Flash, HTML5 or Unity? Which technology is the future of online gaming? We spoke to Ngozi Watts and his Unity team to find out about new trends in casino games development. If you are curious what he told us, read the interview below!

How would you describe your experience at ICE Totally Gaming 2015?

ICE is very successful for us. We have had meetings from the very beginning until the end. 

We’ve heard game developers have to obtain a special license to use your software. Are casino gaming developers required to own a gambling license (e.g. from UK or Malta) to obtain your license?

Our license is just for the use of Unity software. Our product is just the software to create the games. There is no regulatory body or restrictions associated to our software. 

We ask no questions, we have no influence, no interest in whether or not someone has licenses for particular jurisdictions. We just grant the  license to use  our software. We are not granting any regulatory license. In gambling, there are the required regulatory licenses from Gibraltar, Malta, UK and so on. These regulatory licenses are absolutely not related to the Unity Gambling license. This is simple - we grant the right for someone to use our software in their company. Basically, itis just buying software.

Can you share names of any companies that are creating games in Unity?

There are a number of major gambling companies around the world that are using UNITY. There are UNITY games running that had been approved in various jurisdiction around the world and there are UNITY games that are running on casino show floors and casino machines. Those UNITY games are being run on mobile devices as well as on desktop ones. So online and casino.

A short list of companies that are currently using UNITY: IGT, Bally, WMS, ShuffleMaster, VGT, Cadillac Jack, Interblock, etc.

What are the advantages of using Unity for game development in comparison to other technologies like HTML5, which is pretty popular among gambling developers? 

What's powerful about UNITY is cross platform development. UNITY allows you to create a game for physical slot machines. UNITY can run the base game, as well as the bonus and multiple monitors, but you can take those same games and run them online, in a desktop browser. We have new technology, that we're launching at this show, which is a HTML5 technology - WebGL Simply put, you can use it on UNITY content on desktop browsers without the need for a plug-in.

Is it better to e.g. start with HTML5 and then move to Unity to develop games or is Unity easy enough to pick up?

One of the most attractive features about UNITY is the smooth workflow. It's one very easy tool to learn and most importantly, you can create games faster, easier and of higher quality. You don’t have to develop anything yourself, you just use the UNITY Engine. It gives you everything you need – the physics and the navigation when you needed it. 

Is it possible to introduce a functionality that would convert HTML5 <> Unity code? If yes, do you have plans to do it and when?

Yes. Inside of our software we have a build menu, where you create a game – you simply pick on what kind of device the game will run, e.g. for slot machine, iOS, Android, web browser, and so on, and you choose how the game should be presented. In other words, after creating a game you go to build menu and pick the platform you want to build the game on. Simply choose from WebGL Linux, Android, Windows, iOS, MacPC, Xbox, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and the product will do that for you. You can play games in UNITY on almost any device. We choose the new devices that are introduced to the market and adopted. We adjust to the requirements of the market.

Is it possible to play UNITY games on older devices?

You can run on some older devices. You can run Unity content on all the browsers on desktop devices, on iOS and Android phones, and not only the newest ones, we can go back to older generations, for example on iPhone 4s the games will still run with smooth frame rates. 

What is the difference between UNITY software for producing video games and gambling games?

In Unity gambling we create special features and functionalities especially for the gambling industry. For example we created a Linux target specifically for gambling,
because a lot of gambling machines, slot machines, run on Linux. Number two - we have 2D, we push to get a 2D editor because of gambling, where most games are 2D. Number three - we also have a multi-monitor solution. So UNITY works on multiple monitors right out of the box. So we create variety of features specific for gambling industry.

Do you provide any kind of a support? 

Yes. We offer architectural support, gambling experts to help integrate UNITY for gambling companies and we also have support to help with just learning UNITY as well. So by choosing UNITY you get special features, special support from gambling experts, that's why UNITY is perfect for gambling industry.

Does a player have to download a web player to enjoy UNITY-engined games? 

There was a time when you had to download a web player, a plug-in. But now we launched our new WebGL product in March. Then you can run UNITY content in a desktop browser, without a plug-in. On mobile devices you also don't have to download anything. 

Do you have to download games to your device when using a casino application?

When a company is hosting a game online and you're going to open it up in a browser, you do download the game, the content for that game, but there is no special plug-in required. So the game is downloaded by your browser and runs from the memory there. Each time you load it in your browser, there are some elements that may be cached, so it will load faster. It loads up in your browser each time you open it there.

We visited Topgame Technology stand and asked their team about the company’s experience at ICE, their new products and plans for the future. We were impressed by the virtual reality slot that provided us with a whole new gaming experience that was pretty amazing we have to admit! 

How would you describe your experience at ICE Totally Gaming this year?

