“Less is more.” It might not be on any booth sign, but this is certainly the dominant theme at Konami’s NIGA trade show booth this year. Their colleagues in the Top Four supplier group are devoting half, if not more, of their floor space to branded products. You’ll see virtually none of this at Konami. 
If you’re seeking autographs from James Bond, Mariah Carey, Ellen DeGeneres or one of the predators from Sharknado, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Konami, in a complete departure from the crowd, is concentrating their efforts on core themes, consistent design and subtle technology improvements. Don’t mistake that as a lack of new things to see, however; they have as much 4K as anyone, along with new giant cabinets, new curved cabinets and, of course, today’s mandatory version of new linked progressives.
One key and obvious difference with Konami cabinets is the consistency of design. When they launched the Concerto cabinet a few years back, the prominent triangle side light gave the cabinet a unique look that’s hard to miss on any casino floor. If arranged in tripods, rounds or end caps, the lighting effects are even more distinctive. And attractive. I’ve often had to check the builders’ plate on the side of some new games to learn who made them. Not so with the Concerto line; there’s no doubt it’s a Konami due to this triangle light. Only the legacy boxes of the Podium, Advantage and Revolver lines lack this hook. I don’t know if this consistency translates to better performance on the floor, but I like it.
Apparently, players do too. They like Konami games for some reason, at least. In the most recent Eilers & Krejcik Game Performance Database report, Konami placed two games in the Top Ten in both the “top indexing games owned” and “new games owned” categories. Those are equivalent to, or better than, the numbers achieved by IGT, Aristocrat or Scientific Games in those same groups.
It seems like everyone at this year’s NIGA show has a new linked progressive concept. Konami is showing two. The Power Boost Inferno and Money Galaxy are on both the standard and upright Concerto platforms. Inferno allows players to increase their odds of winning the top jackpot up to 10x, using extra credit bets. A bonus concept uses pointers that spin around a wheel to win credits, progressives or level increases. This bonus continues until all pointers have claimed a prize. Money Galaxy, premiering at NIGA in three themes, is triggered by hitting three or more bonus symbols. Each symbol then transitions the “stick and spin” format in common use today.
Just like the last NIGA in San Diego (and G2E Las Vegas last fall), you can wander through the land of giants at almost any booth. Konami already had the early Goliaths and Monuments and recently added the Concerto Stack, which features a 43” upright screen. But their newest entry is the Concerto Opus. It has a 65” 4K ultra hi-def display, branded by the triangle side light. At this year’s show, several new themes will be introduced on this box, including old favorites like Solstice Celebration updated with the new Triple Sparkle feature. This bonus mechanic is also added to a new Riches with Daikoku theme.
Two Konami products that I really liked from the last G2E will be missing from NIGA. Fortune Cup is their entry in the long-vacant horse racing category. It has proven to be a hit and is performing well in many locations. The other is the un-released Crystal Cyclone. It will have a unique, physical ball-drop feature like their innovative Titan 360, but it will be in a much smaller floor footprint. Steve Walther, Senior Director of Marketing and Products, is also high on both these games, but he said that, due to space constraints, they’ve decided to concentrate more on their core products at NIGA 2018 versus these games from the leased portfolio.
China Shores has been a theme hit for years, beginning with the Podium cabinet. It’s now in a new tall 6X5 version (CS Great Stacks) on both Konami’s curved screen LCD, the Concerto Crescent, and the new Stack. This base theme has worked well in almost every variant, and the Stacks version of China Shores should be no exception.
Maybe one of the reasons that Konami has maintained discipline with strong theme and cabinet consistency without distraction from branding and star power is due to their executive leadership. Unlike their rivals, the core American executive team of CEO Steve Sutherland, CCO Tom Jingoli and Systems Chief Tom Soukup have been together for 15 years. Their competitors have yet to make five. When it comes to leadership turnover, less is also more.
