Following BYI's lead with its own service window is probably an incremental positive.
"This new solution helps preserve operator investments. Now operators will have access to future technologies on the gaming machines they have today. And, because this solution is GSA-compliant, it gives operators more control and flexibility for the types of content distributed across the network - creating a better player experience,"
- Rich Schneider, executive vice president of gaming products.
After market close yesterday, IGT announced that its new Service Window (SW) solution for legacy IGT 80960 video machines will now be available for AVP and MLD machines. Since no additional hardware is required, the margin on SW should be over 90%, and if pricing is similar to BYI’s iView, each Service Window software package could sell for $1,500. IGT spoke about launching a Service Window that is compatible with legacy machines during G2E, so this isn’t exactly a surprise, but it is a positive. BYI maintains over 100,000 iViews installed across casinos that run off BYI’s systems and has been a nice revenue driver for them. Moreover, as applications continue to be developed for iVIEW, it could become a large driver of recurring revenues. iSpin is an example of an application that will run off an iVIEW, that can generate incremental revenues for BYI's.
IGT’s SW solution for legacy games has some large differences from BYI’s iVIEW – namely, IGT’s Service Window can only go on an IGT machine, while BYI’s iVIEW can go onto any device. Additionally, since the Service Window isn’t a hardware solution, it can only be installed on video slots, while BYI’s solution can be installed onto any device on the floor. Functionally, the Service Window, SB Window, iVIEW and iVIEW DM all do the same thing.
This is IGT’s second announcement of supporting legacy platform, a smart moves in the current environment. Operators continue to be hesitant in deploying capital. IGT has the largest legacy floor share and hence the most share to lose as machines get replaced. This is a new IGT from the one of a few years ago that rolled out an unsuccessful strategy of forcing a replacement cycle with its technology.