For us it’s the main event of the year. I mean every year we are coming around here for a while and we are trying to come up with things to impress everybody around. We like this little corner that we have in here. We like the fact that people gradually learn about us and they keep coming in here, because they want to see what new products we are bringing year on year, as this is what we do. 

What products are you exhibiting during the show? What feedback are you receiving from visitors?

As always we offer a complete platform, so we have the full range. But during the show everybody is focusing on the games we are launching and actually every year we show games that are not even out yet. We just give the people a preview of what’s to come and this year is even more special because we took things a little bit further, especially in terms of technology and how our games adapt to the new environment. We’ve got an oculus experience and the whole virtual reality tour.

That sounds interesting…

You haven’t tried it yet? Oh what are we talking about? Come on you should see it! 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: After the interview we did try playing the virtual reality games and we have to admit that it was awesome! When we looked around we got a feeling of being in a real land based casino and when we hit a huge win we were taken on a crazy rollercoaster tour! You just have to try it one day!]

What can you tell us about the new games you are presenting?

They say “you shouldn’t ask the painter what his favourite painting is, but you should ask him what his favourite part of each painting is”. I could go on and on about little features is each game, cause each game is different. We have, for example, a bonus feature that goes multiplayer and players can bet their winnings against other players online. We also have these 3D completely like oculus VR games. Some of the games are games that we released last year and we put them into this environment, so as people would understand how you actually can have a casino in your own home, or if you own a casino you can cross the borders to the virtual reality world. We are releasing new games with new range of features in terms of mathematical features. As always our games are released on all platforms once we release them. When we release a game we are releasing it on PC, Mac, Android, IOS, everything at once and it works on all tablets and everything no matter the size. So in these terms it’s difficult to tell you “oh I like this game, or this game”. We have a new paytable system that lets the user understand a bit better how they win and why they win and drags new users back to the slot. We have three kinds of interfaces for the mobile products. You can actually drag and set up your betting at the same time and just have this level dragging feeling that you used to have in a land based casino. You just have to try it!

Last year you launched a lot of new entertaining games. Can we expect any new games to be released in the upcoming months? What will they be about?

At least half of the games we’ve got on the show are games that are about to be released, so they are basically already tested and waiting for the green light to go to all of our clients. It’s just a matter of time. We always release the games based on timing, like last year when we were at ICE we released a Valentine’s Day game theme, now we have a lot of other games. I think we have about three that are to be released probably in the next month or so. 

What technologies do you use to create your entertaining games? What are the advantages of using them?

We like to build let’s say our ecosystem, so when we like a feature in one of the games, the way we build it and our technology allows us to mix and match. If I
want the interface from this game and this feature, the paytable from this game and whatever the things of user interface, the technology we are using and we are building with allows us to switch and match and create games more quickly. We are not releasing quicker games, it just takes more time to polish it, so the quality of our games is increasing constantly, because we manage to put more time into polishing these games. I don’t want to boast around, but just take a look around the show – there is really few people who actually  can deliver the kind of quality we are at and with the oculus we are the only one who actually have that technology. The demo that you can see today is a kind of rough one and tomorrow we are going to release a new one that is more mild and at ease for the people who are not ready for the jump into the virtual reality. So go ahead, take some pictures, you should see how people grab their chairs while playing, it’s fun to watch.

Was 2014 successful for your company?

It was lovely. We kept on growing quite unexpectedly. I mean the demand is great, we have great feedback and we are waiting to enter new markets, it’s all good.

What are your plans for 2015?

Well, right now the possibilities are enormous. We are arriving at the time when people are getting very at ease with online and mobile technologies. It’s spreading like fire and the fact that we are already ready for it and a bit quite ahead with these things, it gives us confidence that we can tackle the new technology. At the same time all the sales we have, all kind of requests to enter new markets, so we are trying to deliver the kind of full service for our clients. Whoever wants to join us is welcome. I believe we have quite a lot of solid technology and we are at the market with very good pricing.

So which markets are you going to conquer?

You know, it’s a matter of contracts with our clients and I don’t want to jinx it. Come next year and we’ll show you: “look at the map right now and see how far we come”, it’s better like this.

When you visit ICE show, you can’t pass Playtech’s stand by without stopping to see their new products. Every year they present a big range of new innovative products and services for the gaming industry and this year was no exception.

We asked James Bennet, Press and Copywriting Manager, about the company’s impressions concerning the show, their new products and plans for the upcoming months. Read the interview below to find out what he had to say!

What are your impressions concerning ICE?

It's always a great show, it's the biggest gambling show in Europe. It is probably the most important show for Playtech, because we've got all our licensees coming over to see us, and it's also a great way of showcasing our entire product range, I guess. It is the most important event for us.

