Only a decade ago, giant slot machines were rare. There was a cinematic presentation or two in the lineup of the 2012 Global Gaming Expo, but for the most part, what is now called the “large-format” slot cabinet was still the realm of novelty Big Bertha-style slot machines that were remarkable only because they were ridiculously large.
Most cabinets back then featured 27-inch monitors, although Bally featured a new concept-a portrait-style monitor, a whopping 32 inches in diameter.
Fast forward to this year, and one would be hard-pressed to find a slot manufacturer without products featuring high-definition 4K monitors upwards of 45 inches, 49 inches and more. The large-format cabinet, often called the “jumbo” style, is prominently featured in the product roadmap of any given slot supplier.
Jon Hanlin
“It’s the player experience that has been driving this trend,” said Jon Hanlin, senior vice president of commercial strategy and business analytics for Aristocrat Gaming. “Players want more out of their trip to the casino, and now the jumbo segment has evolved from a novelty segment to a floor staple for most. It brings compelling game play to a more social form factor that makes it more inviting and exciting to play. We have also had a lot of fun with large-format gaming from a game design perspective. More space has allowed us to be even more creative.”
“The trend toward larger-format cabinets has been accelerated by a confluence of factors,” said Cindy Hovey, director of hardware roadmap for IGT. “A few of these factors include the availability of cost-effective larger screens, the advent of curved monitors, and general player familiarity and acceptance of large-scale commercial products. Player demand for immersive and varied casino experiences certainly influences this trend too, as does our customers’ need to differentiate their floors.”
Mark DeDeaux, senior vice president, slots for AGS, noted that this movement has largely been driven by the overall consumer tech market. “What really drives a lot of the direction of design within gaming is our consumer electronic trends,” DeDeaux said.
“When flat screens in particular came out, the monitors would get bigger. And as consumer electronics trends of larger screens were moving into the mainstream consumer buying it, it really started to make those form factors more affordable and scalable. And once they became cost-effective and scalable, then the gaming industry was able to adopt those into some of our design elements for slot machine hardware.”
“At the end of the day, as people sit in front of their TVs, or as gamers-people who play online games-they require bigger screens now, or even more screens,” observed DeDeaux at AGS. “Consumers in general have larger displays in their homes. So it’s expected on a casino floor.”
“New technology has really pushed our industry,” said Christian Smith, senior director of product management for Bluberi. “We’ve reached this plateau point where most core cabinets are the standard 49-inch or 43-inch curved monitor. They’re really all starting to look alike. One way of trying to get around that is through a jumbo cabinet. Once you’re not limited by a 28-inch base on a casino floor, the sky’s the limit. So to differentiate ourselves, the jumbos really make a lot of sense.”
Brennen Lawrence
“In general, displays are just getting bigger,” agreed Brennen Lawrence, chief business officer of Eclipse Gaming Systems, “and with the increase in size, the resolution keeps improving, delivering razor-sharp images, ultra-bright output, and breathtakingly crisp colors. It would be a missed opportunity not to utilize this technology in our slot hardware.”
IGT’s Hovey added that the definition of “large” or “jumbo” cabinets has shifted in recent years. “A few years back, 32-inch screens were classified as large-format, yet today, 32-inch screens fall below the criteria to even be considered ‘large,'” she said.
High performance
As this trend spread to most manufacturers, one thing became evident: that extra real estate has meant improved performance. “As the size of most standard portrait cabinets increased from 32 inches to 43 inches over the past few years, the need to create larger screen cabinets is readily apparent in performance data,” explained Mike Trask, vice president, product marketing and communications for Ainsworth Game Technology.
“It’s very important in terms of attracting players on busy casino floors. For better or worse, competition drives this trend. We knew when releasing the A-STAR Curve XL cabinet in the participation space we needed to have some strong merchandising to fit in on sections of the floor we were going to have to compete in. Some of what you see in LED signage on floors is truly impressive. That said, at the end you need to have a very strong math model and play experience for sustained success. Signs may attract initial play. But the game play attracts that repeat play.”
“As a product category, large-format cabinets are the top indexing machines in the industry,” reported Molly Condron, director of product management for Konami Gaming, Inc. “They often require more floor space, not to mention ceiling height, and are often only available through lease agreements. But they are highly effective in engaging and retaining today’s slot audiences. Especially within North American markets, our operator customers have seen the results, and they dedicate a considerable portion of their game strategy to it.”
Jean Venneman, chief commercial officer for Gaming Arts, agrees. “The cabinets on the casino floor certainly have been getting taller and wider, and the performance seems to be also growing with these bigger games,” Venneman said. “I believe players are enjoying these more immersive play experiences. With so many eye-catching cabinets available, I believe we are all finding the ways we can uniquely stand out on the casino floor.”
Nathan Drane, senior vice president of global product management for Scientific Games, adds that the larger monitors have spawned a host of new game mechanics. Expanding reels, persistent cash-on-reels features, cascading reels and other new features owe much to the large format, he said.
“Being able to leverage that canvas is important to the game designer,” Drane said. “The growing reels feature has become an important trend in the gaming space. Being able to grow reels into multiple screens, larger than ever, provides a great way for game designers to communicate the value of the games to players.”
Perfect timing
The rise of the large-format cabinet couldn’t have come at a better time considering the events of the past two years. The Covid-19 crisis created the immediate need for the kind of physical distancing that large-format hardware naturally creates.
While the Covid crisis created more demand for physical distancing, the large-format styles fit right in. However, the form factor existed long before the pandemic, and will exist long after Covid-19 is in the rearview mirror.
“One of many nice attributes of large-format machines is that they inherently afford players personal space,” said IGT’s Hovey. “Pods were becoming a popular configuration before Covid, and that trend has only continued. When looking at a new large-format cabinet, the flexibility to work in pods, singles and small banks is essential.”
“The player distancing and spacing that large-format games inherently provide has definitely translated to an additional player benefit in today’s market,” Konami’s Condron asserted. “Large-format games in pod configurations provide a lot of space, and even bank configurations give generous personal space to players on neighboring machines.”
“Floor reconfiguration has led to floors becoming more open, leading to more opportunities for placement of larger cabinets to complement more inviting configurations like rounds, leading to a better overall play experience,” said Aristocrat’s Hanlin.
“We’ve definitely seen a premium on personal space, and that’s why the pod configurations have performed well during Covid,” agreed Scientific Games’ Drane. “Obviously, the jumbo lends itself to that, because it is personal, usually with a bench seat, so I do think it makes the jumbo segment more relevant than ever, and the pod configuration more relevant than ever.”
All agree that the large-format trend is here to stay. And in fact, it is no longer a trend. It is a requirement.
“We’re probably at the requirement stage,” said DeDeaux at AGS. “That’s a good way to describe it. There are definitely very glaring indicators that these larger form factors perform better than their older cousins. So it’s definitely here to stay.”
Lawrence at Eclipse Gaming Systems even says large-format could soon dominate game libraries. “We feel that portrait cabinets with large displays will eventually form most of our cabinet library,” he confirmed. “Game play is just better showcased on a large portrait display, and players love the immersive and cinematic experience. With the affordability of large TVs for the home, players now expect the same experience at the casino.”
Now take a look at this listing of the newest large-format cabinets currently in the field, listed in alphabetical order by manufacturer.
