Recreativos Presas – Interactive, Networked Amusement Machines

OEM	Recreativos Presas, Lalin, Pontevedra-Galicia-Spain
APPLICATION	Interactive, networked amusement machines
PRODUCT	IntelliTouch surface wave touchscreen
KEY BENEFITS	Reliability Ruggedness Flexibility of play Multiple games for continuous play Picture quality No averaging No periodic recalibration Works even when scratched
INTELLITOUCH TECHNOLOGY	Pure-glass touchscreens for superior image clarity, resolution, and light transmission. Antiglare glass and antivandal options. Stable, "drift-free" operation—for touch response that is always accurate. Durable, scratch-resistant glass surface—continues to work if scratched. Fast touch response. Finger, gloved-hand, and soft-stylus activation. Smart touch response—no false touch activation. Flat, spherical, and cylindrical touchscreen options for design flexibility. Solid glass and Elo's proprietary surface wave technology are the keys to the superior performance of the IntelliTouch product line.

Recreativos Presas, the Spanish-based developer of sports, vending and touchscreen-based amusement machines, takes an innovative approach to developing new systems. Its latest touchscreen-based amusement machine, Playcenter, has rolled out in Spain, Portugal, throughout Europe and South America and it is in big demand. Playcenter incorporates Elo's IntelliTouch touchscreen to help differentiate it from other touchscreen-based amusement and gaming machines.

"We differentiate every Presas amusement before it goes beyond an idea into development," said José Presas, Executive Chairman. "To begin with, our first goal is to provide players with a rich and enjoyable gaming experience. To achieve this, our development team works closely with our software development company, Undergaming, to create a unique playing experience not found on any other machine."

The result of these latest endeavours is Playcenter: A feature and graphics-rich multigame system combining the latest hardware with creative software to develop player participation on a scale not seen before.

With the Playcenter there are a wide range of playing possibilities: Standard, a single player challenged by the machine, or the multiplayer option from 2 to 4 players. The local area network (LAN) mode enables links to several machines at the same location, allowing team play on a local network.

Mr. Presas continued: "One of Playcenter's unique features is its online system allowing players to challenge others in a tournament, not only on the same machine, but through a LAN or a modem to other machines or players in the same town or country," The Playcenter's Champion Tournament enables the players with the highest scores to record their details. In addition, using Playcenter's integrated camera, players have the option to include their photograph, which may be displayed in their area, nationwide or worldwide. Using this system, players can issue challenges to other players, via the system's internal e-mail. Finally, gaming center operators are also able to publicise a tournament on any machine in the network.

ONE OF PLAYCENTER'S UNIQUE FEATURES IS ITS ONLINE SYSTEM ALLOWING PLAYERS TO CHALLENGE OTHERS IN A TOURNAMENT, NOT ONLY ON THE SAME MACHINE, BUT THROUGH A LAN OR A MODEM TO OTHER MACHINES OR PLAYERS IN THE SAME TOWN OR COUNTRY. —José Presas, Executive Chairman

"It's the touchscreen that makes it a true multigame system with 36 games on the latest upgrade. With a touchscreen, there is no need for buttons or legends on the machine. All buttons and instructions can be driven by software and displayed on the touchscreen, making modifications and upgrades very simple and quick.

"It was very important for us to choose a touchscreen which set new standards in quality, reliability and performance, so we decided to find a partner to help us select the best touchscreen for the job." Suzo International, the Netherlands-headquartered supplier of gaming, amusement equipment and spares, with its Spanish-speaking representatives, helped Presas understand the touch technologies on the market. "We settled on Elo's IntelliTouch touchscreen because it gave us a number of key advantages. Once we had decided on the technology, we were delighted to find both Elo TouchSystems and Suzo International worked closely with us to create a superior touchscreen-based system.

Production Line at the Recreativos Presas Factory

"One of our key differentiators is the high quality graphics on our games. We chose Elo's IntelliTouch surface wave technology to compliment our large 21-inch monitor because the touchscreen's clarity is second to none, making our screen graphics stand out from other systems.

"Unlike other touchscreen-based systems using alternative touch technology, Elo's product proved to have greater resilience, despite gaming systems often being subjected to over-enthusiastic users." The touchscreen's performance is rarely affected by scratches which can occur inadvertently or deliberately from players' jewellery or from coins. This inherent ruggedness and reliability means Playcenter continues to operate reliably, when other touch technologies might have failed.

"The touchscreen is a front line component that has to take knocks, scratches, spills and heavy use. If it should fail, it will affect our reputation as the manufacturer of the system. In any case, we want to supply a reliable system to minimize downtime. Failures affect operators too. A machine standing idle earns the operator nothing while they wait for a service engineer to call and recalibrate or replace the touchscreen.

Clarity and durability are not the only features that Recreativos Presas considered when choosing Elo's IntelliTouch, the player experience was at least as important and speed is the key. "IntelliTouch's fast response time means a better playing experience without the wait for the system to react," said Mr. Presas.

"It is common that two friends want to play together on a single machine. Thanks to a unique feature of Elo's touchscreen technology, where simultaneous touch coordinates are not averaged, we can permit more than one player to use the same 21-inch screen. Depending upon the game being played, we encourage competitive fun between two players at one machine, as unwanted averaged touches never occur. Another way friends can compete is with our latest dual-screen Playcenter, which pushes the boundaries of touchscreen-based amusements even further, allowing games like Battleships to take on a much better playing experience."

Playcenter provides competitive fun between two players.

Presas exports its amusements to many countries, some of which do not have the best quality mains power or reliable earthing. Mr. Presas continued: "All our products are designed to cater for this variation from a safety point of view, however, we did find some touch technologies do not work reliably under these variable conditions. This was not so with Elo's IntelliTouch technology which is unaffected by any stray grounding effect caused naturally through a player using the touchscreen.

Presas' machines are designed with the future in mind. Operators are keen to see new games and features on a regular basis and touchscreen-based systems give us the flexibility to upgrade software and to retain player interest. A reliable machine plays an important role in maximizing profits for us as a manufacturer, for our distributors and for the amusement operators. The combination of software and touchscreen provides the ultimate in machine flexibility. Once the aesthetics and ergonomics are designed, we can easily update the software remotely with the latest games, questions, and country-specific refinements."

Presas has designed a number of original games such as "Take 2 Tequilas" and "Humphrey Bogey" which capture the imagination. Strong visual imagery and sound effects are enhanced with a clear, large format screen that provides a Playcenter players with a truly unique experience.

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