Inside Asian Gaming

IAG OCT 2021年10月 亞博匯 30 Whilst we do focus specific efforts for the Asian markets, we also publish western games that cross over well to the Asian region. We have found that many of the European-release game titles cross over well. Examples of games that have performed very well that were initially conceived forawesternaudiencearethebig grid tumbling games like “Gems Bonanza”, “Sweet Bonanza” and “Gates of Olympus”. Other very successful Europe-Asia crossover games are the high- volatility slots which are popular in the European market like “The Dog House”, “Fruit Party” and “Juicy Fruits”. Asia is populous and diverse enough for many slot game vendors, trends, themes and play styles to achieve success. We do bring games from other markets – such as “Fortune Coin Boost” which recently launched in the Philippines market – as it reduces the risk if it has performed well, particularly in Australia, where there are similar player profiles. We adapt key game features and innovations from our global studios and tailor these into our Asian product roadmap. Asia is very diverse – both between countries and within each country there are unique player types – so we pick and choose the best features to match the differing player profiles. However, we are having more success in developing games locally in this region – Ying Cai Shen has been the prime example of this approach. Pleasingly, IGT has also launched Ying Cai Shen into the North American market, so we are seeing concepts from here going into that market too. It certainly does for SG. I would say that is a well identified strategy for us – taking games, leveraging the studios that are attuned and have an affinity for a specific market and putting them out around the world. It has proved very successful for us in taking games global. For example, the pot mechanic for SG, you see that across our portfolio globally. “88 Fortunes” is one of our most successful brands but you also see extensions of “88 Fortunes” called “Dancing Drums Prosperity” and “5 Treasures Explosions” that are some of the most popular games in North America right now. The other thing is bringing games from global markets to Asia-Pacific. We are making significant investments in global content, creating new categories like Persistent Cash in the Australian market on games like “Kraken Unleashed” or “Cash Falls”. We can take those games, proof them out in markets like Australia and North America, then bring them back to Asia-Pacific. COVER STORY What are your thoughts on crossing over game titles and concepts from a global market into Asia, or vice-versa? Does it work?