Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming August 2016 38 iGaming Blue Pages I n the increasingly crowded iGaming space, standing out from the crowd has become the definitive challenge. Not so for software provider Pariplay. The Gibralter-based company recently joined forces with legendary arcade game pioneers Atari to bring some arcade classics back to life in the gambling sphere. Eighteen months later they have done just that with the launch of Atari Asteroids – an instant win game based on the 1979 original that sees players shoot passing asteroids to reveal gems representing various cash values. Yet the significance of Asteroids isn’t so much in the Atari name as the generational shift it represents. “I think the nature of gamblers has changed,” explains Pariplay’s CEO and founder Gili Lisani. Back to the future iGaming in Depth “The gamblers of 20 years ago grew up watching iconic TV shows like The Three Stooges so it was a theme-based atmosphere but the new generation is completely different in their approach. They’ve grown up witnessing the birth of PlayStation and Xbox, the birth of powerful first person shooter games. It’s the arcade style. “So we want to appeal to this young generation by presenting a new way to consume entertainment in the form of gambling. We are trying to ‘gamify’ the gambling experience. “The younger generation will still go into casinos but they like the arcade style of Call of Duty , Grand Theft Auto and Sega. It won’t be long before we see all of these companies merge into a portfolio of gambling products that mimic their experience in arcade games.” In partnership with iGaming provider Pariplay, computer game icon Atari is moving into the online gambling world to breathe new life into some of their most beloved titles – and their unique approach could well be a glimpse into the online games of the future. By Ben Blaschke