Behind the Slots #2: Brendan Moore of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming

"We also need to understand player profiles deeper. Are players loyal to certain mechanics, game manufacturers, and volatility levels or are they more agnostic and willing to try to new games?"

- Brendan Moore of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming

Welcome to issue #2 of Behind the Slots!

This newsletter interviews people in the slots industry who have information to share. Almost no one shares information in the industry, and yet, I've learned, if you just ask, insight will be shared.

There was a lot of insight in our first newsletter, and this issue is no different.

Today's guest is Brendan Moore, manager of Slots Performance and Analystics in Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, tracking performance data in land-based casinos in North America.

Let's click spin!

Question 1: Can you give a little bit of a background about your company, its history, and your current project?

I’ve been with Eilers & Krejcik Gaming for two years. We originally started tracking game performance data in land-based casinos in North America a few years ago. We started our Online Game Performance Database last year.

Question 2: What are current trends you see in the American market?

I think we’re going to see some crossover between online games and land-based games. For example, online slots tend to provide more excitement in the base games and we see licensed features like Allways and Megaways. On land-based slots, we see more perceived persistence chases and features that complement the hardware such as expanding reels. We also see games that do well in land-based markets do well online as well such as Light & Wonder 88 Fortunes. There are some features that exist in one market that are scant in the other. It will be interesting to see if the player appetites are robust.

Question 3: What is a lesson you didn't expect going into the market that you're happy you learned?

I didn’t expect there to be so many differences between land-based and online slots. Online slots are base game rich and have less static/progressive jackpots meter that the player chases. Land-based slots can require 100-150 spins before reaching a feature while online slots are quite active in base games.

One wonders if online players are competing for time with exogenous factors like Tik Tok, Instagram, and even Amazon. Casinos may have more devoted attention from a land-based player.

Question 4: what is a counter-intuitive lesson you learned doing this work?

Sometimes simple is best. You don’t need highly complex math models with all the bells and whistles to make a great game. Sometimes innovation on the margin is the best way to think about generating a top new game. Classic Egyptian and Pirate theme resonate with players.

Question 5: What is one of the biggest challenges for you in this market?

The biggest challenge is nailing down what the player wants. Do they want a specific feature? Or do they want to feel like they have a strong chance of winning? We also need to understand player profiles deeper. Are players loyal to certain mechanics, game manufacturers, and volatility levels or are they more agnostic and willing to try to new games?

Question 6: What do you perceive to be a big challenge for your clients?

My understanding is that the process from transferring an idea to an actual land-based slot can take up to two years. Meanwhile, online slots can be developed and brought to market a lot faster. This makes it a challenging for land-based game developers to catch up with player appetites assuming land-based and online players share similar profiles.

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Thank you so much to Brendan Moore, manager of Slots Performance and Analystics in Eilers & Krejcik Gaming! If anyone would like to learn more about the Game Performance Database and how to subscribe/participate please email Brendan: [email protected].

Don't forget to click Subscribe! And do share this newsletter with people you think need to hear this.

I will see you next issue!

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Guy Hasson?is CEO of Old Man Productions, a slot data-driven consulting firm. Having begun his career at Playtech and Playtika, he has consulted for slot companies big and small to improve their KPI's. Most recently, he opened a boutique, high-end slots studio?Euphoria Studios?based on?Super Retention.

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