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Managing Slot Catalogues: Playson

By - 22 April 2021

In part two of our feature examining the management of the slots catalogue, G3 taps into the expertise of Michael Tadross, Playson’s Head of Account Management, to assess how developer’s seek to maximise their chances of securing a prominent position in online casino lobbies.

How important is securing a prominent position in online casino lobbies?

Every provider will tell you that it’s crucial. If you were a retail supplier for the fashion industry, you’d want your clothes displayed in the mannequins in the shop window. The same logic applies to casino game developers – you want your content to be displayed as prominently as possible, making it easy to catch the eye of a potential customer. If your games are in a more obscure position, it’s less likely they will be played.

How does Playson ensure its games are given the best possible chance of being listed highly in operator catalogues?

We use a range of different methods. The most important factor by a distance is to ensure the quality of our product is a high standard and will be appealing to players. The best way to ensure the games feature prominently is by making them as desirable as possible to the audience in question.

We also offer partners customised game icons and assets such as banners, which help them promote our titles to their players. Finally, our talented Account Management team stays in constant communication with our partners, and they do a fantastic job of negotiating the best possible positions and exclusive deals for our games.

How does the methodology of operators in managing the slots catalogue influence your game design process?

We ask operators for feedback and adapt our offering accordingly. Garnering new insights into what partners are looking for is always highly beneficial, especially when that feedback is cross-referenced with market analytics and our own data – a vital part of the process here at Playson. When it comes to assessing which concepts and themes are in high demand, the market speaks for itself, so the key is to analyse it rigorously.

How significant is your relationship with operators in this decision-making process?

We release our products at the time when they are likely to make the most impact. For instance, if partners inform us of a period when German market activity is expected to be particularly high, then that is the point at which we will launch our game into the territory.

If that means accelerating our development process to fit the required timings, or putting a project on hold for a given period, then so be it. It’s all about adapting to your customers’ demands, which gives us a real advantage over the competition because of our agile approach and rapid responses to changes in the market.

Playson’s portfolio features Solar King, Solar Queen, Rise of Egypt, Book of Gold, and Legend of Cleopatra Megaways. Do Ancient Egyptian and fruit game themes guarantee a certain level of success? Are themed games more likely to be featured by operators?

Classic casino concepts such as ancient Egyptian adventures and Vegas-style fruit symbols often work best because they are the most familiar to players. Such themes are easily digestible, and perform with consistent strength despite their ubiquity on the market.

That said, it’s also important to continuously evolve these themes in order to retain players’ interest. Our recently launched slot, Stars and Fruits: Double Hit, is a prime example, deploying a traditional fruit theme alongside an innovative new mechanic to ramp up engagement for partners.

Of course, a lot depends on which region you are operating in, and which casino your games are live with. Some operators carve out a distinct niche, and only want content that fits within it. That’s why you’re seeing the emergence of titles aimed at a very specific and narrow audience.

Why are sequels more likely to be featured on operator lobbies than original titles? Does this make them more attractive as a value proposition?

There’s a well-established cross-selling strategy in our industry, which involves encouraging players enjoying a sequel game to try out the original. Suppliers often want to retain the same popular concepts, but with an innovative new twist such as a fresh feature or mechanic.

Legend of Cleopatra: Megaways is a prime example. The original Legend of Cleopatra proved a hit with a wide range of players, and we were able to renew its appeal by adding the hugely popular Megaways mechanic in a revamped edition which has become just as popular as its prequel.

Playson has unveiled its latest promotional tool, Reel of Fortune. Why are games with an accumulation feature, such as collecting coins, gaining popularity amongst players?

Such mechanics are common across various industries, and are not just something you’ll see in the gambling sector. Players want to see value for every game they play and the opportunity to earn rewards is highly appealing. From a retention perspective, it helps to maintain engagement too and invites loyalty.

Reel of Fortune, for instance, can be enjoyed across a variety of different Playson titles, acting as a world-class engagement booster for partners without clouding the original features which make our games so popular. Accumulation features supplement the main gameplay, without interfering with it.

How do promotional tools such as Reel of Fortune and mechanics such as Double Hit benefit partners?

Good promotional tools should build on the regular gameplay and offer something more to the overall experience. Players enjoying certain Playson titles are invited into Reel of Fortune when they’ve collected sufficient coins, creating an endless user journey that encourages gamers to progress through its various levels.

For operators, it’s the perfect way to drive retention, as well as increasing session durations and average bet values. Our new Double Hit mechanic is ideally suited to markets with stringent regulations, where maximum stakes are set low.

With just a single spin, players can win on two game fields, thus potentially doubling their winnings, and guaranteeing wins when scatters symbols appear across both. The tool is an ideal retention driver for casinos operating under strict rules – and we can’t wait to see how it performs.

Do online casinos give slots enough of a chance to make their mark? How many potential hit games are lost in the backlog simply because they haven’t hit the ground running?

Slots in that category often come from providers who go too heavy on ‘disruption’, and lose sight of the original RNG features that players know and love. Some games just need time to establish a following, but casino managers must make decisions based on what is proving popular with players.

They do that using a combination of intuition and data to decide which slots to retain – and if a title isn’t performing, then there’s only so long it can stay live before being axed by the operator.

If a new title doesn’t feature highly in an operator’s game catalogue, how likely is it to resurface and become a hit later on?

If the mathematical modelling of a game is poor, then it won’t perform well. However, it could still have the chance to resurface. For example, if a sequel appears, or when a date in the calendar around which the slot is themed (such as Christmas) arrives, then it may well be reused – and could even become a hit.

Despite the significant time and effort put into the slot development process, not every game is going to be a hit. What are your metrics for success? How many hit games do you look to produce in a year?

Simply put, we like to make decisions based on data. That means assessing usership, engagement and retention metrics in close detail. Although we put more resources into some concepts than others, we’re no strangers to agility here at Playson, and if a certain title is not performing adequately then we aren’t afraid to put the project on hold.

Conducting rigorous market analyses is a key aspect of what we do – it’s a big part of why we have enjoyed such consistent success.

Once slots have been produced and put out into the market, are they marketed correctly by operators? Are there limits to the technology currently used to display games? What do you see as the next innovation?

Our Account Management team does a fantastic job of ensuring that the promotional tools and game icons we supply to operators are used properly. When it comes to finding new and innovative ways of promoting our content, we’ve got a very strong track-record.

On the technology front, the sky is the limit, and it’s exciting to imagine what the future holds. That said, marshalling your resources to adapt to technological changes is not always easy. We keep a close eye on any interesting developments, and are particularly intrigued by the prospect of providing personalised slot listings to each player.

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