What can you tell us about the products you are presenting during the show?

We have got every product on the show, pretty much. The main product is in the middle of the room here, which is quite new for us. It is called BIT, which stands for Business Intelligence Technology. It is essentially the backend of Pindula products and it is taking it to another level basically. It is using business intelligence and data to increase operator's revenue, to increase the peer experience in terms of making it more personalized and unique. It is a bit like Netflix, on a very basic level, like Netflix for gaming. You can personalize your own hand screen depending on who you are, where you are from, how old you are, what games you like. All the data comes together to sort of understand what you like, it recommends games. It's the Amazon or Netflix for gaming basically. It is using all the player data to generate a better experience for the player and more revenue. So if you like playing Gladiator it will say, depending on the data it generates, you may like to play Spiderman or Hulk or whatever slot game.

Can we find this solution in any existing casino?

There are some customers who use it, but I’m not sure if I can say who they are at the moment, but I think we will announce the names in a few months. A lot of our licensees want to use it, some of them are happy to use it for some time, so it's been a question of trial and methodology to see how it works and to see what results it generates.

I suppose they are really satisfied with this solution...

Yes, because it generates the recommendations, extends the time players spend in the venue. Players stay on the site longer than they would do normally. It also say, for example, if you were leaving the casino, there will be an automatic trigger that will say “oh we are sorry to see you leaving for today, what about we give you another 5 spins or 20 pound bonus on The Hulk slot” or something like that. It will encourage to stay on the site longer. It's all automated – that's the thing. It eliminates all the guest work and does everything for you.

Your games based on Marvel comic books are one of the most popular online slots nowadays. Are you going to launch any new slots about Marvel superheroes this year? 

This year we will release The Flinstones, Top Gun and Ace Ventura – so those are the three games to come up soon. The other thing to say is we are taking all our
legacy games, which is about 150 games, we are taking all of them on mobile, so they will be all available on mobiles in next few months.

What technologies do you use to produce the mobile games? 

Mainly it's HTML5 technology.

Do you use HTML5 also for online games?

Yes, online and mobile. It's basically to get that seamless experience that the player feels when playing on the laptop and for example even in the shop you can carry on the experience on your mobile or a tablet.

Are you going to use new technologies in the future to make your online and mobile games even better? 

This year we are focusing on multichannel, as I was saying – creating the seamless experience. Making any content available across any device, anytime, any location. You might place the bet on your laptop and then you might think “I wanna get on a bus”, then you start to play on your mobile again and you can carry on what you left off.

Last year you won the eGaming Review Software Supplier of the Year prize at eGR Italy Awards. What was the key factor that contributed to this success?

We were with all the major kind of plans, local plans as well and international plans so I think we have been in Italy for so many years and we have established a leader position there. We were recognized there very early on, pre-regulation and post-regulation. It is one of the biggest market so I think it’s probably why.

What are your plans for the upcoming months?

I think turning to mobile is a really key focus across all our products – bingo, poker, sports, casino, everything. Getting all those games onto mobile. But also offering the BIT Technologies I mentioned earlier to our other licensees.

BetSoft Gaming stand was a must for all fans of 3D slots visiting ICE. The company announced the release of a few new games and visitors had a chance to be the first to see the previews of those exciting slots, which in fact looked amazing!

We asked Mark Allison, Commercial Director at BetSoft, about the company’s impressions concerning the show, their new games and plans for the upcoming months. Read the interview below to find out what he had to say!

What are your impressions concerning ICE 2015?

For us it is about meeting existing clients, displaying our product and also meeting our potential new clients. Those are three main aims that we concentrate on. ICE gives us a platform to do that.

What can you tell us about the products you are presenting during the show?

We have for some years produced some high quality, cinematic 3D slots, which is our specialty. Into the online market, around 2, 3 years ago we have started to move out our product over to mobile technology also, so that every product we now produce has a mobile variant. And also we have gone into our back catalog and we have converted previous games to mobile also.

You’ve announced the launch of three new games: Pinocchio, Alkemor's Tower and Money Maker. Can you tell us something more about them?

We look to introduce broadly each new slot every month. Pinocchio is a very well known theme and the game we created looks just excellent. Alkemor's Tower is a game with some interesting art models and strong graphics which is a kind of what we are known for. Money Maker is a particularly interactive game which is based around the question format which gives really high engagement and high stickiness for the player and entertainment as well as a gaming product.

What technologies do you use to create your online and mobile games? What are the advantages of using them?

Yes, we principally use FLASH and HTML5. HTML5 for our mobile games. This gives us the highest quality render and technical capability.

So, is it the future of mobile gaming?

Absolutely, mobile is definitely future for gaming. This market will probably become dominanted by HTML5.

