Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | June 2008 28 Weike those strengths is the exceptional graphics of Weike games, enabled by the company’s decision to use a standard off-the-shelf Pentium motherboard for its system, whereas larger manufacturers opt for proprietary motherboards in what Mr Kinsman regards as a misguided attempt to protect their intellectual property. “You’ll notice the resolution and effects in internet gaming are now spectacular,” points out Mr Kinsman, “and we can do those same things because we’re using the same board that sits in that PC. An important factor is the graphics card we use—a simple thing like that. When you’re using a proprietary or industrial board, you’re often not able to run the same sort of graphics card. So all someone has to do is look at our product, and they can see the difference.” Mr Kinsman also explains that Weike’s Windows XP embedded platform “makes it enormously quick for things like game development, product development, etc. And it’s not just a matter of speed. It’s also a capacity issue, where game development can be literally unlimited. Whatever you can do graphically on a PC, you can do on our machine.” Meanwhile, the proprietary software used by other manufacturers “makes their product more complicated. They do this to protect their IP, but our security is just the same as everybody else’s. It’s certified and tested accordingly.” Weike’s platform “also makes our product server-based ready at any time,” adds Mr Kinsman. Our next generation, which is a year away, is going to be very much a server-based product, because we see the industry moving to server-based gaming.” Weike slot machines also come standard with two touch screens on top and bottom, giving operators “the capacity to utilise all of the real estate on the machine, which is not provided by most manufacturers. So as we develop product, we’ll be using more and more of this real estate.” In future, the belly panels on Weike machines will also feature touch screen interactivity, opening up further options for operators on three screens. What’s inside? While graphics and interactive screens are a bonus, Mr Kinsman points out that “ultimate to the game” is the mathematics. “Where Weike will excel is that we’re building a game development team here [in Singapore] that will be the envy of the rest of the world.” Mr Kinsman explains that the game development functions are split between the company’s offices in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “We have all our game development, maths teams, structure teams, etc, here in Singapore. Our graphics team is in Kuala Lumpur, so we’re using both our operations. “I’m delighted with our graphics team because they’re doing excellent work. What we’re doinghere [in Singapore] is developing our structure and game development team, and we’re bringing them right up to a very high standard. We’re bringing in one key person to head that up,” says Mr Kinsman, though he remains tight-lipped on whom that key person will be ahead of the official appointment. From the sounds of it, however, expect someone with an impressive track record. “After that we’ll be developing local talent. We’ll be taking local mathematicians from the university in Singapore and turning them into game specialists.” The rise of s e r v e r - b a s e d gaming also presents a tremendous opportunity for not only Weike, but also operators of gaming venues, believes Mr Kinsman. “It takes the game control function out of the hands of the gaming machine companies and puts it in the hands of the sites. We believe that’s where it should be. No one knows better what the players want than the sites. International gaming machine companies based in America or Australia find it very hard to know what players in Macau really want, whereas an operator knows what they want.” Branching out Weike is hardly a newcomer to the gaming world.It was established in 1998 and has built a solid business supplying gaming machines, progressive jackpot link systems and electronic table games to Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam in particular. Since assuming the helm in April this year, Mr Kinsman has recruited key staff to add a dose of international expertise to help move Weike beyond its hitherto regional focus into international markets. “We’re taking an existing company that was pretty successful and all we’re doing is internationalising it w i t h o u t Pal X