Wheel of Fortune - Social Gaming - IGT.com

September2009 SLOTLINE
The importance of GSA and IGT’s involvement
IGT is the thought leader
when it comes to the movement
towards open protocols and the
collaboration with the Gaming
Standards Association (GSA). IGT’s
involvement with the GSA is an
example of the importance of
widespread adaptation of open
protocols for the industry.
“We stand behind open in our
actions,” said Rich Schneider, EVP,
of Gaming Products and an original
founding member of GAMMA
(GAMing Manufacturers Association,
predecessor to the GSA). “IGT is
a major contributor of technical
resources within the GSA and
collaborated to create the open
protocols.”
“Helping to create the Game-to-
System (G2S) protocol was IGT’s first
priority when we rejoined the GSA,”
said Adrian Marcu, VP, architecture
and GSA board of directors member.
“IGT saw the value and importance
of the work so we committed a
great deal of resources to it. In all,
we authored over 50 percent of the
significant classes.”
The G2S classes IGT developed
then had to be approved by the
GSA community as a whole. The
final protocol was the result of
many meetings and many revisions,
according to Marcu.
Why is IGT committed to open?
“The open network is the basis
for the future of our technology
and our industry,” said Marcu. “IGT
implements the protocol cleanly
between the client and the system.
We don’t cloud the process with
unnecessary devices. Our systems
are built to be a genuine
representation of the open network
in the purest sense.”
IGT believes in a straightforward
interpretation of the protocol.
Now that the foundation is set, the
gaming world can start to see the
impact this has on the whole player
experience.
“Once the open infrastructure
is in place, the industry will evolve
toward an ecosystem of thirdparty
killer applications providing
the ultimate personalized player
experience. This will accelerate
industry innovation, and will change
the way casinos interact with their
customers,” said Javier Saenz, VP of
Network Systems.
The proof
IGT’s Service Window
exemplifies open, and is built
into new AVP ® games without
any unnecessary hardware and
associated costs. This allows
operators to invest money in
applications that drive revenue and
enhance the experience.
“This year, we are releasing the
first fully G2S-compliant system,
represented in slot accounting,
player tracking, ticketing, Bonusing
and floor management. It’s not just
parts of it, but the complete product
line,” said Schneider.
Beverage on Demand, a
third-party application created
by Las Vegas Gaming, Inc. (LVGI)
provides an example of how open
applications plug into sbX Media
Manager (see page 41) to display
on the Service Window. Because of
the open protocols, integration was
seamless and efficient.
The lowdown
“Customers need to really
understand the differences in what’s
available,” said Marcu. “There are
numerous options and protocol
interpretations emerging in the
market but they are not all equal.
Selecting a server-based system
is a decision with long-reaching
impact. Cost, both direct and
indirect, flexibility and technical
strengths and weaknesses must all
be considered. Another thing is
inclusiveness. IGT has carefully and
deliberately developed its serverbased
products in the truest, most
inclusive way possible. Our system
allows all other manufacturers to
communicate with it, free of any
alliances. I can only hope that stays
true for other systems providers.”
For more information, please visit:
www.IGT.com/Open.
In the name of
collaboration
The Global Technology &
Interoperability Center illustrates
IGT’s commitment to open,
strengthening relationships within
the gaming industry in the spirit
of collaboration. The Center
was accredited by the American
Association for Laboratory
Accreditation (A2LA) to certify IGT
products according to the GSA’s
“Protocol Certification Program.”
This was the first such accreditation
granted to a gaming manufacturer.
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