Gaming

Fish Games in Latin America: a Real Catch

Published

2 years ago

April 28, 2023

Reading Time: 4 minutes

With their roots in the Asian iGaming market and a long history of success in the region, fish games have now found a new wave of popularity in Latin America. Thanks to their easy-to-learn gameplay, the chance to catch a big win while playing something other than slots, these games have quickly become a favourite pastime for many LatAm players. The SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, with its partner, game provider KA Gaming, have been observing their rise of popularity and are ready to cover this trend in detail in this article.

FISH GAMES PHENOMENON

Fish games are RNG games for online casinos. These games are based on the concept of fishing, where players use virtual fishing nets or guns to catch fish or other aquatic creatures on the screen. Each shot or reel accounts for a bet, and every fish or character has its ‘value’. When the shot hits the fish, the winning prize is awarded to the players.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

These games often have colourful graphics, lively sound effects, a variety of characters with different point values, and, consequently, the potential for big payouts. Players can win prizes by catching fish and accumulating points for this, and some games even offer bonus rounds or jackpots for particularly skilled players.

FROM ASIA TO LATIN AMERICA

Diving back into the history of fish games, they grew from simple arcade video games in China in the 2000s. Over time, the games became more advanced, with improved graphics, gameplay, and online connectivity, leading them into online casino portfolios. Many Asian iGaming companies now offer players a wide range of fish game options.

KA Gaming is one of the game providers whose portfolio includes around 50 fish games. In partnership with the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, they supply these games to operators in different markets via API, including LatAm, where the demand for fish games has increased significantly during the last year.

Argentina, in particular, has emerged as a hotbed for fish games, with KA Gaming’s average number of ‘fish’ bets exceeding 8.5 million a month. This is a significant milestone, especially when compared to Asian countries where fish games have been popular for years.

The popularity of this game type has also spread to other countries in the region, including Brazil, Chile, and Peru. As players across Latin America continue to discover the excitement and potential rewards of fish games, likely, the popularity of these games will only continue to grow.

Mei Tu, Director of Sales and Marketing at KA Gaming, comments: “We are thrilled by the potential for growth that the Latin American market represents for fish games. With an assumed room for growth in this region, the numbers we see from Argentina are auspicious. While fish games have been popular in Asian countries for many years and have already gained a regular audience, the average monthly spins range from 12 to 25 million. In contrast, the figure of 8.5 million spins per month in Argentina alone is an excellent result, especially considering that fish games have only been gaining popularity for the past year and that slot games remain the most preferred option in the region. We’re excited to see how the popularity of fish games will continue to grow in LatAm and beyond.”

REASONS FOR INCREASING POPULARITY IN LATAM

So why have fish games become so popular in LatAm? There are several reasons for this trend. For one, they are easy to learn and play, with simple controls and fast-paced gameplay that keeps players engaged. Additionally, fish games are known for their high payouts, which can attract both casual and serious players alike.

Tatyana Kaminskaya, Head of SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, has also noted that the easy entry threshold, allowing players to place small bets and still win, is a major factor driving the popularity of fish games in LatAm.

“The trend we’re seeing among players in this region is to place small but regular bets, which sets them apart from players in other regions. Fish games have a high probability of winning due to the ‘frequent catches’ and low betting options.”

Additionally, Tatyana notes that players in LatAm prefer to place bets using mobile devices. Since many fish games offered by operators and gaming providers are mobile-friendly, this is convenient for players in the region, contributing to the increasing popularity of these games.

KA Gaming also highlights the reasons for the rising popularity of fish games in LatAm. Among them, there are the following:

Fish games have the element of player interaction in the same rooms (usually 4–6) as they compete to ‘hunt the big fish for big rewards, creating much excitement for the players
There are multiple stages of the game, such as the “big boss” stage, where the players expect big wins once they successfully ‘reel in the ‘big boss’
The dynamic movement of the fishes and other characters on the screen, the fast pace of the fish hunt coupled with colourful visuals provide a great gamification experience for players
In addition, the gameplay learning curve is low compared to other games. KA Gaming usually sets the minimum bet lower than a typical slot game, making it easy for players to dive into the game

Summing up the above, Mei Tu adds: “Good games will always be good, regardless of culture and geography. Fish games’ exciting and engaging nature attracts players seeking a unique experience. Physical table fish games have already proven popular in North America, so we believe that with proper exposure and availability in the LatAm market, fish games will also gain popularity. It may take some players a warm-up or educational period, but it will also attract new players to iGaming who originally enjoyed arcade games.”

The SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator and KA Gaming have joined forces to provide top-notch content to operators in various regions, including supplying fish and hunting games to online casinos in LatAm. KA Gaming’s fish games, such as KA Fish Hunter, Poseidon’s Secret, Golden Dragon, Three Head Dragon, and Happy Food Hunter, are among the most popular titles among LatAm players in the content hub’s portfolio.

Tatyana Kaminskaya says: “We will continue to monitor the increasing popularity of fish games in LatAm. We recognise the potential for growth in this region beyond, and recommend operators to add this type of games to their online casinos The surge in popularity of certain game types reinforces this belief. Our portfolio boasts over 16,000 games available to LatAm clients, complete with API integration, exceptional service, and a range of tools that boost player engagement rates in online casinos. Notably, our recently launched Tournament Tool has already been tried out by several clients and has shown great promise.”

Gaming

Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions

Published

1 week ago

November 7, 2024

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Wargaming, a leading game developer, teamed up with SplitMetrics, an app growth solutions company, to boost conversion rates with seasonal Christmas-themed screenshots for the launch of its game World of Warships: Legends.

Coinciding with the game’s soft launch in Brazil, the Philippines, Canada, and France ahead of the Christmas holidays, Wargaming wanted to capitalise on the seasonality effect to influence its app engagement without advertising.

By working with SplitMetrics Agency, a leading mobile growth agency, Wargaming increased conversions by an average of 15% on iOS across App Store storefronts in Canada, the Philippines and France. Canada experienced the highest conversion rate increase with 31.45%, followed by the Philippines (9.61%) and France (3.44%). On Android, the Brazilian Google Play storefront experienced the highest conversion rate increase with 6.68%.

SplitMetrics Agency focused on A/B testing as its core strategy. The agency optimised visual assets, analysed performance and tested various creative hypotheses. Using SplitMetrics Optimize, the agency’s experts ran experiments to identify the best-performing illustrations for both the App Store and Google Play product pages.

A key hypothesis tested during this project was whether tailoring visuals to each region during Christmas would have an impact. For France and Canada, the images were adjusted to include a winter theme featuring snow, fireworks and a Christmas tree. For the Philippines, the agency used white ribbons, a local Christmas tradition, along with fireworks and ornaments displaying the country’s flag. And for Brazil, fireworks and ornaments decorated with the Brazilian flag.

During this testing period, there were no in-app events or paid user acquisition campaigns, allowing the performance changes to be directly attributed to the updated screenshots.

Thomas Kriebernegg, General Manager, SplitMetrics Agency, said: “Christmas is one of the main calendar events that app marketers need to prepare for, especially in the gaming category.

“The World of Warships: Legends case study is a great example of how seasonality can significantly impact your app’s performance and give you a boost in users. And this can be achieved without an advertising budget. It can all be done organically when you have the right calendar event, great graphics and A/B testing.

“As in the case of the Wargaming game, a comprehensive analysis and testing strategy increased its conversion rate by an average 15% across three markets.

“It is essential that app marketers forward-plan for any relevant calendar events. It’s also important to note that Christmas may not be relevant for every app but if you’re unsure you can always try A/B testing to see what works. And keep optimising.”

The post Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gaming

Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game

Published

1 week ago

November 5, 2024

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!

In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.

Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.

Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“

‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.

The post Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gaming

The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example

Published

2 weeks ago

October 30, 2024

George Miller

the-mobile-gaming-market-is-growing-and-attracting-new-companies.-gamivo-is-the-latest-example

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.

Back on course

The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.

The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.

Billions of players

Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.

“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.

One hobby, different habits

GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.

Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.

“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.

Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.

Entering the mobile market

Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.

“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.

“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.

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