Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN SEP 2020 86 SK: Do you think pachislot-type gaming aspects will hit big once there are IRs in Japan? HS: Yes. In that sense we really want to take the lead [in a Japanese IR]. Of course, other companies are developing products, but we are developing in Japan, so we don’t want to lose in a Japanese IR. Naturally we are also developing products with existing pachislot themes. We should probably be able to make that announcement in six months or so. MY: There will be at most three IRs in Japan. Even if each location has 3,000 slot machines, that’s a total of 9,000. It’s a very small market. However, if certain machines become popular in Japan and customers leave with the impression that Japan has great game content, that’s an opportunity to (L to R) Sega Sammy Creation’s Vice President, Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Research and Development Division, Masaki Yamamoto, and Director of Sales, Hayato Sasaki. (左から)セガサミークリエイション執行役員兼開発本部長、山本理樹氏と営業本部営業部マネージャー、佐々木勇人氏 JAPAN expand sales to overseas markets. I think it will help give Japanese manufacturers strength. We’re adding aspects to meet the needs of the market and also things that we personally want to do. SK: This is the idea of new CEO Scott Winzeler? MY: That’s right. He always says, “Start with the core, then we can do what we want.” He started out in Japanese pachislot at IGT, so I think he understands that side of things very well, and his way of thinking is a really good reference. SK: Can you tell us about your electronic table games? HS: The “Maximum Fortune” series features baccarat, roulette and Sic Bo. You can even squeeze