WELCOME TO THE GAME
AGS goes beyond launches by cutting through all the noise and bringing the game to players in a different way
By Frank Legato
Most players find new slot games on their own, or read about them first in this publication, or see them on a YouTube channel. Slot supplier AGS has come up with a better way—let the characters in the slot game introduce it to you.
Starting last July, AGS began staging slot machine launch events that bring the games to life in a themed party. These parties aren’t just designed to reflect the theme of the new game. They’re designed to take players inside the theme, with characters from the games actually roaming around the themed areas.
“We’re really changing the way that we bring games to players,” says Nikki Davis, vice president of marketing for AGS. “There are specific games we’ve been launching in a way that can change the experience for players and how they view the game, by bringing these in-person live experiences to the floor.”
The first big event of this nature was the first-ever bistate launch of a game, at two casinos owned by Southern California’s San Manuel Nation. The events were crafted to launch the Mariachi Fortunes Trio slot family. The two launch games are Fiesta de los Vivos (Festival of the Living) and Fiesta de las Calacas (Festival of the Skeletons).
The games are designed to build upon the success of the AGS hit Piñata Pays, one of AGS’ best-performing games of all time. The characters are what make the game—three pot- collecting mariachi players, each representing a different feature. As the pots fill, the sombreros strain under piles of coins until a bonus is triggered.
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino near San Bernardino, CA, introduced the “los Vivos” theme in a daytime event. The nighttime theme party for “las Calacas” was thrown at the Palms Casino Resort, the tribe’s off- Strip property in Las Vegas.
The settings for these parties involved a lot more than throwing up a few signs and banners. The slot floors were transformed into lively Mexico-style plazas, with themed slot banks, folklorico dancers, live mariachi bands, roaming street carts, and larger-than-life visuals that brought the game’s festive setting to life.
Bringing the slot theme’s characters to life—dancers, live mariachi bands and all—introduced players to the game with the closest thing to them without actually stepping into the game itself. “Instead of simply introducing the game to players, we brought the characters and culture of the game off the screen and onto the casino floor,” Davis says. “We created an immersive experience that lets players feel like they’re part of Mariachi Fortunes Trio.”
Werewolf Party
They did it again March 6 at Yaamava’, with a two-day world premiere event for the new Ultra Werewolf game family. The game’s main screen depicts a dramatic werewolf character in artwork reflecting comic books. On the first day of the launch, the casino hosted filmmakers, actors and comic book aficionados Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes as their well-known characters Jay and Silent Bob from the 1990s cult-classic movies Clerks, Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Smith and Mewes were the first customers to play the game and then spoke about their experience in a live recording of their SMPodcast “Jay & Silent Bob Do Yaamava’.”
On the second day, casino officials held a slot pull for Club Serrano members. Those in attendance were given a physical copy of the “Ultra Werewolf” comic book, which uses fantastic artwork to depict the back story of the game’s central werewolf character.
“We have an actual comic book that evolves this character to bring players a little bit closer,” says Davis. “Why does he have this potion? Why is he throwing it down to the reels? What’s his ultimate goal? What is his back story? Who are these other two characters we’ve introduced in Ultra Werewolf and what’s their part in it?
We wanted to write a story, and of course, like a true comic book, at the end it says, ‘to be continued.’”
Armed with the back story, players sat down in a slot area transformed to take players into the comic book, complete with live performers—a living, breathing “werewolf” and two “werewolf hunters” from the game.
The VIP reception leveled up the fun with thematic mocktails, wolf ear headbands and free spins on Ultra Werewolf Fury and Ultra Werewolf Strike. Four winners who entered to play one of the Ultra Werewolf games were automatically entered into a drawing for $1,000 in Free Play, with one winner walking away with $5,000 in Free Play.
The comic book lays out the monster’s back story for both entries in the Werewolf series—the original Werewolf and the new Ultra Werewolf.
“Ultra Werewolf is a new version of that game, with additional features from the original,” Davis says. “The art style of it is very much a comic book vibe, so we brought that to life by creating this comic book to connect Game 1 to Game 2. Even within the game itself, there’s a graphic element that says, ‘Issue 2.’ It’s definitely a connecting story, and something that you don’t see very often in brand extensions.”
AGS repeated these launch celebrations for each game at several casinos. “We always have some sort of campaign or tagline to connect all the casinos, even though they may not be connected,” Davis says, “so for Mariachi Fortunes Trio we had a campaign called The Fiesta Never Ends. From casino to casino as we launched the game, everyone was a part of this larger picture of continuing the fiesta from one floor to the next across the U.S.
“The players loved it. It’s a lot of fun, and it brings a lot of energy to the floor. In addition to just the game itself and the visuals there, normally when you are on a floor, you’re alone in that experience. It’s a lot of fun having this cheering squad behind you celebrating, and playing music when you win a bonus. Not only are you getting the music from the machine with the bonus, you’re getting the mariachi band playing their instruments in the exact same way that the game is showing you as well.”
The Ultra Werewolf “Catch the Wolf” campaign follows the wolf as the game gets installed throughout casinos nationwide, bringing the hunt to players everywhere through additional on-site events. The game’s webpage has a Werewolf Tracker that is updated with sightings of the game in casinos, and strong social media presence featuring a motion graphic map showing where the wolf is and has been. The marketing team even curated a “Howlin’ for Werewolf” Spotify playlist that anyone can find and listen to.
Pigs in Lederhosen
The next big launch celebrations will move from Mexico to Bavaria, with Oktoberfest-style parties marking the introduction of the newest entries in the smash hit AGS slot series Rakin’ Bacon!—Rakin’ Bacon! Hogtoberfest and Hogger Lager.
Picture “Cornsquealius,” the golden pig character and mascot of the game series, in lederhosen and a Tyrolean hat.
The games center around beer steins, which form frames that reveal hidden prizes—they grow with each beer stein landing in the spot. So, while AGS is not giving out all the details, there’s potential for roaming lederhosen-clad performers with beer steins, Bavarian dancers and a lot of accordions playing German “oompah” songs and polkas. And the host, of course… Hogtoberfest Cornsquealius.
Davis wouldn’t reveal whether or not real beer in steins will be passed out, but it’s a possibility.
Expect a steady stream of these orchestrated game launches going forward—not only because they’ve led to repeat play of these games at casinos, but because the marketing teams are having a blast.
“I’m so impressed—not only with our internal team, but with the incredible casino partners we work with,” says Davis. “Just seeing how much effort and thought goes into each campaign, we couldn’t pull any of this off without their expertise and collaboration. It’s great to just be a part of this, and so fun being able to connect with their players.”
To be continued…
