Posted: 03/06/2014 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated: 03/06/2014 10:02:26 PM CST
Buffalo Wild Wings has dabbled with iPad-based terminals and other at-your-fingertips tabletop entertainment technologies for years, but this week, it went all in.
The Golden Valley-based casual-dining chain said Thursday it would outfit tables at all of its locations with tablets to let patrons order food and drink, request songs jukebox-style, watch videos and play a wide assortment of multiplayer and arcade-style video games.
In a bit of a blow for Apple, which has sought ubiquity for its iPads, the tablets being installed are Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab versions. These are less pricey, according to the tech company installing them, yet work just as well for the restaurant's specialized uses.
About 200 Buffalo Wild Wings locations have the tablets, with plans to have about 500 of them thus equipped by the end of this year and the full chain consisting of more than 1,000 locations by the end of 2015, according to California-based tech firm NTN Buzztime.
The multiyear agreement follows trial use of the terminals at 30 Buffalo Wild Wings locations.
The new technology setup, described as an 'interactive social entertainment platform,' was in the planning stages for two years and will remain a work in progress, said Ben Nelsen, Buffalo Wild Wings' vice president of guest experience and innovation.
'We will continue to evolve the features based on what our guests tell us,' Nelsen said.
Buffalo Wild Wings, known for combining casual dining with sports watching and recreational activities, is part of a recent wave of top chains installing tablet-like touch terminals for visitors.
Applebees late last year announced plans to install 1,800 tablet-style tabletop terminals by the end of 2015 in a deal with Silicon Valley-based E la Carte.
The Chili's chain has been experimenting since 2011 with terminals installed by Texas-based Ziosk, and it recently ramped up this initiative to encompass hundreds of its restaurants in the coming months.
NTN Buzztime has a history with Buffalo Wild Wings, having previously equipped the restaurants with a range of older-style entertainment technologies that include simpler video-gaming capabilities.
The current project represents a significant upgrade, replacing clunky gaming controllers with state-of-the-art 7-inch tablets.
These will allow patrons to engage in casual multiplayer games with other patrons within the restaurant and even with those in other Buffalo Wild Wings locations around the country, with leaderboards shown on televisions on site.
Game options include gambling- and trivia-style titles. Trivia had figured prominently into NTN Buzztime's older Playmaker setups.
The new setup also will allow for structured social events with a host leading table-side tablet users through a variety of gaming activities.
Patrons also will be able to watch a number of short videos and keep kids entertained with simple games suitable for younger users.
Jukeboxes in the restaurants are being removed, and their capabilities are being installed on the tablets, so patrons can queue tunes for playback, said Vladimir Edelman, NTN Buzztime's chief development officer.
The terminals will add menu viewing, food ordering and bill paying later in the year, according to Edelman.
That is 'the last big piece,' he said.
NTN Buzztime works with other restaurants and restaurant chains, but Buffalo Wild Wings is its biggest client by far. The tech company has retrofitted about 225 restaurants other than Buffalo Wild Wings with various versions of its so-called BEOND entertainment setups.
Its new tablets are on the cutting edge, using recent and highly customized versions of Google's Android mobile operating system. This is similar to how Amazon.com heavily adapts Android for use on its consumer-centric Kindle Fire tablets.
Because Android is an open platform that anyone can modify, adding features or content will be a reasonably straightforward process, Nelsen said.
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