Do you have two separate teams to produce games for mobile and online?

We have an extensive technical team, but we work in a studio system. We have a transferable skill across a number of people.

Are you going to continue using these technologies in the future?

Yes, I mean, we have always been on the edge, the cutting edge. We were the first to introduce the video films into online slots. We always look to introduce new technologies as early as possible to get the very best rendition of the graphics and technical aspects of the games.

What are your plans for the upcoming months?

We plan to continue to serve our customers globally. We plan to introduce on average one slot every month. And we will also to look to introduce other non-slot products as well in the next 12 months.

Due to the recent re-branding, visitors looking for iSoftBet stand might have been a little bit surprised, as it was orange, not blue! New logo, new games and even better quality – you could find it all at iSoftBet stand.

We asked Luci Apostolou and Tom Stanbury about the company’s recent re-branding, their new games and plans for 2015. Read the interview below to find out what they had to say!

It seems that 2014 was the year of big changes for your company: you changed your logo and website design, released a few new games and signed a lot of new agreements. What was the most important event of 2014 for your company?

2014 was certainly a big year of changes for us, and the company re-brand was of course a big part of that. Aside from rebranding the business we’ve streamlined our operations from the bottom up to ensure that we’re providing the best service possible to our customers.

With everyone on the same page working towards common goals we’ve really been able to create a strong and worthy brand identity.

We’ve created brand recognition with real values, and we’ve grown from a simple game development house to a true force to be reckoned with in the online gaming industry.

What products are you exhibiting during the show? What feedback are you receiving from visitors?

As you’ve probably seen around the show, we’re really pushing our branded content especially with the release of 24.It’s the first time we’ve been able to properly show off our newest branded game which includes sounds and visuals from the TV series and a unique skill-based shoot-em-up style bonus round which is really a lot of fun.

We also have a new range of “lounge” slots that we’ve started to develop which includes titles like the newly-released Ambiance, the upcoming Neon Reels and a few other as yet unnamed titles in the pipeline.

The feedback we’ve received has been great – our HTML5 content has been deemed as some of the best in the industry, and we have a really strong collection at the moment. People have been really surprised with what we’ve been able to create in HTML5 and we have a fantastic team of developers working to make our collection even stronger.

We said last year at ICE that we would deliver 25 mobile games live by Christmas and we were able to achieve that, so we’re going to be aiming for the same goal this year.

Can we expect any new games to be released in the upcoming months?

We’ve got a couple of great branded titles in the pipeline including Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, due for release in the first half of 2015.

Neon Reels is an upcoming original slot of ours that has really been drawing in the crowds. Created in 3D using Oculus Rift technology in a 360 degree environment, this game is like nothing seen before and we’ve been thrilled by the feedback it’s received so far at ICE.

We’ve reskinned a couple of our old favourites too, taking advantage of new technologies to make them even more popular than before.

On top of all that, we’re also boosting our mobile portfolio, with the mobile version of 24 out within the next couple of months along with a selection of our pre-existing Flash games becoming available on mobile. 

What technologies do you use to make your entertaining games? What are the advantages of using them?

We’re working in HTML5 and for us the best advantage is that it’s a brand new technology and it’s not limiting our creativity; it’s encouraging us to become better because we’re at the forefront of it.

Are you going to continue using these technologies in the future?

At the moment we’re really focusing on our cross-platform HTML5 content for desktop as well as mobile. We’re also looking at omni-channel distribution which will allow us to launch games in land-based environments as well as on desktop and mobile platforms.

In terms of mobile, One of the biggest issues we’ve been facing is the burden mobile gaming has on battery life, and we’re working on creating lighter versions of our games so that players can keep playing for longer.

We don’t want to give away all of our secrets, but we’ve always got an eye on new technologies and we’ve been exploring smart TVs to really push the boundaries of casino software development. 

What are your plans for 2015?

As part of our new brand identity, we’ve shifted our focus from simply churning out content to creating truly innovative games with a real focus on quality and customer satisfaction.

What’s also important for us this year is to deal with our certifications for all regulated markets. We’re focusing heavily on the UK, Spain and Italy to give us the best possible distribution across regulated markets for our content, with a number of high-profile customers in these jurisdictions due to launch our games in the coming weeks and months! 

As for me, after a couple of months respite I’ll soon be gearing up for ICE all over again!

As always, Novomatic stand was really impressive! It was huge and visitors could find all Novomatic subsidiary companies there. With so many online, mobile and land-based solutions in one place, it was the biggest and most often visited stand at ICE 2015.

We spoke to Gernot Baumgartner, Head of Marketing and Sales, and asked him about the company’s impressions concerning ICE, new products and plans for the future. Read the interview below, if you are curious what he told us!

