As the casino sector has evolved, the game of roulette has progressed in order to retain its popularity as a multiplatform gambling product.
With Realistic Games recently launching Realistic Roulette, its first 3D table game, CasinoBeats spoke to the supplier’s commercial director, Robert Lee who detailed how he believes roulette will continue to evolve, as well as the importance of harnessing 3D technology.
CasinoBeats: Firstly, could you tell us why it’s so important for operators to boast a well-rounded gaming portfolio?
In short, different players want different things. We have seen a move by operators to offer a huge number of games, with a number of operators heading towards almost 3,000 slot games, in order to cater for all tastes. These games not only have different themes but have a wide variety of game models and in-game features to meet rising demand for variety.
Suppliers like us have to fulfil that demand, but I think it’s very important to maintain quality as well as quantity. We’ve seen some studios churning out two or three new games a month to satisfy the operator demand but, in some cases, this is to the detriment of the game. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce a good quality slot and we would rather release less games to ensure the quality remains high, than trying to generate too many.
CB: How much can the expansion of your 3D games portfolio help Realistic Games appeal to a new audience?
3D has been around for a while but harnessing it properly on slots and table games takes a lot of research and hard work to get the games right for market. We’re delighted we’ve been able to do that and produce the first of a series of very immersive games.
I think they will appeal to all player types, young and old. We believe there is an obvious link to the next generation of casino players who are used to the sophisticated graphics and user experience they grew up with whilst playing video games. I think this generation to date has been let down by the generally lower-quality table games on the market and will be pleasantly surprised by the quality user experience we have created with Realistic Roulette.
CB: What is it about the game of roulette that allows it to maintain its place as a key feature to an operator’s portfolio?
It’s just a great casino game and is something that has been around in the same format for many years, offering players multiple betting opportunities with varying odds. You add into that the great sense of expectation that the spinning ball gives the player and there is the thrill of the chase, which is almost as important for players as winning. It is a shame that many operators and suppliers have taken it for granted in recent years and produced low quality, so-called commoditised examples of both roulette and blackjack.
What is more surprising, is that they have done so in the knowledge of how much the games generate. We’re hoping to reverse that trend and convince operators that a bit of investment in R&D will serve them well, as both new and existing players will enjoy the experience and want to play more.
CB: How do you feel the game of online roulette will evolve as the market becomes more and more competitive?
Personally, I think it’s heading in two very separate directions at the moment. There are the operators that will continue to believe that an inferior game offering a low revenue share is the way to go and then there will be suppliers like ourselves who want to continually improve the user experience.
Regrettably, I think there will always be a requirement for the former but I’m hoping that the best will rise to the top. I don’t see many competitors doing the same as what we are at the moment, so the only competition will be from operators who still believe in offering lower-standard products in favour of lower revenue shares.
CB: More generally, do you have any future launches or innovations that you can tell us more about?
We have a number of great slots in the pipeline, including one called Splashtastic. Which will be our second 3D slot. This will be live with operators at the end of September. Further on from that, I don’t think it will be long before we look to release our 3D versions of blackjack. We’re very proud of our current version of the game and were one of the very first to offer a multi-hand option to players on mobile, but there’s always room for improvement, and we believe a 3D version will introduce an even better user experience for players.