Aristocrat embracing innovation to keep relevant
Australia-based slot machine maker Aristocrat Leisure Ltd introduced themed areas to its booth at this year’s edition of the casino industry trade show Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia, in a bid to replicate a casino floor.
“We wanted to give potential customers a better understanding of the possible configurations of our cabinets and games on a casino floor,” says Miguel Choi (pictured), Aristocrat’s regional marketing manager for Asia Pacific.
The themed areas were designed to allow attendees to experience Aristocrat’s products in what the company said was a “more meaningful way”. “It’s important to give customers a better idea of our diversified portfolio of cabinets and expanded games library, and the different configurations that they can use,” Mr Choi told GGRAsia.
Aristocrat’s stand at G2E Asia 2018 included four dedicated areas: a “5 Dragons” zone; a mass-market gaming area; a high limit room; and an innovation room.
The “5 Dragons” area featured Aristocrat’s latest 5 Dragons games. These include “5 Dragons Grand”, on the firm’s Arc Double cabinet, and “5 Dragons Empire”, a four-level Hyperlink jackpot game – on Aristocrat’s Arc Single cabinet – that features an innovative game mechanic, multipliers, bonus prizes and the chance to win Hyperlink jackpots, said the firm.
The company has also expanded its “Lightning Link” product offering, with new games customised for the Asia-Pacific market. The fourth title of Lightning Link – “Emperors Treasures” – was on display at the firm’s stand.
“You need to keep innovating and introducing more titles to support popular link products,” noted Mr Choi. “Some of these products are performing very well in the mass-market segment in Macau,” he added.
The Australian slot machine maker has also extended its line of standalone games for those players who enjoy a higher-volatility gaming experience. The “Fa Fa Long” product (pictured) – available in the high-limit area on the firm’s booth – is based on what the company described as “a proven and popular repeat-win maths model”. According to Aristocrat, the “Fa Fa Long” product mechanics are paired with intuitive line displays, which offer players a low line math model.
“This area shows how an operator can customise a high-limit area, targeting at its VIP customers. The slot allows for denominations of up to HKD1,000 [US$127],” said Mr Choi.
The innovation room at the G2E Asia stand presented some of the firm’s latest concepts, in a bid to gauge clients’ interest for these products in Asian markets.
One of such products was a curved-monitor cabinet dubbed “The Flame”, which was first shown in the United States, where is currently going through the necessary approvals, said Mr Choi.
The cabinet includes a vertical 4K LCD monitor in the shape of an “S,” with the bottom and top of the monitor both tilted toward the player, as well as a virtual button deck.
“This cabinet has been exhibited in the U.S. and was very well received, but first we need to get some feedback before bringing it to Asia,” explained Mr Choi. “We need to understand how comfortable they are with the virtual button deck and what kind of content they would like to have in this cabinet here in Asia,” he added.
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