IGT unveiled premium titles at ICE show

What has been IGT showing at ICE?
ICE is a very important show and it gives us an opportunity to showcase the breadth of all of our products in the gaming space. Obviously, online and interactive gaming is huge here in Europe, but not as big in North America, so we are showing our full breadth of interactive products, both real-wager games content for regulated markets and for social gaming, and we are showing part of our interactive strategy as well. From our land-based casino slot machine standpoint, we have our full breadth solution here, which includes our systems products. We have a very broad systems portfolio that’s on full display here, from our casino management systems to our server-based gaming solutions to our bonus game, which we have on display. But the most exciting thing are all of our slot machine games. We are highlighting both games that we previewed at G2E last fall, as well as branded games that are being shown here at the stand.

Which have been the new game releases at the show?
We have two new games. One is called Jenga Tower of Money, which is a very popular game in Europe, so we licensed that brand and we created a unique, interesting slot game that uses the icon and the imagery around the game but also, when you get to the bonus round, you actually play bonuses that really incorporate the idea of building a tower, and not having the tower fall down. If it falls down, the bonus round ends. We have a new skill-based game ; it is another game that uses the joystick and that allows you to have this skill element to define your reward. 

We are also showing a number of our license-branded games. Some of them we showed at G2E, like James Cameron´s Avatar. We have two different James Cameron´s Avatar games here, based on the movie. We have Bridesmaids, and a number of movie titles. From a content stand point, we are very excited about these new games that we have.

Then we have a very interactive game, Venture to Never Isle. We are really interested in that kind of entertainment-type play. I’d like to highlight that for different types of players you have different games. And for us that includes games that are more for the casual player, those who go to resorts. But you also need other types of games for players that are more frequent players and those are high-volatility games and our focus is to be inclusive in balancing how games cross the spectrum.  So what we see on the floor is actually a number of new high-volatility games that offer a thrilling experience to the more frequent players, and offer a big win - and that’s an increasing focus to add to the more entertainment-type game; and so we have a number of new offers on the floor. “Into the Wild” is one that I would highlight.   

Which are the most important markets for you in Europe?
We have had great success in Europe with our casino customers, in places like France and the UK as well as in Italy and other places. I think one of the important elements of our land-based strategy is that actually we invest more in international markets (non US markets), and expand in Europe, as well as in Asia. So we are very much investing, from a land-based perspective, in those non US regions. In terms of online gaming, this has been more frequent in Europe, so for us it’s also an investment. Part of that investment is the transition from desk-top to mobile. And you will just continue to see across the board people playing slot games and online content via a mobile device. I don’t think it will take people away from their PCs and Macs, but it will definitely be part of our investment strategy.