Scientific Games used its 12th annual user conference, called “Empower,” last week at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas to announce what it is calling perhaps its biggest-ever licensing deal for themed slot machines. At the start of the conference, Scientific Games CEO Kevin Sheehan announced that the company has secured a license to use the James Bond film franchise for themed games spanning land-based gaming, lottery and social slots.
The exclusive agreement with EON Productions Limited, Danjaq, LLC and MGM Interactive Inc., a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., gives Scientific Games the rights to leverage all past and future iconic James Bond films, as well as the film’s talent portraying the suave British spy created in 1953 by novelist Ian Fleming.
Scientific Games will capitalize on the James Bond experience across its omni-channel portfolio. “The Bond franchise is clearly a long sought-after and incredibly exciting brand for our industry,” said Sheehan. “James Bond is synonymous with action, excitement and next-generation technology. We look forward to harnessing the power of the Bond brand to drive innovation across the company in the years ahead.”
“We have been excited about this license opportunity for a very long time,” added Scientific Games Chairman Ronald O. Perelman, “and are thrilled that Kevin Sheehan and his team at Scientific Games were able to secure the exclusive licensing rights.”
Scientific Games expects to showcase the first James Bond-themed slot games at the Global Gaming Expo October 3-5 in Las Vegas.
Sheehan commented that Bond is a perfect theme for gaming, the lead character having frequently been portrayed in high-end casinos. Created in 1953 by novelist Ian Fleming, Bond was a frequent patron of high-end casinos, beginning with Sean Connery at the chemin de fer tables in the first of 24 Bond films, Dr. No.
The company will use images of all seven actors who have portrayed Bond on film throughout the years—Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
The Bond license announcement highlighted the Empower user conference, a three-day event designed to bring Scientific Games executives, R&D staff and game designers together with their customers from markets around the world. The conference gives customers an advance look at technology and products that are sometimes a year or more from production. Scientific Games officials use the event to get feedback from customers on new products and gauge concerns about the products and services they currently get from the end-to-end supplier.
Last week’s Empower conference drew 550 attendees from more than 200 casinos. Golf and wine-tasting events on the first day were followed by two days of panel discussions, more than 30 how-to workshops and more than 40 individual breakout sessions. Attendees learned about current and future products in each of the company’s business divisions—casino slots and table games, lottery products and systems, and interactive products and systems—and how products and themes are now converging across all of those three businesses.
“It’s a great opportunity to get everyone together with only our company officials,” Sheehan told GGB News, “so they can hear about what we’re working on, and we have a great opportunity to listen to them, so we better understand their needs that are emerging.”
Highlights of this year’s conference included product introductions in the TwinStar cabinet range, technological advances in the iView 4 system of picture-in-picture communications and bonusing display, looks ahead to cashless play and new products designed to afford the kind of community and competitive play favored by younger players. One session concentrated on how to monetize skill games and casual games favored by the millennial generation.
Technology forums and how-to workshops covered everything from lottery systems to the nuts and bolts of game design both on the slot side and the table-game side. One of the most popular breakout sessions covered emerging technologies being developed by the company’s Innovation Lab, headed by Senior Vice President-Technology Bryan Kelly, which has the mission of scoping out emerging technologies in other industries that can be applied to gaming.
One highlight of Empower was a keynote address and roundtable panel led by Frances Fragos Townsend, former homeland security expert and aid to former President George W. Bush. Townsend described how methods she used in surveillance and prevention efforts battling terrorism after 9/11 can be applied to innovation in businesses like Scientific Games.
Townsend’s panel included Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman emeritus of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Bran Ferren, chief creative officer of Applied Minds and a former developer of attractions at Disney resorts. Discussions centered around creating attractions in the entertainment world using various emerging technologies.
One discussion went back to the James Bond franchise, and ideas from the distinguished panelists on how Scientific Games can maximize the value of the license.
