Incredible Technologies Leader Boards

If you consider that casinos and slot manufacturers are looking for ways to increase the amount wagered (e.g., through more player time on machine, and betting at higher denominations, etc.), then the Leaderboard on top of some Incredible Technologies games (the manufacturer of Stack Up Pays) is both an interesting concept and a missed opportunity.

Interesting concept because I haven’t seen it before, and it offers a “status” to status-seekers, without having to compensate them with VIP parties or whatever. It is recognition for recognition’s sake.

Missed opportunity, because…it’s no secret that casinos market to retirees and people at or near retirement age. Get people with retirement income and extra time on their hands and get them to come in and gamble. (I’m not breaking any new ground with that comment.) BUT – if you think about it, many of the guys (mostly guys, I figure) who are at or near retirement age these days are the same guys who, a little over 40 years ago, had rows of quarters lined up on Pac-Man, Defender, Asteroids, and Tempest machines, to show that they had effectively “called” the next game for themselves. And they played the game after that, and the game after that, etc. Many of the people doing this were playing because they wanted to enter their initials on the leaderboard after a high score. 

If the Stack Up Pays leaderboard gave players a chance to enter their initials, and claim some turf, I bet they would get both more time on machines and bigger bets, coming from guys who played video games in the 1980s. These guys presumably have much more disposable income than they had when they were twelve years old (and #1 on the Defender high scores)