What has been your overall take on the ICE Totally Gaming show?

Following the previous year’s successful attendance, Greentube took an extremely positive outlook from this year´s ICE Totally Gaming in London. Greentube was featured as a key exhibitor and presented the company´s latest casino developments for online and mobile. The ICE show provided an excellent opportunity to have many interesting discussions with our partners and visitors to our stand, all of which clearly opens up many new exciting business partnerships for Greentube and brings us great results. 

Did you present any innovations at ICE Totally Gaming this year?

Greentube was integrated into the Novomatic stand and unveiled a brand-new stand design together with the partner companies of Novomatic Interactive. Furthermore, we presented our well diversified product portfolio including the classic Casino Solutions, latest Mobile Games, International and National Games of Skill and variants of Bingo. We were proud to introduce our latest product additions: AWP “reloaded” which brings the well-known AWP games into the online world and Social Casino Gaming solutions that enable land-based casinos to stay connected with their players even after they step out of the casino. Furthermore, we also presented our Server Based Gaming and Live Dealer Gaming Solutions. 

How did ICE visitors respond to your products and solutions?

The new interactive stand design of Greentube and Novomatic Interactive put the emphasis on the vast diversification of our product portfolio and proved that Greentube took the next big step of becoming the one-stop solution for our customers. With over 20 different development studios and their innovative and evolving games integrated into one system and other interesting product verticals such as Latin Bingo for South America or Greentube Pro which provides land-based casinos with the opportunity to have a loyalty program for their customers, Greentube made sure to surprise its customers in the most positive way. 

What can you tell us about your online and mobile solutions?  What makes them stand out from the crowd?

Greentube, as the global interactive unit of Novomatic, is continuously improving its iGaming portfolio. Developing our new innovative approach is key in differentiating ourselves from the others. In terms of geographic spread, the range of the Novomatic games library extends to all corners of the globe, with games suited to every market and player requirement. Our goal is developing amazing Novomatic content, popular around the globe, and delivering that experience in the virtual space. Greentube takes pride in presenting outstanding quality in today’s competitive market. 

What technologies do you use to create your online and mobile games? Why do you use these technologies?

Greentube is bridging the land-based and online/mobile space with a flawless gaming experience supported by the best software and development tools. We are developing excellent quality versions of Novomatic’s games and continue to improve the overall visual experience, strongly focusing on our mobile portfolio. Mobile gaming turned out to be one of the world’s most influential industries and the number of offerings is exploding. The triumphant success of the user-friendly mobile devices has ensured Greentube a significant market share within a very short time period. Most of our mobile games were successfully developed and implemented based on HTML5 technology, while our online games are based on flash technology. With regards to mobile gaming, HTML5 guarantees instant playability without any hurdles.

What are your plans for the upcoming months?

We will continue developing well-known Novomatic games for online and mobile, also boosting our offer with content from Astra Games, Mazooma, Eurocoin Interactive, iGaming2Go, Extreme Live Gaming, Stakelogic and many more. Our team is now looking forward to sharing the company´s latest developments at the upcoming gaming event FER-Interazar being held in Madrid from March 24th-26th and during the NIGA Show in San Diego from March 30th-April 2nd.  

EveryMatrix stand was really crowded this year, not only because of the great products they were exhibiting, but also due to the open bar, where visitors could stop by for a quick chat and refreshing cocktails.

We visited their stand to talk to Nicholas Hill, Sales & Marketing Director, and ask him about the company’s products and plans for the future. Read the interview below, if you are curious what he had to say!

Did ICE 2015 surprise you in any way?

To be brutally honest with you, as it's the day one of ICE, I haven't seen many surprises yet. What has surprised me is the fact that the event has gotten much bigger and, talking to the organizers, they're planning to make it even bigger next year. But no surprises that would sort of jump off, so far.

Are you presenting any innovations during the show?

No, we’re not presenting any major innovations, but EveryMatrix is constantly innovating and developing its products. We are an innovative company and we believe in innovation, we're always doing it. We are presenting our core products, which are our sports bet - OddsMatrix, our game platform that we've called GamMatrix – a game managing platform, and a casino engine. The CasinoEngine is the world’s largest casino applicator with an excess of 2000 titles from different content providers. So those are the main core products that we are presenting. 

You offer over 2000 games on your CasinoEngine, including games from Microgaming, NetEnt and BetSoft. Are you going to add games from new developers in the future?

Absolutely, 100%, we are looking at developing our own RGS – remote gaming server, in the future. We don't have one at this moment, so we are taking content from other applicators like NYX and Microgaming, which are picking up some of the newer developers themselves. We're picking the content there, but we would like to deliver that content or have those relationships directly ourselves. There's always new content coming to the systems, it's just coming through the third parties.

