Focus on Next Gaming: Next Gaming expands partnership with Atari and Taito to include mobile gaming

Friday, July 12, 2024 8:00 AM
  • John G. Brokopp, CDC Gaming

With mobile gaming revenue in the U.S. skyrocketing, punctuated by $634.9-million vs. $528-million year-over-year for the month of May alone, this burgeoning sector of the gaming industry is a natural fit for Next Gaming LLC.

Founded in 2006 by Terry Caudill, Las Vegas-based Next Gaming is solidly positioned to be a major player in mobile gaming with the brand recognition of its Atari and Taito skill-based game portfolio, including Asteroids (Atari) and Arkanoid and BUST-A-MOVE (Taito).

“It is a perfect marriage for us,” said gaming industry veteran Mike Darley, CEO of Next Gaming. “We have one of the best relationships with Atari and Taito in this industry.

“They have always been very complimentary of us for being great brand ambassadors, which is very impactful because Atari and Taito are very mindful of partnership control of any of their games.

“We have been fortunate working together and creating our skill-based games in the casinos. Now we are eager to work with them on a mobile gaming initiative.”

Next Gaming has partnered with Coeus Solutions and Arcadia Game Studios to design BUST-A-MOVE, which will be the “first game out of the chute” according to Darley.

“We are probably four months or so away from getting the game design and everything in place to release BAM (BUST-A-MOVE), he revealed. “The reason we are going with BAM is because it is really the original Match 3 Bubble Shooter game.”

Darley explained that because BAM has a great deal of brand value, it was the perfect choice to launch Next Gaming’s entry into the mobile gaming sector.

It will be released on Skillz, the leading platform for real-money tournament-style skill-based games.

“BUST-A-MOVE will be released on both iOS and Android,” Darley said. “In that effort, we have a couple of Atari games that will follow.”

Next Gaming’s vast library of licensed games from Atari also includes the fully-developed title, Missile Command, while another title, Centipede, is currently in the development stages. Plans are in the works with Taito for development of Bubble Bobble and Space Invaders.

Next Gaming leadership acknowledges that skill-based gaming remains important in the company’s future. Darley maintains that one of the challenges Next Gaming continues to face with this component is the “acceptance factor” because skill-based gaming is different from a slot machine.

He likened it to when TITO (ticket-in, ticket-out) technology was introduced to slot machines. The acceptance factor among casino patrons was not instantaneous because it was so different from coin-in, coin-out game play.

Next Gaming’s “Next Generation” of skill-based games stresses the importance of this gaming space to the company, as well as its strategy to revamp the experience for consumers with cutting-edge mathematical models, smoother game play, plus more wins and greater payouts.

“One of the strategies we are embracing is to utilize the games on a platform that is complimentary to how our games are designed,” he said. “We have skill-based games in casinos that have both skill-based and RNG components.

“The opportunity we have with mobile gaming, especially with the partner we have in Skillz, is to take out the RNG component, the component of chance, and make them strictly skill-based.”

Skillz, Darley noted, is a trusted and fair platform that is live in 45 states as well as internationally. Additionally, Skillz possesses multiple marketing initiatives to incentivize play and to promote Next Gaming games both online and in casinos.

“The skill-based offerings will probably be in two-minute increments,” he explained. “If you are in a tournament, this is very important. You don’t want to be in there for 15 minutes. You want to use your skills, you want to compile points, you want to do all the things that add to winning the tournament and move on.”

“The condensed time frame works for us. It is an engaging time frame with a relatively quick result. My feelings are that this is important for the consumer because this is what people are looking for in online entertainment.”

He believes consumers want to engage in something that has an outcome, especially with a tournament platform because everyone naturally feels satisfaction about beating somebody and winning a tournament.

“Next Gaming is not specifically skill-based games,” Darley reminded. “We have a diversified portfolio that is very important to us. We have designed compelling video reel games that are truly great games. You can call us a one-stop shop.

“Our video reel games portfolio includes Grumpy Cat, Sunken Fortunes, and Mayan Thunder. Grumpy Cat has millions of social media followers. Our products are diverse because we realize not everybody wants a skill-based game.”

Next Gaming’s video reel library will be fortified in the near future by such titles as Celtic Gold, 8 Lucky Dragons, Terracotta Warrior, and Katana Warrior.

“When you look at Next Gaming as a whole, we are a well-rounded company with branded games, video reel games, and skill-based games,” Darley observed. “Now we will have on-line games. We are a smaller company, but I think the business model we have is pretty spectacular.”

 

John G. Brokopp is a veteran of 50 years of professional journalist experience in the horse racing and gaming industries