In 1981, Australian folk musician John Williamson wrote an award-winning song titled “True Blue.” The song describes the Aussie ideals of “a fair go for all, mateship ... and solving problems.” This song seems quite fitting for native Australian Kent Young, who until recently was probably best known as the smiling and youthful face of Aristocrat. In 2007, Young left Aristrocrat to found his own company, appropriately named True Blue Gaming.
Young, a 39-year-old native Australian, was born at a young age. Although he was a healthy, bouncing baby boy, he was unable to walk for almost a year. Today he walks all over the world, focusing on a global aspect of gaming. And, yes, he still has his own teeth. Young, his wife Christina, and his stepson Jackson live in the beautiful community of Truckee, Calif., a 30-minute drive from his office in Reno.
He enjoys the outdoors, especially skiing, hiking, cross-country skiing, fishing and surfing—although Reno isn’t exactly known as a surfing Mecca. Young went through a big lifestyle change when he left Aristocrat and moved to his current location. “It’s a nice place to bring up a son and enjoy the outdoor life,” he said. Traveling, however, does take its toll, with a 14-hour flight to Australia. When possible, he takes his family with him and enjoys family travel at least once a year.
With more than 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, Young has made quite a name for himself, with an impressive list of accomplishments. He started his career in 1987 as a sub-assistant manager for the Cronulla Leagues Club Ltd., working in casino operations. Three years later he accepted the position of general manager of the Southport Leagues Club, charged with running the club. One of his earliest memories would mold the direction of his career in particular and the industry in general. “I entered the industry in Australia just as video was coming into the market. I remember being astounded by the speed of migration, from mechanical reel, which was all but gone in the Australian market within five years,” he recalls.
In 1992, Young temporarily left the gaming industry to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce degree in strategic management from James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. Young has certainly put his degree to good use.
His career with Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. began in 1996 when he was selected for a position in sales for the New South Wales (NSW) region of Australia. This was the beginning of a successful and dynamic career that would see him work through all of the functions of the company. When the NSW hotel segment opened up, Young was there. It wasn’t long until he was promoted to director of marketing for NSW, in 1998, then to director of marketing for Aristocrat USA in 2000. Young worked diligently as Aristocrat USA obtained its Nevada gaming license, in August 2000. There was a research and development lab in Tucson, Ariz., where Young was assigned as vice president of R&D in 2001. During this time Aristocrat acquired Casino Data Systems (CDS) and Young was further promoted to vice president of marketing, also in 2001.
During his tenure with Aristocrat, the company saw many changes. Given the responsibility to drive business in the United States, Young made a far more reaching impact. These changes had a tremendous impact outside of the company and have shaped the overall industry. This was perhaps Young’s greatest challenge. “There was a lot of push-back in marketing in the early days. A lot of people thought we were crazy. They said that the train theme of Hyperlink wouldn’t work. They said that the royal theme wouldn’t work,” he said. “We stuck to our guns, and they did work. Everyone said, ‘You are going in the wrong direction.’ We were going in the right direction. If you have a strategy you think will work, stick to it!” Apparently Young’s gaming experience and strategic management degree do work.
Young’s tenure saw a lot of new technology and innovation introduced, including Australian “pokie” slots, which were virtually unknown in North America at the time—with the differences in culture, there was uncertainty whether they would work. The introduction of pokies to North America has definitely molded the entire shape of the video gaming market. Today they are the accepted norm, the base product. Young recalls the introduction of the video slots into North America: “I think, without question, Australian style slots were driven by Aristocrat with great success. Generally the market has tended to follow and has adopted somewhat of a ‘me too’ strategy, although as of late we have seen a lot of creative innovation coming from other manufacturers in the market. There is definitely a new era emerging, and I believe those who invest strategically will become the new generation of pioneers.”
About the same time, IGT was introducing numerous licensed products, and WMS Gaming was coming up with a series of games that were less volatile. Young was busy driving penny slots onto the floor. These low-denomination slots featured high volatility. At a time when nickel and dime slot machines had all but disappeared, it seemed to be a complete turnaround to introduce lower denomination games. “Seven years ago I was one of the first few individuals on the ground in the United States, breaking into the market for what is now the second largest slot manufacturer in the world. I recall trying to convince operators and the industry that penny slots were the way of the future. That challenge was, of course, second to marriage!” he remarked.