You have recently begun delivering services with the global leader in DDOS and Mitigation services Prolexic. Can you tell us more about this service?

Basically, we’re introducing or integrating Prolexic into our infrastructure. The key driver for this cooperation was the need to protect our organization from those DDOS attacks. Because we are a service provision company, our operators are only as good as we are. So if we don't protect our network, it hinders our operators. Therefore, we took the judgment to incubate probably the world’s best DDOS protection service, so we can deliver better services to our customers. 

What makes your white label solution unique?

The really special thing about our white label solution is its flexibility. It’s this flexibility that operators can build around front-end exposed APIs. It's quite unique, because you're not relied upon web servers, so an operator can build their own front-end in JAVA within browser using HTML. So they don't have to use HTTP or web servers. We host everything and they can then own the entire customer experience. So they own the total look and feel of the customers' experience. That is unique. Along with the CasinoEngine, the bonus functionality and the CMS functionality of the CasinoEngine - we have a unique proposition. So, for white labeling, clients can use our payment processing, they can use our licensing, but they also have the flexibility of building the front-end, if they want to of course, or they can take the front-ends we deliver. 

Was 2014 successful for your company? 

2014 was extremely successful - an 89% growth from revenues - I put that down to success. 

What are your hopes, plans and goals for 2015?

To mimic the success we had in 2014, to grow the organization in a structured way and to develop more award-winning, ground-breaking products, which we are constantly doing. We have a new product road map for additional products, one being MoneyMatrix – it's going to be a payment solution. We're rebuilding our entire platform, which we call the EM2, which we will be launching at the tail end of this year. We're rebuilding our sports book – UltiMatrix – from the ground up.

The reason we are taking the investment and rebuilding our entire architecture and infrastructure is because the technologies are already dated, they may be 6 years old, but they're dated. In order to be a leader in this extremely competitive market, you have to maintain your agility and your flexibility. So we have to stay in line with the market changes and trends.

NetEnt really rocked at ICE this year! They announced the launch of their newest slot game with Guns N’Roses that is bound to become a smash hit this year! To celebrate the launch of this stunning game, they presented a guitar signed by Slash and Axl Rose. With such an amazing slot to come and all other casino games released so far, it’s no wonder why they won the prestigious Slots Provider/Supplier Product of the Year prize for both online and land based at the International Gaming Awards.

We spoke to NetEnt’s President and CEO, Per Eriksson, and asked him about the company’s new games and plans for the upcoming months. Learn what he had to say!

What are your impressions concerning ICE 2015?

It's fantastic show, the whole industry is here and this is a great opportunity to show our products and our plans for the future. Who needs more? The whole is world here at one specific time. For me it's the best place to be.

What can you tell us about the products you are presenting during the show?

One of the major things is the brand new slot we're about to launch with Guns N' Roses. We revealed it here at ICE, there was a crowd of several hundreds of people – we're really proud of it. Guns N' Roses is a unique brand and we believe it will attract a lot of new players. For us this is a key thing, but also we're showing our live casino product, which is very successful as well and other new games.

Last year you launched a lot of new entertaining games, including such amazing games as Aliens and South Park 2. Can we expect any new games to be released in the upcoming months? What will they be about?

We're launching new games continuously, you can see some of them here. One of the soon to be launched games that we are showing is Spinata Grande, ICE is a great place to show them. For us it's always quality over quantity in what we do and we see all the players around the world love the content that we develop.

What technologies do you use to create your online and mobile games? What are the advantages of using them?

We are now moving from flash to HTML5. Now we're doing HTML5 games both for the desktop and mobile devices. In December we launched the first game in this technology – The Invisible Man. We have received fantastic response and it is amazing what our game team has managed to produce, the result is much better than we initially thought when we started to explore HTML5. 

Are you going to continue using these technologies in the future?

Right now it's HTML5 only, but we'll looking at what the future will bring. We want to use the best technologies possible. 

What was your company’s biggest achievement in 2014?

We have been very successful in signing up new large operators in the UK, which is a very important market for us -it's the biggest market in Europe. Also we're currently working with our license in New Jersey, and we have applied for a  license in Spain. A lot of good achievements, we haven't launched a Q4 report yet, but until Q3 we grew 30% in 2014, which is something we're really proud of.

What are your plans for 2015?

In second half of 2015 we will be in New Jersey, that's a milestone for us. We'll enter Spain in the spring, also Holland starts to regulate. Of course we'll launch a lot of new great games too.

How would you describe your experience at ICE Totally Gaming this year?

ICE 2015 was another successful show for the Evolution Gaming team – in fact, probably the best we’ve had, if measured by the interest generated by what was our largest-ever ICE stand.

