GGRAsia – Konami taps market-tried slots to refresh Asia op offer

Konami taps market-tried slots to refresh Asia op offer

Jun 08, 2023 Newsdesk G2E Asia 2023: Singapore, Latest News, Top of the deck

Gaming content and equipment maker Konami says it is responding to the Asia-Pacific casino industry’s fresh engagement with consumers post- Covid-19, by introducing certain slot machine product including games proven in other markets, which it thinks will appeal to players in the region.

“There’s been a little bit of a reset” in the Asia-Pacific industry, noted David Punter (pictured), operations manager sales, marketing and service for Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific at Konami Australia Pty Ltd.

The feeling from the operators is “‘We’ve got to refresh some of our floors, we’ve got people coming back to the properties’,” he explained to GGRAsia in an interview.

“So from the Konami side of things … we’re going to focus a lot more” on content for Asian markets, he stated. That included showing to them “how successful” some of the group’s games had already been in other markets.

“One of the Konami advantages, I think, is we don’t have 10 [slot] cabinets” being offered in Asia Pacific, “we’ve just got two main ones”, stated Mr Punter.

These are the Dimension 49 – also available in a ‘J’ curve version – and featuring a 49-inch ultra high-definition (UHD) main screen; and the Dimension 27, with three 27-inch UHD displays.

A large-scale Dimension 75C cabinet – with a 75-inch UHD display, might be introduced to the region “later this year or early next year,” said Mr Punter.

A Konami slot already introduced to the region is the linked progressive product “Fortune Mint”, at Resorts World Genting, in Malaysia. According to the maker’s description, Fortune Mint offers two original launch titles: “Fu Gui You Yu” and “Fu Xing Gao Zhao”. Both are 5-reel, scatter pay games with bonus opportunities and three progressive jackpot levels.

That has been “very successful up in Genting [Highlands],” stated the executive. “We want to get that approved for some other jurisdictions,” he added.

Prominently displayed at Konami’s stand at last week’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition: Singapore, was a new slot product called “Bull Blitz”.

“It’s the next iteration” from the company’s popular “All Aboard” progressive slot, said Mr Punter. All Aboard has had more than a dozen versions since its launch. Bull Blitz has some “great features and enhancements,” stated the executive.

In the casino gaming segment, Japanese entertainment conglomerate Konami Group Corp operates via Konami Australia and U.S.-based Konami Gaming Inc.

Konami Gaming had initially launched All Aboard in Australia and in the United States, where it has been “one of the most successful products from Konami” in the commercial-casino slot segment the last few years, said Mr Punter.

In May, Konami Group said that revenue in its gaming and systems division – including casino equipment – rose by 50.5 percent year-on-year in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. Such revenue was just above JPY38.57 billion (US$286.9 million), compared to JPY25.63 billion in the previous 12 months.