Macau Mix
Some RGBGames launched or planned for Macau
Red Dragon
One of the first RGB games to be introduced to Macau was Red Dragon.
“Red Dragon is a classically Chinese theme,” says Mr Chuah of Dreamgate.
“As a Chinese player or a player of a slot machine, I want to be able to associate with symbols that I know,” adds Mr Lim of RGB. “If I go to a machine where I don’t understand the symbols, and it’s something very new to me, I will not touch the machine.”
“This was a game specifically for Macau, but in any case in Asia most of the gamblers are ethnic Chinese,” adds Mr Chuah.
“Red Dragon is doing very well in Macau, we’re very pleased with it,” says Ganaser Kaliappen, Dreamgate’s Group Regulatory Compliance and Investor Relations Director.
15-reel series
RGB has also adapted a number of existing games to suit Macau players’ preferences.
Carmen the Flamenco and Kabuki, which have previously appeared in Asia as nine-reel, 32-line games have now been transformed into products in a 15-reel series. They have achieved their GLI certification and are also now available in Macau.
“Game play to the power of 15, means you can have a very high payout because of the probability calculations. That’s the selling point particularly for Chinese players. It gives them the volatility that they like,” says Mr Chuah.
In Macau there are currently no limits on jackpot payouts but under GLI 11 protocols there is a restriction on the frequency of major jackpots, adds Mr Chuah.
“The top awards should not be paid out more than one in 50 million times. But as far as the amount of the jackpot is concerned in Macau there is no limit,” he states.
Tiki Tiki Bang Bang
“Tiki Tiki Bang Bang is a progressive jackpot with six levels,” says Mr Chuah.
“I think it’s the first of its kind to have a symbol-driven progressive play with a mystery feature.”
With the base game, Tiki Tiki, seamlessly integrated with the jackpot, Tiki Tiki Bang Bang is a Polynesian-themed product that promises excitement and attractive awards.
Shanghai Night and Paramount
A game due in Macau in the second quarter of 2009 is Shanghai Night, based on a popular Chinese film series about the city in the years between the two world wars.
Paramount also takes players down the mid-20th century nostalgia trail, with a 1930s Chinese cabaret club theme. In Paramount, wins may be multiplied by up to 15 times during the free games.
RGB has especially high hopes for Shanghai Night. The theme music for the game features a recording by Tsai Chin, one of China’s most famous female singers. Ms Tsai is a pop and folk singer from Taiwan and hugely popular on the Mainland. RGB negotiated exclusive rights to use the music as part of its development programme for the game.
“Shanghai Night is a very famous song among Chinese,” says Mr Chuah. “It was created in the 1930s but still today it is very popular—it’s an evergreen song.”
“American manufacturers do this a lot—use a TV series or popular music for their slot games. In the Asian market use of popular local culture for game themes isn’t so common,” says Mr Lim of RGB.
“Straight away a popular song attracts the player’s attention and gets them to move toward the machine. So the sound, the singer and the play features all combined are very important,” he adds.
Attractive presentation is important to a game, but players won’t stay if the game itself doesn’t live up to the promise of the packaging. Shanghai Night delivers in this regard says Mr Chuah.
“Shanghai Night and Paramount are both Chinese-themed, simple, stand alone games, but the maths is very exciting,” he explains.
Shanghai Night has a fixed multiplier, while Paramount offers a random multiplier.
“If you want something more you can put a mystery link up there. We already have a mystery link designed in order to give jackpots,” says Mr Chuah.
“We are very confident they will both work well as stand alone games.”
