Refocusing strategies to build upon what made Ainsworth Game Technology great is the springboard upon which the company is vaulting into a new era in its illustrious history.
Nobody is more acutely aware of this than Keith Kruczynski, vice president of studios for North America. He revisited two of Ainsworth’s legacy games, Quad Shot and QuickSpin decided the opportunity existed to capitalize on their timeless appeal.
The results were prominently displayed at Ainsworth’s G2E booth, where QuickSpin Platinum and Quad Shot Platinum drew crowds wanting a look at the updated classics.
“The Platinum brand and the Legacy to Create strategy were well received at the show,” said Mike Trask, VP of product strategy and marketing. “We also had the first installation of the game live on the floor for The Palazzo. It’s a great start, and we’re excited to see the games roll out over the next couple of months.”
With the base games untouched, hold and spin features have been added which can award two levels of “must-win-by” progressive jackpots.
Kruczynski recalled: “I sat down and looked at Quad Shot with its progressive feature and bet-up incentives and realized nobody had really followed up on that. And there was QuickSpin, which has been outstanding for Ainsworth right up to the present day. So, we had two base games that people love. The challenge was bringing this all together into the present day.”
The Ainsworth developed “must-win-by” technology, Kruczynski explained, is incredible and performing well to this day. The solution was to begin re-development of Quad Shot, taking exactly the same game, same math, same frequencies, and leveraging the possibilities in the framework of the 21st century.
“We did the same with QuickSpin, exactly the same game, and added a twenty-five-cent ante bet which I feel allowed us to increase our cost-of-entry bet,” Kruczynski said. “Fifty credits are a low standard bet for the industry today. Moving it up to seventy-five cents is where we wanted to be.”
The next step was to fully fund the feature that goes on top of all four games in the series. The result was the all-new Platinum versions of the games.
Each time the player gets a Platinum feature on the reels it will give them a chance at the Platinum feature. The Platinum logo continues to grow larger, a visual, according to Kruczynski, that many players are gravitating toward these days. The huge Platinum logo is an attention-grabber, sending a message to passers-by that it is “due” to pop.
“When you trigger the Platinum feature the game goes into the traditional hold and re-spin mechanic,” Kruczynski continued. “The goal is to collect 15 symbols. Collect them all and you win the top progressive. If all 15 are not collected, a symbol will open to reveal a prize up to 100-times your bet.
“What we did was take what is great about Ainsworth over the last decade and put a 2023-2024 mechanic on top of it.”
And then there are Ainsworth’s must-win-by progressives, a highly recognizable component that has fascinated players for years. They know what it means. Just walking past the machine and observing the amount is approaching the cap can create what Kruczynski describes as a frenzy of people wanting to play.
“We’re really excited about it,” he continued. “Just recently I had an opportunity to play it live on the floor. One of my favorite experiences here at Ainsworth was walking around the floor and watching as guests sat down to play, and thinking to myself how great that of all the games available at Palazzo they chose Ainsworth. It is very apparent that we’re here to take it to the next level and bring it into the future.”
Another aspect of Ainsworth’s ambitious plunge into 21st century business strategy is the company’s ongoing commitment to historic horse racing (HHR) and Class II gaming markets. In just the past few years the company has installed close to 4,000 HHR games across six states.
Rocket Link, created specifically for HHR and Class II markets, will be unveiled at G2E. Designed for the Kentucky HHR market but perfectly compatible for Class II, deployment is expected to take place by the end of the year.
Mike Trask, vice president of product strategy and marketing, is also enthusiastic about what Ainsworth will have on display at G2E, including Thunder Cash Classic, a fresh design of a game that exemplifies remarkable staying power and popularity. It, along with the venerable Quad Shot, are among Ainsworth’s top online performers.
“We have a few of the new Ultra Shot games already installed, and when I was walking the floor at the Venetian I observed Keith’s Platinum Series games,” Trask said. “We’ll have a lot of installations across Nevada and California. They will continue to spread across other markets.”
Product development is a precise science at Ainsworth. Trask acknowledged that it is a huge focus moving forward, recognizing that the company does not have the resources to bring out a game every month or every two months. The priority is creating games that have staying power on casino floors and marching forward with a product line true to Ainsworth’s legacy.
Ainsworth’s custom-designed, stand-alone, 4,500-square-foot exhibit space at G2E will also accentuate the global debut of the much-anticipated A-Star Raptor cabinet, which features a cylindrical display for player tracking as well as an above monitor speaker that will bring a new and exciting new audio component to the gaming experience.
Raptor has a 49-inch J-Curve monitor with a 27-inch topper, and full high-definition graphics above an 18.5-inch touchscreen button deck. Distribution in the Americas will commence early in 2024.
Several Ainsworth games exclusive to the Raptor cabinet will be revealed at G2E, including Jackpot Kingdom (with a shake-and-break component) andOriental Gongs (featuring a free-spin feature and instant-win prizes).