The multi-level linked progressive Hyperlink games soon came online and were the first to offer a million dollar jackpot on a penny game. A major focus was the creation of a brand with which the end-user could identify. Mr. Cashman and ReelPower were introduced, and the market responded. Aristocrat experienced tremendous growth, with market share rising from 2 percent to 11 percent.
In 2006, Young became the global general manager for Aristocrat, dealing with all jurisdictions and driving product and marketing strategy.
The journey was not all smooth sailing, of course, with many challenges. Young had an excellent grasp on the Australian market, but the U.S. market was considerably different. Coming from a not-for-profit industry, where the profit from the clubs went back into the community, the North American industry had an entirely different philosophy. And the products and customers were considerably different. Just obtaining a Nevada gaming license was a major challenge. This may have meant missing out on some other areas, such as TITO. Aristocrat received approval for this, but it came right at the end of the buying cycle. Aristocrat had struggled to gain a foothold into the U.S. market, but hard work and perseverance did pay off. It took time, too, before they would get everything right.
But Young’s foresight and true blue attitude kept him focused on the positive and gaining forward momentum. The acquisition of CDS, for example, brought tremendous talent and experience into the systems area, soon after it entered the U.S. market. This strategic move allowed Aristocrat to acquire relationships in the market and to gain insight into getting products approved properly. Young seems to possess a great philosophy—while he can do so much himself, he surrounds himself with knowledgeable, experienced people who can accentuate and expedite his goals.
Success hasn’t changed Young’s modesty. He spends more time talking about his associates and family than he does about himself. And he’s gained tremendous respect from those he has worked with. Sean Evans, Aristocrat’s senior vice president of sales, describes Young as “the best slot industry marketer the industry has seen and the pioneer in bringing the low denomination slot boom to the U.S.A.”
True Blue Gaming was formed to provide third party content. It’s a niche with a valuable role today, assured to become very significant in the future. Young’s vision is global and his strategy is in the premium segment. True Blue Gaming won’t be providing high volume, instead opting for premium, high-end quality. The package will include assets, graphics, sound, math, content and intellectual property (IP), with IP being a cornerstone of the business. Its core competency is the overall package of the products. It has math competencies and extensive marketing know-how.
In order to succeed, a company needs to understand where the market is and where it’s going, then develop products accordingly. True Blue Gaming certainly fits this bill. It currently employees seven people with a contracted network supporting them. Research and development is performed in a studio in Sydney, with a second studio scheduled to open in Nevada by the end of 2008. The Sydney studio is run by Scott Olive, a partner and chief development officer. Olive has worked in the industry for 15 years, five in operations and 10 with Aristocrat. His last role was that of senior games designer, and he holds 20 patents. He is instrumental in the content perspective and has significant experience.
Content continues to be a key value driver on the casino floor. Game lifecycles are getting shorter while content demand is increasing. There is much more demand for individual content. As manufacturers begin to shift toward third party content providers, True Blue Gaming is in an excellent position. It can set itself apart from many other content providers with its global experience and contacts in the industry. “We are more agile,” Young said. “We think outside the box and are not caught up in bureaucracy. I see technology changing significantly, which will allow more content-based solutions in the future.”
And, like Aristocrat, it will likely take time for True Blue to get everything right. “Third party developers will enable agility, innovation and a focus that I believe will be in significant demand in years to come,” Young said. “There are definitely challenges in working with large manufacturers; however, those who embrace it and see third party content as complementary will definitely reap the benefits. True Blue is positioned as a premium content provider that develops high-end products, focusing on performance above all else.”
The company is focused on video reel content, not on mechanical, Poker or Keno. “Video content is becoming more and more important, especially when we consider server-based,” Young said. “The means of distributing content is widening—it’s not just standalone.”
What about the future? Young says: “Like most, I see Asia as a very important long-term strategic sector, Europe having pockets of growth, and the Australian market continuing to retract. We will look to Asia and the United States as the markets that will drive innovation due to historically mature markets losing the edge because of regulatory constraints.”
Globally, the casino floor of the future is certainly going to be fundamentally different from the floor of today. There will be many factors driving this change, such as open architecture networking, which will allow newer content and technology to be introduced.
John Wilson is the Owner of ICS Gaming, providing slot consulting services and game design. He has designed several slot games in both Class II and Class III makrets. He can be reached at jwilson@icsgaming.com.
Comments
Post new comment