Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2011 22 G2E Asia in the private showroom at our booth. True Blue Gaming in Sydney, led by Scott Olive, is the creator for our video slots— especially for the style of game Aristocrat has made successful. He has the creative background into how to create successful math models for video slots in the market, and now he’s working with us on developing video slots. Our competitor in the video slots market—especially in Macau—will continue to be Aristocrat, with strong games such as 5 Dragons or the FA FA FA link game. Was it your idea to ask for a dedicated Aruze zone in The Venetian Macao? And what was the process that achieved that? Aruze came to Macau in 2009 in order to do business face to face with our customers. But we started with some setbacks. At the time we brought out two typical 50-lines video slot products. We put them in several casinos, but they failed—they were returned. After that we brought out Shen Long and Legend of The Qin Dynasty [both five-reel video slots]. They were successful in the same venues and so the casinos started to believe in us. Then in 2009 we introduced Lucky Sic Bo [a multi-station electronic table version of sic bo] into the market just before the Macau show [G2E Asia in June 2009]. We asked The Venetian and Mocha Clubs to take Aruze’s Lucky Sic Bo just before the show based on our confidence about this product. They agreed and it was successful. Then at the end of 2009 I asked if Aruze could have the floor space in front of Morton’s [restaurant on The Venetian’s main gaming floor]. It was an area that at that time didn’t have much activity. And I also asked if we could put all our products in that one area. They were excited about that idea and actually gave us another space in front of the high-limit area. That was the start of the Aruze zone. Did you make some suggestions to the management about marketing that part of the floor? We offered them our new concept big top box product, with the multiple bonus game; Story of Cinderella; Bow Wow Bucks; Vampire & Beauty—those types of games. It was the first time they were in Macau. What reception did those products get at G2E Asia? Some people thought those games wouldn’t work in Macau. They thought they were too fancy, too loud, and too bright—or had too much cartoon animation. But the market took to our ideas and these games were successful beyond our expectations. The news of their performance ran through the market and many people went to look at what was going on. Why do you think the Aruze zone at The Venetian became so successful? One thing I can say is that the customer [the casino] gave us a good opportunity to placetheproduct.Thatdecisionwasadifficult one for them on the operations side. All casinomanagements have the responsibility to maintain their current revenue and then to boost it with good products and careful use of their budget—sometimes on the basis of a product trial. They always have to be careful when choosing a product to try and ensure it will work. Aruze’s R&D department is good at researching what kind of product will work in certain markets. That’s a very challenging part of our business. It’s hard to find out what product will do well. But with good communication between the supplier and the customer and good market research, good things can be achieved. Aruze Aruze’s Lucky BigWheel and Japanese Oiran. This time we have brought an additional important linked product—Fortune Festival. It has a typical performance math model popular with players in the Asia-Pacific region, so we are very excited about this product. Please tell us more about the Fortune Festival link. What’s the background to this product? It’s going to be in the market next year. Some of our Macau customers saw it during Aruze’s Great Eruption