International Game Technology PLC (IGT) has released the first game developed in its new Beijing, China game development studio, a linked progressive offering called Ying Cai Shen, on the CrystalDual 27 cabinet.
In comments to GGRAsia, IGT Asia Sales Director Michael Cheers said the game is already a hit in Asia Pacific markets. He noted that the Beijing studio was careful to follow Chinese culture in the creation of the symbols used in the game.
“The importance of understanding the history, and respecting the art and the way (the symbols) are designed is very important,” Cheers said. “That comes across very well from our Beijing studio.”
He added that Beijing designers “are very familiar with—and often share—the same preferences as the players we want to be appealing to. What we might call the ‘volatility appetite’ of those players in terms of game style is something that we think the Beijing team, through the art, through the math and through the way they put the games together, and the appeal of game features,” understands clearly.
The Ying Cai Shen platform, available in Macau, the Philippines and Malaysia, is in single-denomination format, and offers a game of the same name, as well as the games “Ingot Fulfill”, and “Fortunes Fulfilled”.
“In a growth market like the Philippines, the linked progressive product has a very strong following,” Cheers told GGRAsia. “Often, over 50 percent of the floor can be linked (product) in the Philippines,” he added.