We always set up as many meetings as possible ahead of the show. With so many members of our international team present, it really is a great opportunity to get face-to-face with existing licensees and new prospects. We have virtually all key roles present, too, so we can bring in the relevant people and expertise to any given meeting.

We also had a lot of new products and enhancements on show, which proved to be a big draw. We were delighted by the number of new prospects that came onto the stand to talk to us. There are some very real opportunities that we are following up, and we have every reason to believe they will lead to significant new business.

Did you present any innovations during the show?

Yes, the show was the first reveal of our new Immersive Lite studio installation. Based on our award-winning Immersive Roulette, it’s a new bespoke option that makes an ‘Immersive’ multi-camera set-up available for the first time on Evolution licensees’ dedicated tables. Just as in Immersive Roulette, players are immersed in the live action through multiple camera views and dynamic close-ups that follow every spin of the wheel and movement of the ball.

Then there was our recently released Blackjack Party, which is a really different and highly social take on the traditional Live Blackjack game. With its chatty duo of dealer and co-presenter, and massively scalable low-stakes Bet Behind, Blackjack Party is proving to be a big crowd pleaser.

Other new products making their show debuts were Live Baccarat and Live Blackjack for smartphone. We now have a complete, world-class Mobile Live Casino offering that leads the market in so many ways.

Your Immersive Roulette won ‘Game Of The Year’ at the EGR Awards last year. Can you tell us what makes this game unique?

There really is nothing else like Immersive Roulette in the online casino market place. Fifteen-plus cameras are positioned around the Live Roulette wheel and dealer to relay all the action as it unfolds. Players are drawn into the game as they follow the spin of the wheel and the journey of the ball via randomly sequenced camera shots including close-ups and slow-motion replays. The whole experience is dynamic and fun.

We drew inspiration from Hollywood-style movie studio set-ups and applied the same principal to the presentation of online Live Casino games.

Originally we had envisaged that the premium quality of Immersive Roulette would make it more of a high roller product. However, we soon realised that it has mass market appeal. It’s proved to be one of our most successful tables and it also looks great and works really well on Mobile.

With all of these things going Immersive Roulette, the obvious step was to make the same functionality available on Evolution licensees’ dedicated Live Roulette tables, hence the launch of Immersive Lite.

Our main Immersive Roulette table is an absolute showcase table for multi-camera online Live Casino. Immersive Lite achieves very much the same effect but with fewer cameras. It’s also completely customisable, so there are all kinds of exciting options that can be explored by each licensee to heighten the player’s sense that this is just like playing in a real casino. In fact, Immersive Roulette has been such as success that we are now looking add a similar Immersive experience to other live games.

Was 2014 successful for your company in general? 

Yes, 2014 was an extremely successful year for Evolution. The year kicked off with the opening our new Malta studio, home to our international dealers and our world-leading line-up of native speaking dealer tables.

Then there was the installation of an ‘in-venue’ Live Casino studio for Casinó Campione d’Italia. Also, Danske Spil and Full Tilt were amongst a number of new licensees to join us. And, as you’ve highlighted, Immersive Roulette was named Game Of The Year in the EGR Operator Awards. This followed Evolution being named Live Casino Supplier Of The Year for a remarkable fifth successive year in the EGR B2B Awards.

On the product development side, our world’s fastest online Live Blackjack went from strength to strength. We added Live Blackjack for Mobile, and added Pre-Decision across desktop, tablet and smartphone to further speed up game rounds. We also added massively scalable Bet Behind to the desktop version of Live Blackjack. Then we released the Blackjack Party variant to broaden the appeal still further and maximise the Bet Behind revenue opportunity for our licensees.

With all of this going on, and with demand for Evolution Live Casino growing, we’ve expanded our team across all locations to support growth and to drive further product development and innovation.

Where do you see your company this time next year?

We have some very exciting plans for 2015. Development of further key products is already underway. We’re confident that these products will have a considerable wow factor and will continue to position us ahead of our competitors.

We’re looking to dominate new markets that are currently re-regulating, which will extend our stronghold in Europe. We also plan to expand into new territories.

So, this time next year, I’m confident there will be further innovations and market firsts to talk about, all of which, we hope, will reinforce our position as the Live Casino market leaders.

What can you tell us about your mobile offering? 

Mobile (as in tablet and smartphone play) is a key growth area for us, with smartphone play being the fastest growth area of all.

That is no accident; we’ve undertaken a planned and considered rollout of a complete and optimised Mobile offering across all our core games. This has made Evolution a very attractive proposition for any operator that wants to maximise the Mobile opportunity.

When we launch a game on Mobile we look to make it available on all devices – the tablet or smartphone is simply a different access point to the same world-class Live Casino game. We don’t short-change licensees or their players by offering just one or two tables for Mobile play – we have an ‘access all tables’ policy. 

