Inside Asian Gaming

May 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 27 Aristocrat big win. It was followed by FA FA FA, the first Hyperlink developed specifically for the Asia- Pacific market, which would emerge as one of the most popular games in the region. Its unique, randomly triggered game-within- a-game and interactive touchscreen let players select any of the “Shrine” symbols in the second screen to reveal either a “Grand, Major, Minor” or “Mini” jackpot character. Any three-symbol match is a win. Aristocrat’s profits out of the Asia-Pacific region were up more than 51% in 2011, driven by a 21% increase in revenues. Galaxy Macau opened in May of last year with a record 60% Aristocrat machines. The casino’s dedicated high-limit slot area is entirely Aristocrat. Sands Cotai Central opened this spring with half its floor Aristocrat. All of which comes back to stellar game performance. “The core thing,” says Mr Punter, “is really good maths, fundamentally good games.” They are an outgrowth of “working with our customers closely, understanding their requirements and trying to drive that back into our product portfolio. “Every successful game is a lot of hits and misses,” he says. “We seemed to have a good mix of games that we’ve taken through different cabinets which have held up, as well as creating new links and some new standalone games which are tailored to the marketplace. That’s probably what’s most important. Our understanding of gaming, the operators’ understanding of gaming, bringing the two together and then driving that back into our D&D and not just taking products off the shelf—that’s what’s driving our competitive edge.” The phenomenon is being repeated throughout the region. In 2010, roughly 24% of Aristocrat’s Asia-Pacific revenues came from outside Macau and Singapore. Last year, 45.5% did. “We try and work very closely with our customers because we’ve spent a lot of time in the region,” Mr Punter notes. “I have Account Managers in Singapore dedicated to the region, the Philippines, two in Macau that service here, Vietnam and Korea. I have another Key Account Manager based out of Australia, a gentleman who also covers a broad range of accounts across those regions.” The “Year of the Dragon” has been an auspicious one for Aristocrat so far. There was the Sands Cotai Central placement, the launch of FA FA FA on the new Viridian WS™ cabinet, with its larger screen, enhanced graphics and sound package and a more flexible foundation to support new game concepts, and the continuation of the company’s “brand extension” strategy with the debut of 5 Koi Legends™, the follow- up to last year’s 5 Dragons Legends™, which has quickly asserted itself as a top performer across the region. Legends lets players choose between a classic game and a deluxe updated version of it—all on the same cabinet. The enhanced graphics of the series provide a more immersive experience. The new, higher win multipliers and mystery feature option add to the excitement with a choice of either six free games with up to a 40-times multiplier or a “Mystery Choice” in the form of a “Pink Dragon,”which randomly picks both free games and multiplier. “We believe really that taking players on that brand extension journey is the successful step,” says Mr Punter. “Whether it moves them from a standalone game to a better standalone game, a standalone game to standalone progressive, standalone to a link, standalone to a community, standalone to online.” The slogan Aristocrat has adopted heading into this month’s G2E Asia: “ We create Asia’s greatest gaming experience .” They’ll be looking to back that up with an array of new games—Keys of Fortune™, Dragons on the Lake™, Dragon Superior™, 5 Bats™, Heaven & Earth™, The Phantom™— and a new game category called Win Your 5 Bats on the ViridianWS—strong maths, selectable volatility and an all-new progressive jackpot Keys of Fortune extends the Hyperlink concept with an integrated free games jackpot feature