Inside Asian Gaming

MARCH 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 41 INSIGHTS IAG: And you’re also providing an opportunity for game designers to get their ideas out to the market? AY: Yes. We are a very young company, a start-up basically. We have our in-house developers and programmers, our team, but that is not what we aim to do. We aim to bring in new gaming concepts from developers directly to the casino operators so that we’re just a bridge in between, because that will be the easiest method for everyone. Operators are very eager to see new products, not just in Macau and Asia but also everywhere around the world. The number of slots players is decreasing and one of the reasons is that the current games are not entertaining. What we wanted to do was provide something new. We feel this will attract both operators and game developers. These developers might not be in the land-based sector, they might just be into social gaming and they might not know how to get their content into land-based casinos, so TGG can provide that gateway. IAG: Can you tell us a bit about your role at TGG? AY: At the moment I’m focusing more on the downstream side of the business which is the casino side because that’s where I have more experience. I’m getting in touch with a lot of the casinos in Asia and Europe. Obviously I have some background in business development in Europe from when I was at Aruze so I have been able to get in touch with a lot of casino operators there to explain our ideas. Even during the three days we had at ICE this year we were received very well by European operators. Most of them said they’ve never heard of this open-source concept before. They seemed very excited to see our products. In terms of game development at TGG, it’s very much a team effort. It’s not just me bringing a game to an operator and leaving it there. I will also go and talk to the game developers and make them more engaged either in a joint venture project or a co-development project. That will make them more involved. We are offering a new strategy on the business development side that will allow them to seize the opportunity. Although they are very mature and educated in regards to mobile platforms they have less “There are not many manufacturers, in terms of land-based slots, from China or Hong Kong … there is not one brand that is in Chinese characters or is from a Chinese background. We have a genuine interest in heading in that direction.” TGG unveiled its new Fish Hunter game at ICE in London this year