Japanese games developer Konami is seeing positive growth in its Southeast Asian markets on the back of strong interest in its recently released horse racing product “Fortune Cup”, according to Konami’s Senior Director of Marketing and Product Management, Steve Walther.
Discussing with Inside Asian Gaming the company’s key focus areas in 2019 after reporting a 28.4% increase in profits to US$14.1 million for its gaming and systems division for the six months to 30 September 2018, Walther pointed to Latin America and Europe as exhibiting strong growth but added there was also modest growth in Asia – primarily from the emerging markets of Cambodia and Vietnam where “Fortune Cup” has performed particularly well.
“We’re really pleased with the performance that game has offered and it’s resonating well with players in those countries as a point of difference,” Walther said. “The animation and the realism is phenomenal and people are really gravitating towards that game. It’s a really entertaining game that has an arcade feel but with a gambling element to it.
“There are regular slot machines games in the same properties too but by putting ‘Fortune Cup’ there we’re saying ‘Hey, we’ve got something different’.”
Most pleasing, according to Walther, is the impact “Fortune Cup” has had on players who might not be similarly drawn to a traditional EGM.
“We’ve also launched the product in North America and what we’re seeing is that players who aren’t usually engaging with slot machines are actually engaging with ‘Fortune Cup’,” Walther explained.
“They see it as a unique experience. Maybe they don’t have the same value of play in an EGM but will use the arcade style horse racing game as their mode of gambling.”
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