“ It ’ s all about content . We ’ re driving the company forward in both games and systems . We ’ re excited about where the company is today , and where we ’ re going to be in the short , mid and long term .”
— Tom Jingoli , Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer , Konami Gaming
“ We work well together . We don ’ t always agree , but the mission and the focus of the organization is driven by this team , and there ’ s a multitude of other people here that are in this organization who are committed to that activity .”
entertainment heritage , in the form of high-performing slots for U . S . casinos . Today , Konami is among an elite handful of top slot suppliers — not to mention one of the industry ’ s top suppliers of casino management systems with the SYNKROS system .
Kozuki , 83 , remains chairman of Konami Group Corp .— the top example of Konami ’ s reputation for stability in the C-suite , extending to Konami Gaming Inc ., which has itself been a hallmark of that leadership stability . President and CEO Steve Sutherland has been with Konami Gaming nearly 24 years , having started as senior vice president of sales in 2000 .
Similar long service can be found throughout the Konami Gaming C-suite . Tom Soukup , senior vice president and chief systems product officer , joined Konami in 2001 after a 20- year career in computer science . Gerard Crosby , senior VP and chief games product officer , joined that same year , and subsequently led the Australia-based game studio . Tom Jingoli , executive vice president and chief operating officer , joined the company in 2003 as director of compliance . Jay Bertsch , senior vice president and chief commercial officer , joined in 2006 , and came up through the sales ranks , particularly system sales .
This variety of backgrounds works well in the management team . “ To enter this market , it really requires a diverse group of people that are committed to the mission of success , and we all have a very diverse background ,” Sutherland says . “ We work well together . We don ’ t always agree , but the mission and the focus of the organization is driven by this team , and there ’ s a multitude of other people here that are in this organization who are committed to that activity .”
Just as important as the seasoned executive staff is Konami Gaming ’ s connection to sister companies Konami Amusement and Konami Digital Entertainment , and their respective gold mines of amusement-based intellectual property and technology .
“ Collaboration with Konami ’ s amusement and digital entertainment divisions has always been there , and we ’ ve benefited tremendously from the technology perspective , in such things as platforms and graphic engines ,” says Crosby . “ That ’ s a core of our business . We have a development studio in Japan , which is located near Yokohama . They ’ ve always had close ties to the amusement division ; many of our studio personnel comes from the
“ It ’ s all about content . We ’ re driving the company forward in both games and systems . We ’ re excited about where the company is today , and where we ’ re going to be in the short , mid and long term .”
— Tom Jingoli , Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer , Konami Gaming
“ We work well together . We don ’ t always agree , but the mission and the focus of the organization is driven by this team , and there ’ s a multitude of other people here that are in this organization who are committed to that activity .”
— Steve Sutherland , President and CEO , Konami Gaming
amusement division .”
“ It ’ s in our DNA ,” Jingoli comments on the amusement / arcade connection . “ That ’ s who we are , and that ’ s where we we ’ ve come from . If you look at some of the more successful products that we ’ ve created — Fortune Cup , which is still out there running , and Titan 360 on the hardware side — they took that amusement-style game and brought it into the gaming space . Also , we had games like Frogger and Silent Hill that were successful , and some of those are still successful in our iGaming space .”
“ Konami has the unique , rich history as a leading supplier of amusement games ,” says Crosby . “ All along , we ’ ve seen gaming games as no different than amusement games — they ’ re designed to entertain players , which is pretty much core to how we develop a game . So , to be able to tap into that expertise and the resources of Konami globally , as we ’ ve done since the start , has enabled us to focus on an entertainment-centric product , and I believe that ’ s where our successes come from .”
Sutherland adds that the generation that grew up with Konami arcade and console games is now entering the casino market with more discretionary income — another unique advantage for Konami Gaming .
The Common Threads
The entertainment connection has certainly led to many hit games for Konami — the highest-earning games , including the Stuffed Coins series , Dragons Law Fortune , All Aboard and more , have common threads not only in entertainment value , but in strong game mechanics , solid math and brand recognition .
“ Look at Dragons Law Fortune as an example ,” says Bertsch . “ It obviously has strong mechanics and great math . But it also has historical brand recognition with a lot of players who played it on the Podium cabinet line , and it ’ s a brand that we continue to weave into our new products .”
Key to keeping the brands fresh , he adds , is to preserve the familiar aspects and add the most popular game mechanics of the day , like metamorphic pots and hold-and-re-spin features .
“ It ’ s fun to take some of those products that were very successful in the Podium era , 10-15 years ago , and modernize them to bring them forward ,” Bertsch says .
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