“Konami’s preparations for the next NIGA edition are focused on delivering more top-ranked titles to tribal operators”
Tom Jingoli, executive vice president & chief operating officer at Konami Gaming granted Focus Gaming News an exclusive interview to talk about the company’s attendance at NIGA and Konami’s operations in Latam.
Exclusive interview.- The Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (NIGA) is just around the corner and Konami will be one of the companies that will be there to show their products and novelties.
Tom Jingoli, executive vice president & chief operating officer at Konami Gaming spoke with Focus Gaming News about the company’s expectations regarding the event and shared his views regarding the North American and Latam markets.
How are you preparing for the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (NIGA) and what are your expectations for the exhibition?
Coming out of the success of G2E Las Vegas, Konami is eager and excited to dedicate its interest, time, and attention to the needs of our tribal customers when we meet in Anaheim.
Releases like All Aboard, Fortune Mint, and Konetic -which showed strong momentum during G2E- have only gotten greater. So our preparations for the 2022 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention are focused on delivering these and more top-ranked titles to tribal operators, in ways that give them the most long-term business value.
What products and solutions are you most eager to showcase?
Our customers have seen strong results with the latest DIMENSION core content on DIMENSION 49, such as Fortune Mint and the Triple Sparkle series. During the 2022 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, we’re taking that momentum further with additional Fortune Mint titles, a new integrated link version of Treasure Ball, an original Rising Diamond slots series, and more.
Konami recently announced that this show marks the premiere of Konami’s first multi-game edition of All Aboard, available exclusively on its big-screen DIMENSION 75C. Guests at the show will be the first to try All Aboard multi-game—with Dynamite Dash, Piggy Pennies, Masked Warrior, and Go West in one machine. Other premium series showcased at the event include Lucky Envelope, Bull Blitz, and Battle Bots slots—all of which will be featured on Konami’s award-winning DIMENSION 49J.
In addition, industry-leading SYNKROS casino systems technology such as the Konetic employee mobile app, SYNK31 Title 31 / Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Money Klip cashless solutions, cardless solutions, and more are also available for demo throughout show hours.
The DIMENSION cabinet to be crowned the “Best Slots Product” in the 20th edition of the Gaming & Technology Awards, how will DIMENSION continue to expand?
Konami’s DIMENSION cabinet line continues to expand to new form factors and game series. The latest addition is DIMENSION 75C, which is a large-format premium machine with 75-inch Ultra High-definition (UHD) screen curved in a slight “C” shape. It is slated to begin North American market release in the coming weeks. It will be followed later in the year by DIMENSION TOP Box, which consists of a 27-inch lower screen and tall 49-inch upper screen.
Bull Blitz is among the top game series we’re looking forward to introducing. It has a similar credit collection feature as All Aboard, but with the chance to win collected credit prizes again and again through an “Xtra Hit” mechanic. Lucky Envelope, All Aboard multi-game, and BattleBots slots are among the other top anticipated slots.
How is Konami developing its offering in the iGaming industry?
We’ve seen a lot of new inquiries for Konami’s iGaming offering. Our games are incredibly popular on social and real money online casinos. To help achieve robust digital distribution, Konami uses a remote gaming server (RGS) to deliver online slot content, which integrates with the most popular back-end systems used by today’s gaming operators for a complete interactive gaming solution. And we’re constantly working on adding new games, all of which are developed using HTML5, for compatibility across smartphone, tablet, and desktop devices.
Last year, Konami transitioned into direct sales across Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay in order to be a more competitive supplier partner in those markets, how was the feedback?
The opening and establishment of local Konami operations in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay have been very well received. We have an exceptionally strong team, led by Leonardo Sosa.
“We’re proud to have taken this step to reach and support our casino customers in these regions.”
Tom Jingoli, executive VP and COO at Konami Gaming.
How would you define the appetite of the audiences regarding slot experiences in such a huge market as North America?
From what we’ve seen with the success of original new series such as All Aboard, Ocean Spin, Fortune Mint, and more, players are looking for fresh games with new experiences.
“Guests are returning to the casino with a desire to explore different gameplay entertainment.”
Tom Jingoli, executive VP and COO at Konami Gaming.
