Konami – the evolution of a jukebox

A lot of our readers will likely recognize the name Konami and associate it mainly with video games and early arcade games. So for many, it will probably come as a great surprise that Konami started out as a jukebox manufacturer. And it might surprise you even more to learn that today Konami is also a successful slot machine manufacturer.
 
We met with Matt Reback, Senior Director, Marketing for Konami Gaming Inc. at ICE2013 Totally Gaming trade show, and had an interesting talk about the history and the future of this legendary company.
 
2013 marks the 40^th anniversary for Konami, and as we already mentioned before, they started out as a jukebox rental and repair company and moved into the market of video games during the 80’s and 90’s.
 
The next step for them was entering the gaming and casino market, and that part of Konami’s business started out in Australia. By now Konami gaming has spread all over the world, with a significant part of the business located in the world gaming epicenter Las Vegas. Konami Gaming Inc. operates on the North American, Latin American and European markets.
 
The range of Konami products includes a selection of games and slot machines as well as sophisticated casino management systems, such as their flagship product Synkros.
 
Watch the full interview with Matt Reback, Senior Director, Marketing for Konami Gaming Inc
 

 
Konami has been growing fast during the last few years, and 2012 was a great year for them as they expanded their market share by sticking to their core principles. One of their slogans and a large part of their corporate identity is “Born from fun”, which has its roots in computer and arcade games, which are fun to play. This same mentality has now been transferred to their casino products.
 
Another very important part of their success is the reliability and durability of their products. Konami machines seldom break, and this kind of quality is particularly good during the times of economic recession, since all the casinos are looking for products which last and need no extra maintenance or repairs.
 
In 2012, Konami also launched their casino management system called Synkros. This product is based on reliable Oracle database and gives the casino management the tools needed to monitor and control the activity of their games as well as engage in direct marketing towards the players.
 
2013 will see Konami launch a new product called Selection, which is a slot machine that holds up to 10 different games in one cabinet. With Selection, the games can be loaded instantly according to the taste or mood of the player.