Insight G2E: LAS VEGAS


Re-imagininggaming


WMS Gaming led fromthe front again at the G2E show with a stunning selection of games both on display an in the ‘vault’


It's interesting that while the exhibition floor of G2E was a-buzz with talk of new technologies driving games, WMS Gaming, a company responsible, more than any other, for driving change in the slot gaming sector, talks only about its games. Technology is the vehicle that delivers the game to the player, and while undeniably its incredibly important, WMS hasn't lost sight of the fact that it's all about putting more 'bang for the buck' in front of the player; and at G2E in Vegas, WMS Gaming did exactly that.


A whirlwind 20 minute tour around the WMS stand in the company of Executive Director for Marketing, Candace Lucas, is like being shown Disney World by helicopter - you want to stop and play everything, but your feet never touch the ground. First stop on the WMS tour bus was the new Yahtzee title; with the company having secured a vast array of Hasbro licences last year, WMS is extracting the essence of the game from each licence. As a player familiar with the family game, you expect to be able to gather the dice and shake the Yahtzee cup before releasing them, just as you do at home - and that's exactly the


experience WMS has created. It's interactive and most of all, it's intuitive.


The Godfather brings together the language and characters from the movie into a video slot that seeks to challenge the player. In an escalating progressive, players must collect a specific number of symbols to progress to the next challenge, with spinning revolver progressives that bring not just The Godfather licence to life, but also delivers something of the graphical elegance of video-games such as Red Dead Redemption. WMS has also themed the side of The Godfather slot with graphics to fully immerse the player in the environment of the game.


Labouring a little the Disney reference, Pirate Battle actually drew a theme park- like queue of people waiting in an orderly line to experience the 'ride.' Following WMS's Piggy Banking Portal Game of 2009, Pirate Battle is portal technology that operators can add to an existing bank of base games to generate new interest and a competitive player environment atop their older slots. Players of the base games are divided into two teams, blue and red, and then


G3 I JANUARY2011 I PAGE 46


Above: The latest PortalGame from


WMSGaming -Pirate Battle.


“We've recently


signed a partnership deal to extend the reach of our Portal


Games beyondWMS' range to include


Konami's slot games. We are building on our vision of


interoperability between game


suppliers by offering solutions that not only encompass


WMS' range of titles, but nowKonami and in the future, any game fromany supplier."


Candace Lucas,


ExecutiveDIrector, Marketing/


Communications, WMS Gaming.


compete to sink each others ships and win treasure for their team through bonus rewards. “We've recently announced a partnership that can extend the reach of our Portal Games beyond WMS' range to include Konami's slot games," explained Ms. Lucas. "We are building on our vision of interoperability between game suppliers by offering solutions that not only enhance WMS' range of titles, but now Konami and in the future, potentially any game from any supplier."


Having been given a sneak-peek into WMS' games secret area the previous year, the launch of Lord of the Rings has been greatly anticipated. Now that it's hit casino floors in the US, operators have already thrown themselves into the concept which takes players on an episodic journey through Middle Earth. "Harrahs Entertainment has integrated their players' club CARD with Lord of the Rings, this now enables players to continue to play from their last position within the game at any location offering Lord of the Rings, anywhere across the country," described Ms. Lucas.


Delivering exactly what the player expects in games such as The Price Is Right - Ultimate Show, which invites the player to "Come on down!" - WMS also likes to pull-the-rug, tinkering with traditional concepts of base game mechanics with titles such as Reel Boost. Here the reels flip and dwindle in number to create a pyramid of symbols that hugely boosts


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