Skill-based slot maker Next Gaming will introduce the first version of its arcade-style games on the casino floor at the LINQ Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in the next 60 to 90 days.
CEO Mike Darley said the LINQ will have two each of four different games — Atari’s Asteroids, Taito’s Arkanoid and Bust-A-Move, and the Las Vegas-based company’s original ZForce. There’s also a plan in the works for a trial at a casino in downtown Las Vegas and to expand to other casinos around the country in 2020.
Those four games are being showcased at this week’s Global Gaming Expo, along with three others in the final stage of development — Atari’s Missile Command and Tempest, and the Bust-A-Move Adventure.
The games set to be installed at the LINQ are currently going through the BMM Testlabs certification process.
Darley called it “exciting” to be so close to placing its skill-based games in casinos. This is the third year Next Gaming has presented games at G2E. Based on the company’s evaluation of the games through the use of focus groups, Darley said they’re optimistic about how they will perform at the LINQ, which has positioned itself at the forefront of interactive and immersive gaming in the industry in Las Vegas. Darley said Next Gaming is “honored” that Caesars have the confidence to put these games in a premier property.
“We’re close to the finish line,” Darley said. “We know the Caesars’ brand, and they are breaking ground on innovations. They have spent a lot of money (in the LINQ) for interactive gaming and skill-based gaming, and these (skill-based games) should build off each other (there). There’s enough uniqueness in gameplay to have a different experience. Once we build the synergy in a pocket of skill-based games, people will gravitate to that area.”
Darley said an advantage to their games is that they are “highly branded” and recognizable with a built-in patron base.
“Generations have played these games,” Darley said. “I played them. My kids played them, my grandkids played them. They know the games. (People) are going to have memories of playing them in the arcade… we designed them to be authentic.”
The goal is to bring millennials into casinos, of course, but Darley said you need games that attract a wide group. People who go to casinos have time and money, and not many people in their early 20s have surplus disposable income at that stage of their life.
“When we designed these machines, we made sure we aimed at a broad demographic – not only people who like the video gaming experience already, but people already in casinos that have time and money and don’t like traditional slot machines. If they sit down and put some money in and have a good time, I have some loyal customers.”
Darley said the company’s games are entertaining, immersive and continuous, with 60 to 100 levels of play available. When players reach each level, he said, there’s a sense of achievement.
“That makes you feel better about your play,” Darley said. “It builds this emotional situation where you can have so much fun. You are so deep in the experience that it puts the fun back in gaming. People are going to have fun on these games.”
Next Gaming is looking to continue that with the six other games it has under development. It has signed new agreements to develop Atari’s Centipede and Taito’s Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble; the company plans to develop these titles over the next six to eight months.
Darley said the company is more excited about this year’s G2E than the previous two because they’re ready to go live in casinos. Beyond the LINQ agreement, the company has appointments with casino executives from Oklahoma, Kansas, California, New Mexico, Illinois, Indiana, and Mississippi.
“Our goal is to be strategic in our deployment,” Darley said. “We are not choosing to go into a thousand places at once. That doesn’t make sense. Our primary markets will be Nevada, Oklahoma, California and the East Coast — New Jersey, maybe Connecticut. Once we penetrate those markets, we’ll see where we’re at. We want to do things right from the start. We don’t want to have too much product out to evaluate.”
Darley’s said there’s a lot of interest from casino operators because they see the value, and the difference, of Next Gaming’s games.
“It’s like selling cars,” Darley said. “You want to differentiate yourself. We made a conscious decision to choose arcade games.”
