Once again, WMS was present at G2E with a wide range of developments. Have you presented products specially developed for the Asian market?
We have worked out here in the Asian markets for some time and we do a lot of analysis and player-driven research to really understand the needs and wants of the consumer. The products we design and that we intend to localize for these markets are those that we believe will have the best floor performance. For example, “Dragon’s Realm” a new G+Deluxe 5 x 4 slot game that has done very well in this market.
Which with expectations did the company have for this year’s show?
The expectations for the show are always two-fold—first, we communicate to area operators the types of WMS products that are unique or appropriate for their players. Everything we bring to G2E Asia is what we believe has the greatest opportunity for success in the Asian market. Secondly, G2E Asia is a stellar opportunity to hear from the operators, to know what’s working and not working in their universe. We take their feedback and input back to our designers, to prepare for the next show.
The Asian players traditionally seem to like more table games than slot machines. Do you agree with this? Which is the strategy of the company on this matter?
The Asian casino market is very early stage, and the mass market understands tables—it’s what knew growing up. Slots offer a completely different type of engagement. And there’s no question that what we’ve seen in the last 10 years in Macau, is a bigger base of consumers who would play slots. The market is maturing and players have greater exposure to slots. We definitely expect slots to be more important in the near future. In the meantime, we’ll continue to design and manufacture great WMS games.
How important is the Macau market and Asia in general for the company?
It is one of the key markets in the globe, there’s no question about it. We need to be successful in Macau specifically, but in Asia completely. The challenge is there are so many small markets within a big market, combined with cultural and language differences. So, to be honest, we have a team here every year really listening to multiple markets, to make sure we really understand what’s going on, and drive that feedback into the development process of the products.
How did you finally see the show this year? Was it positive for the company?
We are pleased to see this show continue to grow and improve, and we are really impressed with how eager the customers are to explore and adopt innovative WMS technologies, platforms and products that can deliver exciting gaming experiences and content for players, as well as improved returns for casino and gaming hall partners. This has been a very positive show and we look forward to next year.