Ainsworth Game Technology made it clear that it’s betting on QuickSpin at this week’s National Indian Gaming Association trade show in San Diego.
The Australian-based Ainsworth had multiple variations of its QuickSpin product – a line of games started more than a year ago with Super Charged 7s and Super Hot 7s – on display at its NIGA booth. Those titles were Ainsworth’s top performing 1c titles of the past 12 months, said Mike Trask, Ainsworth’s director of product management and marketing. Super Charged 7s was also nominated as one of the top new video reel slots at this February’s first annual Eilers Awards.
“Following the success of these games, we made significant investments in QuickSpin,” Trask said. “We believe and are putting our money on the QuickSpin brand to continue to grow.”
Ainsworth started with two QuickSpin slots; it has four in the field now. Four more were unveiled at NIGA. Tribal gaming is integral to Ainsworth’s business, Trask said, because more than 60 percent of Ainsworth’s placements are at tribal properties.
“Tribal properties for Ainsworth have traditionally been the first adopters of our products,” he said.
At NIGA, Ainsworth showed the original games in Class 2, Class 3 and TLS formats; Super Lantern 8s and Super Crystal 7s, a pair of clone titles based on the original games; Super Money 7s and Super Volcano 7s, games developing using QuickSpin math models and play mechanics, geared exclusively for the Class 2 market; MultiPlay Super Charged 7s, a game enabling players to play four games of QuickSpin at once; and Super Turbo 7s, a linked progressive version of QuickSpin.
When Ainsworth expanded to the U.S., the games that it brought over were high volatility ones that appealed to a certain segment of players. Those high volatility games were the “bread and butter of Ainsworth for years,” Trask said, and the high-denom Australia-based games continue to do well.
“We struggled a bit in the one-cent denom, however,” Trask said. “That’s the traditional Las Vegas-style penny slots. Our belief was the games were too volatile for your casual gambler. Big gamblers and people into chasing jackpots got very familiar with our games, but the core to most U.S. markets are penny players. We hadn’t really found a product we can latch onto (until) QuickSpin. We’re trying to capitalize on that brand.
“Every company has a brand or two that carries their company. We think we’ve found it. What people are seeing here at NIGA is us expanding on that brand and trying to make it the core focus of our penny product.”
Two of QuickSpin’s three new art models are currently on casino floors. Four new games are expected to be in casinos by the Global Gaming Expo in the fall.
“What makes the brand successful is the simplicity,” Trask said. “A player spins a wheel and the game gives them a fun experience. Your core one cent player does not have a huge budget. I believe they are looking for that style of game. The numbers don’t lie. If the game is doing well above house average, we’re going to try and capitalize on it.”
Super Lantern 8s, for example, is an Asian theme built around the same math.
“The math and game play are going to be very familiar… the twist (is) a new art package or a slightly new feature,” Trask said.
The newest game is Super Turbo 7s, a linked progressive version of QuickSpin, allows properties to link those games together for bigger jackpots.
“We’re very excited about this,” Trask said. “I think that it’s going to give us a strong presence. Progressives are very hot in the industry – pushing a jackpot, adding that on top of a wheel-game experience, for us is new and exciting.”
Part of the impetus behind Ainsworth recently constructing a new building in Las Vegas was a desire to add a North American game development studio. QuickSpin was one of the first products developed.
“The studio has been very successful,” Trask said. “We think we’ve found that thing that can sustain us and (help us) grow over the coming years.”
