Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2012 22 I nternational Game Technology is powering into 2013 behind a commitment to developing “market-attuned” games that is more in evidence than ever. It’s all about leveraging distinct player preferences, says Mark Michalko, sales director for IGT-Asia. So along with the star-powered licensed titles that characterized many of the new offerings the slot giant unveiled in 2012—CSI, for example, based on aTV crime drama popular in the States, and a video homage to CountryWesternmusic legend Dolly Parton, both of which debuted at October’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas —there are plenty of not-so-hyped gems that pack plenty of promise on their own merits. These are the games IGT has created for specific international markets—“market- attuned”titles that focus on those cultural variations among players, all with customized game play configurations and translated game content at the push of a button—such as Big Dragon Lounge and Silk Seduction, both specifically designed to appeal to players in Macau and across East Asia. For Asian players, “In general, the math models are absolutely critical to the success of the game,” says Mr Michalko. “The language of a game can be changed, the characters can be changed, but that’s only a tiny component of what makes a successful game. And what we’ve learned is they are, in general terms, much more motivated by game mechanics and math models as opposed to the pure graphics.” That said, he adds that it’s dangerous to overgeneralize about Asian players and Asian markets. Because of course they’re not all the same. “I think the mentality and the mechanics of the games differ quite dramatically from Macau to the other areas,” he explains. So what plays well in Macau, where most of the business comes from Chinese players, might only be part of the solution in Singapore, which draws a more diverse slot player base. In Macau, “A subset of the market absolutely wants that [high volatility],” he says. Local players and other visitors who gamble frequently are the players for whom “high volatility becomes a very important aspect to the game”. In Singapore, on the other hand, where IGT enjoys about 25% of floor share in the city’s two resort casinos, players may be Taiwanese, Malaysian or local Singaporeans in addition to those from China. These groups also like greater volatility, he says, but they also tend to be more open to other styles of games. “That market is a bit more like the US in the sense that a lot of the games and products that we have [in the United States] export more easily into that market than they do in Macau.” One newgame feature that has proven quite popular in Asia is the company’s patented Super Stacks, which allows players to experience stacked symbols offering more potential win opportunities. Big Dragon Lounge Getting in Tune With Asia’s players firmly in its sights, IGT is improving its understanding of regional preferences and developing it into a more diverse, and versatile, product offering HOT GAMES