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GAMES ABOVE GROUND! The year 2020 is shaping up to be an important one for the niche segment of inflight entertainment gaming with suppliers rolling out new platforms to launch on committed airline customers
Games above ground!
The year 2020 is shaping up to be an important one for the niche segment of inflight entertainment gaming with suppliers rolling out new platforms to launch on committed airline customers by RICK LUNDSTROM
Taken as a whole, the size and growth of computer gaming and e-sports can appear even more staggering than the projected growth in airline passengers in the years to come.
Estimates place worldwide gaming sales in the hundreds of billions and hardcore gamers in the hundreds of millions. With the two industries moving in stride at a breakneck pace, it only makes sense that demand for both travel and gaming should come together inflight – either in a handheld device or a seatback screen – for passengers engrossed by fast-paced shoot ‘em ups and cute children’s games that help pass the time. This year, at least two major inflight suppliers plan to place new gaming content in the cabins of several airlines. The content is tailored to be used with both seatback screens, personal devices and some can even be taken off the aircraft with passengers, all enhancing an airline’s brand and the customer experience. The outside gaming world is
22 | PAX TECH | FEBRUARY 2020 largely shaping the gaming passenger experience inside the cabin. Newzoo, a company that follows gamers, said that in 2019 the global games market was approaching US$150 billion. In addition, the company reported that an audience approaching half a billion will be watching, commenting and following e-sports gamers in booming competition by the end of this year.
E-sports is a form of sport competition with video games. E-sports can be organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individuals or teams. One of the most anticipated e-sport events is the annual Fortnite World Cup, which last year gave out US$100 million in prize money. American teenager, Kyle Giersdorf, won $3 million in July of last year playing the popular online video game, Fortnite. Kyle goes by the gamer handle Bugha. The e-sports industry has spun off a vast array of products from gaming furniture to clothing. Representatives from Gladi8tor were aboard the Lufthansa Flying Lab in September showing passengers the Galaxy Duel game
Panasonic picked Toca Boca to develop a large number of games in its portfolio
Naturally, the same gamers and e-sports fans will be boarding aircraft in large numbers, and at least two European airlines will be offering them a chance to fight for the future of the galaxy. The IFE industry will have its own, semi-official game devoted solely for airline use, but not limited to the cabin. Visitors saw the first glimpse the new inflight gaming component Galaxy Duel at last year’s Airline Passenger Experience Association exhibition and at a pre-conference aboard the Lufthansa Flying Lab (Lufthansa Flight 452 from Munich to Los Angeles) sponsored by Lufthansa Systems. The Lufthansa Group company developed Galaxy Duel with the help of gaming provider Gladi8tor.
Galaxy Duel was originally a fantasy card game that has been digitally adapted and integrated into the Lufthansa Systems’ IFE solution BoardConnect. The open IT platform is now flying on 17 airlines and nearly 900 aircraft. Passengers on two European airlines are scheduled to get the first chances to interact with Galaxy Duel sometime this year. Playing the game, however, is only part of the plan for the future of content. Like the aforementioned e-sports, users will be able to take part in league play, with leaderboards and live streaming even after they have left the aircraft. Galaxy Duel will be a way for airlines to create passenger loyalty and create a branding opportunity, says Paul
Staadegaard, Chief Commercial Officer for Netherlands-based Gladi8tor. So far, Lufthansa Systems says the launch has generated great interest – from its customer base for the ability to bring the game home, and for its potential as a revenue source. “The opportunity to generate revenues through advertising and e-commerce is something we are very keen on providing to all our clients,” says Dirk Ottens, Senior Manager Content and Media Strategy at Lufthansa Systems. Through Lufthansa Systems the new BoardConnect Dock platform, airlines can expand inflight entertainment options and offer a wide range of personalized services. The experience of streaming Galaxy Duel onboard an aircraft rivals the resolution of games played on the ground, says Ottens, adding that it will be available to any passenger on board. “Gaming is much less consuming in terms of Wi-Fi capacity than video streaming, for example,” Ottens points out.
