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Tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you and what is your role at Pixiu Gaming?
I am the Co-Founder of Pixiu Gaming, alongside Sovanna Phan, and I manage all commercial and corporate affairs for the business. I have been in igaming since 1999 so I am rather old! Amongst other things I have a deep passion for travel, sport, and food.
How did you first start in the gambling industry? What were the initial challenges?
So I started in igaming in 1999, when a friend and I co-founded easyodds.com, the first odds comparison service. We wanted to give punters a place to compare odds and place their bet easily. However, in 1999 there were very few online bookmakers (a handful at most) and the only way we could get the odds data was to ‘scrape’ the information from their websites – there was no such thing as an API or an XML feed back then. Essentially that meant any time anyone changed anything it fell over, even a single pixel on their site!!! You can imagine how challenging anything was then from just that…
With so many game studios on the market, what do you think is the biggest differentiator for Pixiu Gaming?
So we focus on building games where we feel we have a barrier to entry or material differentiation. For us that means specializing on keno titles in the regulated North American space, with Canada as our heartbeat market plus building games which have protection via IP or branding. That includes exclusive licensing of brands such as deal or No Deal in the Canadian market and Dan Marino on a global basis. On top of that we create value from the relationships and partnerships we have built, and nurtured, over the last 10 or 15 years. We are laser-focused on the things we do well and where we have an advantage over our competitors.
Can you please tell us what is the slot with the Biggest Wins from Pixiu Gaming? We are sure our readers would like to give it a spin, if they haven’t already.
Lucky 8 Reactors has seen some huge wins already despite only being in the market for a couple of months however Lucky Stars Scatter Reactors has the potential for almost limitless re-trigger wins so that will eventually pay a huge win we are sure!
What are your top 3 favorite slots from Pixiu Gaming? Can you please tell us the reasons behind your choices?
We are early in our slot distribution but Lucky 8 Reactors, Lucky 8 Golden Dragon, and Lucky Stars Scatter Reactors are 3 games we are super proud of as part of our first slot releases. We have always admired the Cluster-mechanic or Reactor-type games so we have tried to reimagine those a little. Lucky 8 Reactors is a massive, beautidul titl with 5 diffferent Worlds for the player to travel through and mythical dragons giving you ever-bigger modifier wins. Lucky Stars Scatter Reactors is a simpler game with more cartoonish style graphics but the cluster mechanic there means you only need to see 9+ symbols on screen, anywhere in the grid, to win – they don’t need to be connected at all. Lucky 8 Golden Dragon is more of a classic 5×3 offering with rich graphics and a beautiful free spins bonus round where you can get reels 2,3, and 4 as locked Reel Wilds at 2x and 8x multipliers.
What is the most important aspect of a slot from your perspective?
It is no surprise to say the math model is the key element – we do feel graphics and feature-set are of course important but no game can ever be successful without a robust math model which takes players on the emotional journey they need to feel they’re getting excitement and potential from a game.
Is there any way to predict if a slot is going to be a hit or not?
I don’t think it is easy to say what will work or not, however if you build all the elements to a high quality and listen to what the market trends are saying it is possible to give games the best chance of success, at least.
Looking to the future, what is the next big release Pixiu Gaming is planning?
In late ’23 we had 2 Dan Marino-branded games releasing, a slot and a keno title which are looking so so fabulous. They will bring the legendary quarterbacks personality into the game with rich audio and video from the great man himself. We have a great bonus round in the slot which we can’t wait to release for players!
Do you have any advice for those who would like to work in the gambling/ e-gaming industry?
I can’t imagine I am the best-placed for advice but I think our industry is exciting and has a great deal of dynamism still, even after over 20 years in it so I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to learn new things and is happy working in a changeable, vibrant industry. As general advice it is worth factoring in more time than you plan to make things happen as deadlines are hard to hit, often.
If you weren’t in the gambling industry, what other industry would you want to work in?
I am desperate to work full time for a childrens’ charity.
Is there anything you would like to transmit to those who support Pixiu Gaming, before we say goodbye?
We try as hard as possible to make fun, engaging, and innovative games and hope you agree with us!