Konami has been gaining traction across Asia with products geared to perk up local players
The Konami stand at the G2E Asia 2014 expo was one of the busiest at the show. Director of Game Product Management Steve Walther comments: “The interest in what we’re doing has grown tremendously, with people keen to see what we’ve done to evolve our product for this market. Last year we came with a very limited product set. We put our toe in the water. We were exploring and we listened to the market so we could come back this year with a stronger product offering. This year’s product was built on the feedback that we received from operators and players alike, and so far everyone at the show has been positive toward our efforts.”
From Asian-themed graphics, to game features popular with locals, to all-new celebration music that gets them smiling, Konami Gaming has fine-tuned its products for optimal performance in the region. “It’s like a big cake. You need to have all the ingredients in order for it to turn out right,” says Mr Walther. “We’re looking for the right level of all the ingredients. And we think we’ve done a great job listening and incorporating them into products that have really performed well for local operators. These games are nice alternatives to some of the games already in the field.”
Among the new Konami products designed specifically for Asian markets is Brothers of Fortune, a four-level, symbol-driven progressive, where players win when red and/or blue “brothers” appear on any three reels. The combination of brothers determines the level of jackpot awarded.
Then there’s King of the World, part of Konami’s Ultra Reels product series, which features left-right scatter pays and a unique free-game bonus feature that allows players to influence their destiny by choosing from one of three different feature combinations of free games and multipliers.
Based on the trigger symbols, players can win up to 30 free games or 100x multipliers. Also in the UltraReels series is More Gold More Silver. In the free-game bonus, players are put in control when they choose between three different statues. If the statue reveals a gold ingot, all the silver ingots become gold throughout the free games. This symbol transformation gives players the opportunity for big wins. If the ingot reveals silver, players still have the opportunity to win big as all gold ingots become silver for the free games.
Another highlight at the Konami stand was Red Fortune, a KP3 5-reel game featuring a distinct Asian theme. During free-game features, wild symbols include multipliers on reels 2, 3 and 4. If players hit two or more multipliers the cumulative value will be applied to the winning combination. This gives players the opportunity to experience high-volatility big wins during the feature.
Armed with a strong lineup of market-specific products, Konami is now focused on growing its installations in Macau, “because it’s such a good, growing market, and I think if it works here it’ll work in most places in Southeast Asia and the Philippines and South Korea,” says Mr Walther.
