Inside Asian Gaming

November 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING portfolio. We have what we call the True Blue brand, the traditional Aruze brand, and our ‘G’ category products.” Content is key To achieve this distinct branding, AGA sources its game content from development centres in Australia and Japan. It refers to this as its ‘content streams’. These are two creative studios that develop new game content, comprising the themes, the maths, the art, the sounds and the animations of games. The Australian content comes from a company called True Blue, which was acquired by AGA earlier this year. The other content stream comes from Tokyo. “The benefit of using these two content streams is it allows us to establish separate brands for the products. That means different looks and feels in terms of content,” explains Mr Young. “You’ll see that the product that comes out of True Blue looks very different from the product that comes out of Tokyo. “It’s all badged as Aruze, but True Blue product is more repeat play style of product, whereas out of Tokyo currently we’re doing more of an entertainment, bonusing style of product. We really see the benefit of having multiple content flows. We’ll have a portfolio that really provides content to all types of venues, whether it’s a gamblers’ venue or an entertainment venue,” asserts Kent Young. “We’ve restructured the business where we’re investing significantly in research and development and you’ll really see that at the show this year. There are also going to be a lot of new faces at the show representing the company—particularly in management at sales level. We are a very different company in many aspects this year compared to where we were this time last year,” he adds. Categories “We’ve created several categories of products. We have a premium range of products, called the G-DELUXE™ that are highly interactive, with top box bonusing, then we have the G-LINK™ range of group gaming products, such as LINK CRAPS™. “We’ve also got some new mystery bonus product such as Dragon’s Fortune™, and we’ve got another product within that category called Jackpot Battle Royal™, which we’re showing for the first time as a low denomination video product. We’ve got another category called G-SERIES™ that is a standalone range with products such as Showgirl™ and The Last Emperor™. We also have our multi terminal range of products that have been very successful in Asia. We’re continuing to develop new products in Asia. We have sic bo , baccarat, craps, roulette and blackjack, all of which will be at the show this year,” reveals Mr Young. AGA’s multi-terminal products are marketed under G-STATIONS™ branding and include two modern variations on traditional dice games, Lucky Sick Bo™ and Shoot to Win Craps™. Also on display are simulated table game classics such as Dealer’s Angels Roulette™, Dealers Angels Baccarat™ and Dealer’s Angels Black Jack™. Aruze will also be previewing its G-SYSTEMS™ at G2E. This is a new systems technology designed to revolutionise how currency and credits are moved between the player and the gaming floor. LINK CRAPS is a group gaming product with a multi-level jackpot that utilises craps in the second screen. One player rolls the dice and that determines the outcome for all players. “We’re very excited about that product. We think it has good base game appeal and it also utilises an obviously very popular table game,” says Mr Young. “It will be going into the Philippines once it’s approved. We will definitely also put it in the Macau market and see how it goes.” Rock ‘n’ roll In pride of place at G2E will be Aruze’s new licensed entertainment product based on the legendary rock band Queen. RockYou Queen™ is a video slot featuring music and video clips that AGA describes as “the most intricate and ambitious graphics and animations package AGA has released to date”. “We have been rolling it out since early November in Las Vegas,” says Kent Young. “It will be in Asia, including Macau, by the end of this year. It’s a highly interactive low denomination video slot that uses actual music and sound clips from the real band. It has a highly animated top box and it’s got multiple bonusing within the product. We’ve had a lot of interest from the customers we’ve showed it to. That will really be a flagship product. The Aruze difference “I think Aruze’s core competencies that create our competitive advantage are as follows: we have excellent resources in terms of content and content development; we have key individuals very well versed in the gaming industry and what works; and we have the technology,” asserts Mr Young. “I know every manufacturer says that, but I’ve been in the business over 20 years and I’ve worked for multiple manufacturers. Without question, Aruze’s technology, the Japanese engineering, allows the company to be set apart from its competitors. “The technology is extremely effective and extremely resilient. The down time is minimal. It allows the display of content and player content in a very appropriate manner. The ability to convert cabinets from different games from stepper to video, is seamless. As far as service and support is concerned, the product very rarely breaks down. It’s amazing how resilient the product is. “We’re very much focused on performance. We believe in cash box as the true measure of our product.” The Last Emperor™ Rock You Queen™ 15