Martyn Hannah, co-founder and MD of Comparasino, teases the online casino comparison site’s first white paper featuring insight from Big Time Gaming’s Nik Robinson, David Natroshvili from SPRIBE and Alex Lorimer from Gaming Corps
Innovation is a word that gets thrown around a lot. But when you really think about it, there have been very few “innovations” that have actually changed the game.
Sure, there are mechanics and games that land and for a brief moment, dominate, but just as quickly as they rose to the top of the charts, they disappear into the dark depths of the casino lobby.
But there are a few studios that have come up with something truly remarkable, a mechanic or format that has proved to be a catalyst for industry revolution.
Who are these studios, and how did they go about changing the game?
This is a question I put to the Comparasino team a few months back, and after much deliberation, we came up with just two providers that could claim to be “game-changers”.
Big Time Gaming and SPRIBE.
Big Time Gaming is the original innovator, led by the visionary Nik Robinson, and with its Megaways mechanic, kick-started the IP war that rages to this day.
Not only did Megaways become a blockbuster hit in its own right, Nik’s decision to license the mechanic to other studios further catapulted BTG into the stratosphere.
Ultimately, it created a blueprint for studios to create IP and then sell it to rival developers, but while many have tried to replicate it, few (if any) have succeeded.
Then you have SPRIBE, an early pioneer of the crash format that has found fame and fortune off the back of a single title, Aviator.
This is a game that has smashed all records – 50 million players per month, 400,000 bets per minute and 5,500 online casino partners and counting.
SPRIBE’s success is remarkable when you consider that just a handful of years ago, managing partner David Natroshvili was walking around the stands at ICE London with nothing more than an iPad and an initial version of the game to show to anyone who was interested.
Today, David can be found shaking hands with the likes of Dana White after SPRIBE extended its multi-year marketing partnership with the UFC.
And that’s another reason why we considered SPRIBE to be a game-changer – the studio was the first to really understand the power of marketing directly to players. Its knock-out UFC deal was followed by similar partnerships with the WWE and A.C. Milan.
With our game changers decided, we wanted to get behind the scenes at these studios to really understand the critical moments in bringing their innovations to market.
But this meant speaking to Nik and David, two people who are not so easy to track down. So, with a little help from our friends at GameOn, I found myself in front of both, armed with a long list of questions.
The GameOn Team also suggested I speak to Gaming Corps, and in particular, chief operating officer, Alex Lorimer. Gaming Corps is very much a rising star studio making strong headway with non-traditional content, including its Smash4Cash format and game series.
As Nik, David, and Alex answered my questions at length, I realised their insight would be incredibly valuable to a range of stakeholders across the industry and that the subject matter was perfectly suited to a white paper.
And that’s what we set about producing.
Meet The Game Changers – A Comparasino White Paper will be published exclusively by Gaming Intelligence on 14 July and will give anyone who reads it a deep understanding of the businesses and people behind some of the biggest breakthroughs this industry has ever seen.
For the first time, you can hear where the ideas for Megaways and Aviator came from, and how Gaming Corps struck the perfect balance between risk and reward with Smash4Cash.
Not always smooth sailing, the white paper digs into the challenges faced in creating something truly game changing, and the risks that come with such an ambitious pursuit.
It will also discuss the price of success and how these companies have approached the always difficult second album – I mean, how do you follow up on the success of Megaways and Aviator?
It gets into whether these companies have been defined by their breakthrough product or if they have used it as a platform for something even bigger. Our game-changers also share their lessons learned and provide actionable advice for the next generation of studios looking to secure their place in the industry’s hall of fame.
It’s packed full of incredible insight and expertise – here are just some highlights.
“We didn’t keep the Crown Jewel to ourselves; we opened the gates. That decision not only cemented Megaways as an industry standard but also ushered in a whole new business model. We gave studios the chance to thrive off our innovation and, in doing so, we elevated the whole industry.” – Nik Robinson, Big Time Gaming.
“From the start, we sensed it could be a success – the simplicity of the mechanic and the emotional tension it created were immediate indicators of its potential. And then our early A/B tests, retention and re-engagement rates far exceeded benchmarks – that’s when we knew we had a hit on our hands.” – David Natroshvili, managing partner at SPRIBE.
“Non-traditional content is definitely the way to go if you don’t want to break the bank. The beauty is that you don’t necessarily have to have all the bells and whistles attached for your first launch because simplicity is so key to engaging players with something new. Then, for a small cost, you can bring something to market that can immediately give you data-led feedback as to whether it’s worthwhile innovating – and spending – further.” – Alex Lorimer, chief operating officer at Gaming Corps.
And there’s plenty more where that came from.
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