Inside Asian Gaming

MAY 2015 inside asian gaming 65 G2E ASIA 2015 so installations in Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. The word spread quickly to Macau and the Philippines, where the high-volatility 50-line standalones that were making the company’s name in Singapore quickly found a niche, led by Qin Shi Huang, which packs a compelling gamble in the form of a multiplier that progressively increases during the feature and has been a stalwart performer in Macau and is still the most popular game for Weike in the Philippines six years after its release. Mr Poh believesWeike has a geographical edge over the big international suppliers. “In terms of maneuvering around the market we’re probably more nimble,” he says. “Our entire team is in Asia so we don’t have to fly people in from Europe or America. We’re all based within the region. It takes us maximum about four to five hours to get to any location that we need to be.” The company is also nimble in responding to evolving market needs. “Something like a new regulation: perhaps for the big suppliers, the international guys, they have to go through a corporate chain before they can get an answer,” Mr Poh contends. “And they have other markets to consider, and then whether the decision they’re making is actually for the good; it may not be, because their other markets are bigger than Asia. For us, Asia is our market. Asia is the biggest market for us. So concentrating on Asia itself, it’s very easy for us to make sure we handle all the regulatory changes, and make sure our guys that create the products visit Asia and they’re in tune with the psyche of the customers that are here.” Beyond slots and e-tables, Weike continues to grow its systems business. WeSystems has expanded intomore than 100 properties across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia by specializing in a highly modular and affordable technology targeting the club and small-casino market. In Macau it currently connects around 600 EGMs in four casinos. Visit Weike at Stand #1231 Infinity Baccarat, known for its innovative “card-squeezing” technology, integrates high- definition video of a dealer to simulate live play. Infinity Roulette Weike’s Multi-player Electronic Table Game (METG) is a strong performer in Vietnam, where Weike controls an estimated 60% of the e-table market. The METG can be configured either as a fully automated or partially automated (i.e. dealer-assisted) table game. important to have a long term perspective and alwaysmake sure we give the best combination of product requirements and value for money in every market,” says Mr Poh. Weike started supplying slots and e-tables in the late ’90s, when the company branched out from club operations, principally in Malaysia, into game development, largely because it felt the big international manufacturers weren’t adequately customizing games for Asian players. Weike also got serious about building its talent base, notably with the addition of Andrew Masen, among others. A one- time game design manager for Australia’s Stargames, Mr Masen joined in 2008, and as vice president of Game Design and Development has nurtured the growth of an R&D team that now numbers more than 50. The company has been rolling out an increasingly rich palette of games built around solid maths and world- class graphics ever since. Today, it enjoys around a 20% share of Singapore’s vibrant club market and has another 100 or