots of discussion, lots of sitting in front of it for hours to see, ok, am I getting tired? Does this hurt? What about the glare from the lights? It just has different proportions that I personally feel are much more comfortable.
Pettersson: They look new! You walk on the casino floor, they stand out.

O’Toole: I would also add, it’s self-merchandising. It’s big, so it advertises itself. It doesn’t need all of the signage to go with it. That’s an operator benefit as well.

Can you talk a little bit about the content strategy for these two cabinets?
Pettersson: We put a lot of thought into what’s the best content to launch the PeakSlant49™, and we’re super excited about the premier launch title, Stinkin’ Rich© Skunks Gone Wild. Stinkin’ Rich© has been one of the best games that IGT has ever made. It’s more than 15 years old, and it’s still a fan favorite. This is the new and improved Stinkin’ Rich© on a brand-new piece of hardware, so that will create a lot of excitement. There are a lot of Stinkin’ Rich© players out there who are still playing the game or used to play the game. I think seeing a new sequel to their current favorite games or prior favorite game is going to create a lot of excitement from players. There’s a lot of splash about Regal Riches™ as well. Regal Riches™ hit number one in February on Eiler’s performance reports, and...that’s a big deal to get to number one on that report. We’re very excited about having Regal Riches™ as a launch title on the PeakSlant49™. And then we’ve got an update to Scarab™ with a multi-level progressive as well.

O’Toole: It’s not an uncommon strategy to look at brand evolution like Stinkin’ Rich© Skunks Gone Wild with a new piece of hardware. That can get players interested to migrate to a new piece of hardware. With Scarab Link™, it is also the first time we’re selling a linked multi-level progressive game on portrait hardware, so that’s big news as well.