Inside Asian Gaming

May 2013 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 33 FEATURES to G2E will get their first look at Legends versions of 50 Dragons™ and Fortune King. New graphics and sound have been added to create 50 Dragons Deluxe™, which features a “choose your volatility” option that guarantees longer stacked wilds to create an even more compelling gamble, leveraging, as 5 Dragons Legends™ does to great effect, that vaunted approach to game math for which Aristocrat is famous. Fortune King Deluxe™ will offer two new features plus bonus free games and a similarly enhanced visual package. “We have to be adapting to the changing environment,”says Asia Pacific General Manager David Punter. “We have to mold ourselves to what’s happening in the region and be ready to respond with the best games for Asian customers and players.” The Asia Pacific division grew “significantly” last year, parent Aristocrat Leisure said in its most recent revenue report, which covers the nine months through 30th September. The division was instrumental in driving year-on-year revenue growth (+ 8.5%) and profit growth (+ 23%) for the company’s business segments outside Australia, the Americas and Japan. Aristocrat’s revenues outside Australia and the Americas were up 61% for the period. Profit generated by the Asia Pacific division was up almost 28% on a 19.5% increase in revenue. The region’s importance to Aristocrat prompted the company to create a new director-level head of Asia Pacific sales and business development, Mark Aubrey, reporting to Mr Punter. Mr Aubrey, doesn’t come from traditional casino gaming at all. He’s held senior sales and marketing roles with LucasArts and Activision and most recently served with Warner Bros. as group marketing director for home entertainment, video games, television and digital. He’s managed franchises of the stature of Star Wars, Batman, Harry Potter and Call of Duty. He is, needless to say, a key hire. Player preferences are rapidly maturing, inMacau specifically, and Aristocrat knows it must respond with a more nuanced approach—more worldly might be another way to put it—to game design and development. As Mr Punter says, “You’re starting to see a player that will come to Macau for the first and second time and see slots and see electronic tables and, of course, see live table situations, so you’re getting players that have got a lot more variety to choose from. We’re seeing changes in denominations come into play, more animation and graphics, lower volatility games and higher volatility games. Where it used to be just stand-alone and link, now there’s licensed product in the marketplace, there’s features in the top box, and you’re starting to see “We have to be changing,” says Asia Pacific General Manager David Punter. “We have to mold ourselves to what’s happening in the region.” King’s Dynasty feature screen Dragons on the Lake