A New Beginning

Welcome to Progressive Product Preview (P3)!

Normally at this time of year, you’d be receiving our annual G2E Preview. It not only previewed the events happening that busy week in Las Vegas, but also focused on the unique and innovative products on display at G2E. It was an indispensable tool. We often saw attendees walking around with G2E Preview in their hands because it was a useful and easy-to-use way to navigate the show.

G2E isn’t happening this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so we decided to pivot a bit and concentrate exclusively on the products that were developed for their first viewing at the show. Though G2E is off for this year, the R&D that goes into these new products didn’t stop, and this magazine puts them front and center. So P3 will become a permanent addition to the GGB lineup, even when G2E returns. We’ll include a preview of the show, of course, but the most important element of P3 will always be the products.

As with G2E Preview, P3 focuses on gaming products beyond slots. The October issue of GGB, reserved for the “Global Games” section, encompasses new games that usually debut at G2E. GGB Editor Frank Legato spent two weeks in August visiting all the manufacturers, and will report on their incredible games in the October edition.

Those great games and machines are the stars of the show, but the supporting cast is also important. That’s what P3 covers. Just look at the products in these pages and see videos of them in action. While you can’t touch and feel them, the videos will give you an excellent idea about how the products work on the front lines.

As always, we have several features that relate to those products and how they will perform. Bill Sokolic talks about game designers, and why they’re targeting online gaming rather than brick-and-mortar casinos. The insight into the differences between designing for slot machines and developing new games for internet gaming sites is awesome. What makes a great online game? Stickiness, apparently!

And Marjorie Preston runs down the leaders in distributed gaming—you know, the machines we often see at bars, restaurants and convenience stores. This is becoming a huge segment for slot makers, and the growth of the sector is driving some interesting developments in products and services.

So the lack of G2E this October doesn’t mean suppliers must wait until next year to display and distribute their products. Yes, we’ll miss the glitz and glamour of G2E, as well as the speeches and presentations. We’ll miss the parties. We’ll miss the friends we reconnect with each year.

But with P3 and the October GGB, we won’t miss the great games, products and services that are always at the core of G2E. Hope to see you at the show next year, but for now, enjoy P3. And please let us know what you think.