Focus


SOUTH EAST ASIA


WMS Gaming showed how it has embedded imagination into its latest games for Asia


At the G2E Asia show in Macau, it was clear that WMS Gaming has focused upon differentiating its gameplay for the Asian marketplace. Recognising the many different needs of players across the market, and the broad similarity of the games being offered to them, WMS is seizing the opportunity to bring new games to the SE Asian market that players have never seen before. As Candace Lucas of WMS Gaming underlined - ‘These games are not the same.’ “We are talking about a leap in gameplay, a different experience for the player,” explained Ms. Lucas of the WMS games greeting visitors to the fifth G2E Asia exhibition. “We’ve looked at the way we structure our games, looked at the motivators for each player and developed games of differing denominations, volatility levels and gameplay experiences to the degree that there’s a game for every type of player profile.”


Graphically depicting this, Ms. Lucas showed a statistics screen built into every G+ game that operators can enable or disable according to preference, but which shows both the operator and customer the individual game statistics, letting the player understand the mechanics of the game they’re playing. It shows the random elements of the game usually hidden from view, letting the player determine for themselves what the statistics mean to them - just as a numbers display on a roulette table shows hot and cold numbers (irrelevant in regards to a perfectly random wheel - but of consequence to the decision-making process of the player).


Ms. Lucas explained that the feature enables the player to not only understand the statistics driving the game and the random nature of the events, but determine the type of experience that's particular to their style of play. “It's all about how the player interprets the information,” said Ms. Lucas. “The subtle changes of gameplay and options they select, such as high or low denomination, for example, can have a huge impact on their enjoyment of the game."


As much as titles and themes such as Goldfish, one of WMS Gaming’s big hits in the SE Asian marketplace, deliver the big brands, it’s the mechanics of the games that really excites player interest. Take a game such as Treasures of Sparta, an intriguing title that offers a progressive on each reel, whereby the player can win five progressives from each of the reels, with the higher the credits played opening


ARUZE GAMING’S PARADISE FISHING Aruze Gaming showed its enormous new Paradise Fishing Link at the G2E Asia exhibition, which not only attracted considerable attention at the show, but according to Senior General Manager, Takahiro Usui, Aruze had placed its first games on the floors of the Venetian and Galaxy Macau. “Visitors to the show can play the games on the exhibition and watch the reaction of players to the game live on the floors of both casinos,” stated Mr. Usui. “We believe this is a successful strategy and one we intend to further expand upon in Asia’s gaming markets, including the largest, Macau.”


G3 I AUGUST 2011 I PAGE 32


Putting the imagination inside


up more of the progressives and eventually unlocking the final fifth reel progressive. It’s a fascinating new twist on the standalone progressive, but here too WMS has looked deeper into player behaviour and interaction with its games. Ms. Lucas explained: “We have noticed that players in the Asian market haven’t been covering all the lines during their games. In Las Vegas, a player would automatically cover all the lines and in doing so unlock the full experience that the game has to offer. Here, we need to help the player by covering all the lines for them within the gameplay, with the only variation being the amount bet. We are seeking to assist and educate the player. The technology behind the game


WMS Gaming’s Jon Lancaster and Candace Lucas


pictured at the G2E


Asia gaming show in the Venetian Macau.


Mechanical reel games from WMS


featured strongly at the show in Macau,


including Lord of the Rings, Godfather, Monopoly and Wizard of Oz.


is extremely complex, but the player doesn’t see anything but entertainment.”


And it’s not just games that fall under WMS’ beady-eyed scrutiny, the BBXD cabinet shown at G2E Asia offers players maximum comfort for all day play. Its slim-line slant-top design is aimed at space conscious operators with a more upright form factor to deliver a footprint similar to that of an upright slot. “We want the latest technology to give the player the most dynamic experience possible,” described Ms. Lucas. “The technology is purely an enabler to excite and engage the player. We are leveraging technology to create a game that's more exciting, not more complex.”


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