In fact, we have largest number of live tables available on Mobile, which gives players the option to move around the tables. Many players like to do this to try to improve their luck or to try different dealers. We also offer the largest number of native speaking tables.

All of these tables can be played using the market-leading iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. For Evolution, it’s about delivering the best possible experience to players, on their table of choice and on their device of choice.

Mobile will continue top be key focus area in 2015 and beyond. There is a great deal happening in this area and we work very closely with licensees to help them maximise their Mobile strategies.

Why are Live Dealer games so popular among players?

I believe it’s because Live Dealer games are fun, dynamic and, most importantly, they’re ‘alive’. It’s more than just playing a game on a machine – it’s about connecting with other players to a live event, the outcome of which is down to a mix of skill and luck.

Because it’s live, there’s a momentum to each game, and that adds to the excitement. And, of course, there’s the social element because players can interact with the dealer and other players.

The human factor is vitally important; it brings an extra level of trust and involvement. In the case of Evolution Live Casino, this is online gaming that’s ‘as real as it gets’.

Our licensees’ players feel that it’s just like playing in their favourite casino, whenever and wherever they wish. Like any game, there are levels of skill and involvement. Novices can quickly learn the basics by observing and moving forward at their own pace. But then there are also rich added-value features such as game stats, hot and cold numbers, favourite bets menus, unlimited bet behind, and much more. Players can make a real connection with Live Casino in whatever way they choose, and on so many levels.

Yggdrasil Gaming is one of the newer  game developers on the market, but their games quickly became very popular among players, because of great graphics and entertaining special features.

We visited Yggdrasil Gaming stand and talked to Fredrik Elmqvist, CEO of Yggdrasil Gaming. We asked him about his impressions concerning the show, the company’s new games and plans for the future. Read the interview below to learn what he had to say.

Did ICE 2015 surprise you in any way? 

I wouldn’t say it surprised me, it was just a very useful show for us. It was our second year exhibiting and we had a much bigger stand than in 2014. We managed to fit in an awful lot of meetings over the three days and I’m sure it will turn out to be a very successful event for us.

What can you tell us about the products you presented during the show? 

We showcased all of our products at ICE and got a really positive reaction. Of particularly interest was Joker Millions, our first pooled progressive jackpot. This will be available to players from the end of February and comes with an expected fall out value of €1.3m.

Plenty of people were also keen to hear about our new HTML5 framework which we launched last month. The Dark Joker Rizes, a follow-up to our popular Jokerizer slot, was the first of our games to launch on HTML5, but we will be migrating our content across to it over the next few months.

You’ve recently launched your new HTML5 framework which will allow for tandem drops where desktop and mobile games are launched simultaneously. Can you tell us more about this solution? 

The main idea behind the new HTML5 framework is to improve game launch efficiency for our partners. Tandem drops mean that operators can streamline their marketing costs with one game launch across all platforms. This is important as players expect to be able to play slots on whatever device they are using. 

We are platform agnostic and our customers are delighted that moving forward they will get simultaneous game launches on desktop, mobile and tablet from Yggdrasil.

Why did you choose to create your games using HTML5? 

HTML5 is the technology of the future. Previously it was viewed as a purely mobile technology, but that is no longer the case and it has now overtaken Flash. 

A major reason behind our decision to move to HTML5 is that we are able to use the same codebase for both desktop and mobile. This reduces development time and allows for tandem drops across all platforms. 

Last year you launched a lot of new exciting slot games. Can we expect any new titles to be released in the upcoming months? 

At ICE 2014 we had just two slot games and now 12 months on we have 11 in our portfolio. In the past few months alone we’ve launched our first 3D game (Reef Run), our first HTML5 game (The Dark Joker Rizes) and at the end of this month, our first pooled progressive jackpot (Joker Millions).

But we certainly won’t be resting on our laurels. We have big plans for 2015 and will be releasing plenty more top quality, engaging content, always designed with the player in mind.

Was 2014 successful for your company? 

We couldn’t really have asked for a better year – it has been transformational for our business. We only had deals in place with two operators this time last year, but we now have 19 operators on board, with plenty more in the pipeline. 

The team is growing and we are all fully-focused on maintaining the momentum that has been built up over the past 12 months.

What are your hopes, plans and goals for 2015?

We just want to continue growing and delivering world class content for our partners and their players. 

In 2015 we will be focusing heavily on gamification via our Infinite API™ for gamification. This allows operators to boost their customer engagement by offering something different that makes them stand out from the crowd.

We will also be closely monitoring the regulatory situation in Europe and it’s not impossible that we could enter a regulated market this year.