To understand how the industry is preparing to overcome these challenges, iGB interviewed Duncan Faithfull; Chief Commercial Officer at Quixant, the leading provider of gaming technology. With clients across the spectrum of manufacturer size, and which operate in different markets with very different requirements, Quixant upholds a versatile approach to the products they offer their customers.
Lockdown restrictions across the globe are gradually easing, signaling the welcome return of land-based gaming. As a result, game manufacturers face the perennial task of finding the best technology to produce the most engaging content in an attempt to meet evolving consumer needs. This is all while focusing more than ever on managing costs.
Duncan reflected on his previous experience in financial services: “What’s interesting about how the pandemic has impacted businesses is that it’s very similar to the 2008 financial crash. Suddenly, there was a huge halt in terms of how that industry functioned.”
“The result of that was that all the big infrastructure providers had to find different ways of creating solutions for their customers. Suppliers brought new outsourcing solutions to market which enabled growth at a time of severely constrained capital availability.”
Disruptions to the hardware supply chain has equally impacted suppliers to the industry, specifically with the challenge of delivering effective solutions at the required pace.
With this increased pressure to meet operational objectives, Faithfull predicts that game manufacturers will increasingly rely on outsourcing.
As such, Quixant has focused on transforming its supply chain management processes to significantly reduce lead times.
Faithfull stressed the importance of enhancing game performance and providing out-of-the-box solutions to streamline processes.
“The end goal is to enable game manufacturers to create brilliant games, by providing powerful and reliable technology solutions” stated Faithfull.
Faithfull commented: “We’ve tailored our products to each of their needs. That’s one of the best things about the last 12 months – we’ve spent a lot of time getting to know our customers through shared adversity, which led to lots of great conversations about what they were doing and what they wanted to achieve.”
He continued: “From a supplier point of view, it’s been an excellent opportunity for us to come up with new and innovative solutions.”
The road ahead
As the return to land-based gaming edges closer, operators and game manufacturers are preparing for a seamless transition to provide their customers with the ultimate gaming experiences.
With some companies pivoting their strategies to igaming whilst venues were closed to enable their customers to play digital versions of their favourite land-based games, what consumers are looking for in a gaming experience will likely have evolved.
Successfully refocusing efforts on land-based gaming will no doubt come with challenges. Intrinsic to this is the understanding that gaming will not be exactly as it was before.
Faithfull continued, “We needed to offer solutions that fit every budget and every requirement, so we created our new ultimate range of gaming hardware platforms.”
“We’ve developed a portfolio of commercial solutions that appeal to the financial challenges the industry currently faces, enable lead times to be minimised and give game manufacturers the opportunity to be more agile and responsive to the needs of the market.”
Quixant has developed a range of flexible payment options including Leasing; instalment and Vendor Managed Inventory solutions which allow a traditionally CAPEX based investment, to be considered as OPEX, and which reduces lead times from up to 4 months to 4 minutes.
“All of our gaming hardware platforms come with embedded software that enhances the game development process and pushes the capability of the hardware to its maximum”.
Faithfull explained that with many of their global clients now coming out of various stages of lockdown, they must offer solutions which meet the needs and regulations of all global markets.
Taking the time to get to know their customers has been the most effective way to further grasp the complexities of local markets during these turbulent times.
Having these conversations has given Quixant the insight required to develop powerful, robust and highly customisable hardware and software solutions which empower game manufacturers to meet their own specific goals.
Content is king
In addition to finding the optimum technological solutions, game manufacturers are also revisiting their engagement strategies to meet the evolving consumer’ demands.
Now, Faithful says, “Emerging into a post-covid world, there’s going to be fewer machines per venue. Each machine will have to shout louder than those in its proximity.”
“For Quixant, it is important that the technology we provide our partners enables their machines to stand out from the competitions’. Their lights need to be brighter, the sound more vivid and they need solutions that allow them to unleash their creativity without limitations.”
The goal is to strike a balance between creativity and efficiency – providing robust and reliable solutions that seamlessly integrate all elements.
This allows game manufacturers to devote more time and energy on aspects that enhance game performance and the user experience.
Being able to develop game content in the context of a robust and stable supply chain is also essential, says Faithfull.
The organisations which have a dependable supply chain and are therefore able to focus on their content development and engagement strategy are most likely to be the winners in a post-covid world.
“We’ve been helping our partners to push their content creativity to the maximum, whilst ensuring the game performance is robust and reliable”, says Faithfull.
Predicting future consumer needs and trends is a key opportunity to get ahead. In a highly competitive gaming market, creating unique and engaging content is essential to stand out from the competition and increase customer retention.
In a world where technology continues to facilitate everyday processes, understanding consumer needs and using this strategically to plan ahead is the way to ensure long-term growth within the industry.
Looking to the future, Quixant plans to continue to support the market’s ongoing demand for more advanced technology: “Our job is always to enable game designers to push their games to the max in terms of the creativity they can deliver, in a secure and confident way.”
