“The feedback from our customers is invaluable”

(Exclusive interview).- Konami Gaming closed an excellent performance at ICE 2017.

Eduardo Aching, Vice President of International Sales at Konami Gaming shared with Focus Gaming News the company’s experience at ICE Totally Gaming 2017, which was held from February 7–9 in London. As the leading gaming company, manufacturer of the most acclaimed casino content worldwide, Konami Gaming’s performance at the greatest industry’s event of the year has noted a step towards the future.

Konami Gaming has always been a key exhibitor at the most important events of the gaming industry. What is the company’s assessment of this year’s ICE?

The 2017 ICE show was a strong success. The attendance was great, and we were able to meet with key customers from markets across the world. As in years past, an array of gaming product specialties were present across the ICE show floor, including our latest games and technology advancements.

You’ve said that you wanted your ICE stand to reflect the very best variety of your products. Did Konami Gaming fulfill the expected goals at this year’s ICE?

Absolutely. This year we showcased a variety of video slot formats available with our new Concerto™ Collection. Our popular Concerto upright cabinet was shown at ICE for the first time last year, and for the 2017 show we were able to expand upon the success of that machine with a complete lineup of slant, multi-game, and single screen formats to meet a diversity of casino needs. This was reinforced by a variety of game software options, including our new Smash Smash Festival linked bonus, a promising new standalone progressive called Cai Lai Si Ji, and brand new base game themes that optimize different available cabinet types. Customer feedback was very positive on this new collection of Konami video slots and we look forward to supporting global markets with these games moving forward.

The 2017 ICE show was a strong success. The attendance was great, and we were able to meet with key customers from markets across the world.

Do events like ICE help you achieve your goals? How important is the contact it allows you to have with customers?

The annual event in London is an important opportunity for us to collaborate with our international partners and identify new opportunities to add value to their business with top casino products and advancements. At the same time, we also maintain open eyes and ears to new opportunities for future product development. The feedback we get from our operator customers is invaluable. We make it a mission to listen first, and gather new feedback and insights from those closest to the market.

This year you introduced three new base games with Asian art and design elements: Wealth of Dynasty, Winning Animals, and Power of Riches. How was the response from the public?

Wealth of Dynasty, Winning Animals, and Power of Riches are all debut release games in our new Cai Lai Si Ji progressive series. This is a very promising new standalone progressive game and our customers had positive response to the unique art design and the paytable setup we configured for the top screen display, which includes a 5-figure mega jackpot. During ICE we showcased the new game series on our Concerto Slant cabinet, featuring proven components of the original upright machine but in a relaxed slant top format.