Time will tell how passengers will take to Galaxy Duel, but, Lufthansa Systems and Gladi8tor have been following gamer activity. With an average of 20 percent of the passengers accessing IFE (sometimes more, depending on the length of the flight), Ottens says, in the case of Europeans, five to 10 percent of the passenger base are active gamers. The number of prospective users could be growing higher with an innovative game like Galaxy Duel that can be not only played on the ground after the flight, but with the potential for passengers to access it from one flight to another and even one airline to another.
Games and Arc Another important announcement took place in Los Angeles this past fall. Panasonic Avionics announced Indian airline Vistara as a launch customer for its Arc inflight map platform and its Games entertainment solutions. Both products received their launch at last year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo. The two projects share more than a launch date. Both were, in part developed through a collaboration with Swedish gaming company Toca Boca, a market leader in children’s games. “The map would be the first of its kind, blending Toca Boca’s exceptional creativity in digital toys with Arc’s cutting-edge technology, to produce a fun interface designed to keep kids entertained and informed inflight,” said a September release from Panasonic.
Sarah Eales, Panasonic’s Service Line Product Manager
Toca Boca also developed a new addition to the Panasonic platform which is part of the company’s Theatre solution. For action and adventure games, Panasonic worked with Gameloft. Sarah Eales, Panasonic’s Service Line Product Manager, tells PAX Tech that the company plans to add more suppliers and development to its gaming product this year. Panasonic has also begun work in the e-sports market collaborating with Riot Games, a game developer and e-sports tournament organizer to broadcast the League of Legends series inflight. Eales, who worked at GameStop retail stores in high school and designed games and animation in college, joined Panasonic four years ago.
“Gaming for Panasonic is something that is pretty new,” Eales says. “We have done things traditionally in the past to try and support airlines and their IFE games, but we are trying to do something different with it.”
Part of that task is to push gaming up more prominently in the selection of programming that now gives passengers access to hundreds of titles in an airline’s inflight entertainment system. That involves creating a buzz in the already-flying group of gamer passengers by developing products and keeping the stream of new game content fresh. The Games platform from Panasonic now has a catalog of 30 which will grow as the company adds new partners this year, said Eales.
“When we look at passenger usage data, traditionally games have not changed a lot over the past five or even 10 years,” Eales says. “They have been essentially the same. But when we look at trends on the ground, those games are changing and escalating so much.”
Carmen in the clouds Another company with a healthy portfolio of gaming solutions is Global Eagle Entertainment. A little more than a year ago, the company boasted a selection of 120 games that are flying on 100 airlines. At that time, Global Eagle announced a partnership with noted toy and game company Mattel to bring aboard the world’s number one card game UNO™ that debuted on airline seatbacks last year. The card game is played in 80 countries.
Last spring, the company announced its newest big name to the inflight gaming scene. A game featuring the popular animated explorer Carmen Sandiego was made available to airlines and cruise lines through an agreement with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The custom game, optimized for travelers, was set to debut for airline use late last year. Carmen Sandiego has a long career in gaming. The character debuted in 1985 and has spawned 22 video games. It is the best-selling game franchise and spun off a television series as well. In the airline version, players maneuver through several layers of trivia questions unlocking clues about her whereabouts. In the Global Eagle portfolio there is a Spanish version of the game as well as an audio book. “As a globe-trotting super-thief, Carmen Sandiego knows her way around ships and planes, and this custom game is designed for world travelers in an ideal way to introduce her to a new generation of fans while celebrating computer game roots,” said Caroline Fraser, head of HMH Productions and the Executive Producer of the Carmen Sandiego Netflix original series.
In the past year, Global Eagle has also extended its range of games suppliers adding Japanese maker Sanrio and Hasbro, which makes the famous board game Monopoly. Much of the work done in the gaming realm is by Global Eagle at the company’s center of excellence for Digital Media and Games located in Montreal.
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