“Konami is focused on supporting the market with top quality games”
(Exclusive interview).- Konami will showcase a strong mix of progressive bonus game releases at S6-110.
Eduardo Aching, Vice President, International Sales of Konami Gaming has told Focus Gaming News thecompany’s plans for the upcoming ICE London 2018. The casino supplier will be exhibiting its state-of-the-art technology and award-winning games.
What does Konami have in store for ICE London?
Konami is bringing a strong mix of progressive bonus game releases to ICE 2018, as well as a number of exciting titles for the curved Concerto Crescent cabinet. One of the top linked progressive games that will be featured at ICE for the first time is called Power Boost Inferno. It allows players to increase their odds for the Supreme jackpot up to 10x with a flexible extra bet. Power Boost Inferno features a multi-level wheel spin bonus, cumulative awards, and exciting lava burst animation. Another original linked bonus game coming to ICE 2018 is Konami’s fiesta-themed Smash Smash Festival. Instead of traditional metering progressive prizes, this game progresses the number of available prizes in the jackpot pool with each mystery-trigger selection until a player is awarded the Smash Time bonus to redeem all prizes in the central pot. Smash Smash Festival and Power Boost Inferno combine with most any KP3+ base games on Concerto upright and Slant. They are even compatible with SeleXion multi-game.
Other original bonus features will be showcased in new games like Cai Lai Si Ji, Celestial Sun Riches, and Celestial Moon Riches. Cai Lai Si Ji is a 4-level standalone progressive series that has seen strong success across international markets with its pick ‘em feature and 5-figure Mega jackpot. The latest game release for the series is called Power of Riches, featured at ICE on Concerto upright and Slant. It will be side-by-side with Celestial Sun Riches and Celestial Moon Riches. These are the debut games for Konami’s new Strike Zone feature, which allows players to select increasing Strike Zone areas for additional bonus opportunities by increasing their extra bet amount. Every wild eclipse symbol that lands in the Strike Zone transforms to a random 2x or 3x multiplier and each sun or moon symbol awards a wheel bonus if the free game feature is triggered.
This year also marks the ICE debut of Konami’s Castlevania themed slots, based on the iconic video game series first popularized in the 80’s. It is showcased on our curved 43” screen Crescent cabinet, with authentic art, animation, and music from the series and multi-mystery bonus events. The game really is a must-see for operators looking for new premium game options in 2018.
SeleXion multi-game is also coming to Concerto Crescent for the first time at ICE 2018. This gives operators a versatile solution to feature Konami’s latest single screen game releases—like Lotus Land Deluxe Wild, China Shores Great Stacks, Dragon Fury, and more—on one machine.
What will be the company’s key areas of focus for 2018?
As the Concerto Collection reaches record placements, Konami is focused on supporting the market with top quality games and new entertainment for players to enjoy. Our energy and investment really centers on research & development, in order to help advance future games product and deliver top performance for operators.
How does Konami plan on building upon its expertise in consumer arcade and video game entertainment to achieve further growth?
Since Konami Gaming was first founded, we have had the opportunity to leverage proven expertise and world-class ingenuity of our parent company to support core components from electronics to audio. With changes in the market over the years, we’ve been able to forge inroads for highly creative product unlike anything else available. It came into play for the technology behind Advantage Revolution and multi-station Titan 360, and even more recently we’ve worked in close collaboration with Konami’s amusement group to introduce games like Fortune Cup horse racing, Beat Square skill-based, and Crystal Cyclone multi-station to the gaming market. These next generation developments are an important area to bring new attractions to the floor.
Konami is focused on supporting the market with top quality games and new entertainment for players to enjoy. Our energy and investment really centers on research & development, in order to help advance future games product and deliver top performance for operators.
Konami’s gaming solutions continue to prove successful around the world, especially in land-based casinos. How are you positioned to compete against other big names in Europe’s interactive market?
Our long-held approach to online gaming has been an openness to making our games available for players to enjoy across a variety of online platforms. Over the years we’ve seen Konami games achieve considerable success on social and real money online gaming for many different online operators across North America and Europe. It’s very encouraging to see Konami products continue to appeal to players on these sites and we look forward to continued expansion.
What exciting releases can the industry look forward to in 2018?
Konami’s Fortune Cup mechanical horse racing game is among the industry’s most anticipated games of the new year and has received great response at initial launch locations. Up to 10 people can play at a time and bet on their picks for win, place, and quinella. It has the unique charm of a mechanical horse racing game combined with a modern digital bet interface that’s really sleek and convenient.
At the same time, Konami is creating a record variety of single-screen game content for machines like our curved Concerto Crescent and a new 65-inch jumbo screen Concerto Opus. With these new formats, we’re introducing a depth of never-before-seen bonus features spanning the Castlevania series, Lucky O’Leary Jackpots, China Shores Boosted Riches, and Star Watch Magma, to name a few. These games are already reaching early locations and will continue to pop up around casinos worldwide in the coming months.
