When players enter a casino, they are faced with myriad decisions. Slot players particularly have choices that no other patrons encounter.
“Where are you going to sit? Where are you going to start? Where you going to play?” said Konami Vice President, Sales Enablement Stephanie Lau at the recent Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Convention in San Diego. “Whether you’re a reoccurring guest or a new person on the floor, you’re saying, ‘Hey, what looks fun?’”
Konami’s Solstice 49C cabinet is crafted with players in mind. The cabinet features a 49-inch C-curve display in 4K ultra-high definition. For flexibility, Solstice 49C is available with or without a custom base that allows casinos to fit the cabinet on casino floors with ease.
“When we launched this cabinet, we wanted something unique,” Lau says. “Having accentuated curves to draw people in and go, `What’s that, that’s new, that’s different.’ Because everyone wants to try the newest and best thing. That’s really what our goal was.”
The Solstice 49C also features acrylic lighting that pops brightly when certain levels are hit. Konami games featured on the Solstice 49C include Digging Brothers, Super Bomberman, Red Fortune Rail, and Dragon Firecracker.
Lau noted that the games are related “in the respect that they all hit on different market trends.”
“We wanted something that people were familiar with and to be a little innovative inside the game, but really capture what people love and what’s working,” Lau said. “Whether it’s the metamorphic features, the hold spin, all the bonus features, they are targeted at specific players. They’re a little bit different, but at the same time, it’s what we know that resonates well with players.”
Lau adds that it’s important for Konami that the games fit the cabinet, that they not only work on Solstice 49C, but are attractively presented.
“The developers, even our new game studios, are (saying), ‘this is fun cabinet,’” Lau says. “`I could use the lighting in so many different ways. I can draw people in. The sound is so much better.’”
Part of Lau’s job is to review games as they’re being developed. If they’re too complicated or hard to understand, chances are they won’t be popular. She’s been known to ask game developers to adjust the concept or include pop-up screens to explain gameplay more clearly.
“Games today are becoming very complicated,” Lau says, noting she has asked developers if they really need to add that level of complexity. “We actually spend a long time with the developers. They want to be super creative, but (sometimes) you’ve got to dumb it down; it’s too complicated for someone to understand. We actually have review sessions to target exactly what you’re saying, which is to make it simple for the player to get.”
A relatively recent development for game developers is that they must design games that are attractive to influencers and content creators. Lau admits her supervisors have asked if influencers are important to consider while games are being developed and if money should be spent to court them.
Lau believes they have a role to play in exposing players to new games.
“People walk into a casino and they don’t know what they’re playing,” Lau said. “When you see an influencer play, you go, ‘That’s what the bonus is about. I like that.’ Or they want to win money or they can see how mechanics work and they get excited about it. It gives (games) exposure. It lets everyone know the win potential.”
