Let's hope the CFO doesn't become permanent in the role, otherwise their games could get even tighter. The last thing we need is an accountant in charge
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NetEnt sack CEO
- Thread starter trancemonkey
- Start date
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- Tags
- netent netent review
Oh yeah! Netent Slots are reviewed at Casinomeister - to include their associated casinos! Woo woo!
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2014
- Location
- Glasgow and Home - N Ireland
Let's hope the CFO doesn't become permanent in the role, otherwise their games could get even tighter. The last thing we need is an accountant in charge
Unless he’s a creative one.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2012
- Location
- Londonia
- Joined
- May 22, 2012
As Trancemonkey said there won't be overnight changes as 12-18 months for slot development - I think the real market and business issue is as follows:
My Open Letter To Netentertainment:
Netent have market saturation; nearly every multiplatform casino offers their slots, hell even the rogue Alpha Interactives have them (if genuine). This means that new customers are proportionally far harder to come by than when they were a fledgling company offering at the time in 2012-14 very original and varied games that were on the whole decent slots. Therefore most of their growth has to be garnered from existing customer bases which means as most of them are multi-provider sites that Netent has to maintain its play percentage at those sites.
This clearly isn't occurring as those sites are adding extra developers almost daily such as Red Tiger, Pariplay, Merkur, Yggdrasil, Thunderkick, Play'n Go, Pragmatic Play, Iron Dog, Genii, Quickspin, Playson and Leander alongside the established 'big boys' already there like MG, IGT and WMS/SG. Now sorry for that long list (which I could add another 20 developers to) but it was necessary to put perspective on how hard Netent need to fight for their share of the spoils. Remember the developer gets a tiny percentage of every spin played through their slots and the casino's revenues don't necessarily rise pro-rata to the amount of games they offer. This means each individual game is fighting for an increasingly limited share of this pool.
This is where developers like BTG have made such a killing - working hard on very few games which are highly inventive and attractive to players and as I pointed out earlier I did hear officially ( I cannot name the casinos as agreed) but more than one told me at LAC that BTG were getting 15-25% of their player deposits and activity with just a select few games. This won't just affect Netent per se but the other smaller developers have far bigger scope to get into casinos where they don't yet have a presence and can grow that way - Netent cannot as they are usually there already.
So how do they retake this lost revenue? Quite simply by making depositors want to play their games, which means a huge shake-up in development. I ain't a slots developer but I have a very good idea of what they need to do from a customer/product perspective.
They need to first identify their most popular games and focus on rehashing those instead of dismal old copies/variations of the tired old 400x math model slots. Why not a South Park copy in a new graphic design? Why not a High Volatility Twin Spin or a 6-reel version capable of paying thousands x stake but with a gentle base game mechanic like Bonanza. This is where they went wrong with Jungle Spirit IMO; great feature set-up and choice and big-win potential in the base game but too many ridiculously long dead non-winning spins in the base game that absolutely rogered your balance, possibly due to the inclusion of the 'Bullshit Butterflies' that stupidly predictable random feature which is clearly responsible for the base game being so bad - get rid!
Don't be afraid to copy proven classics such as Rhino and Book Of Ra and Thunderstruck 2 - over 30 developers have a version of BoRD on my data, about 20 have a version of Buffalo/Thunderhorn and RTG and Genesis have good versions of TS2 with Asgard and Olympus respectively. Playtech, Thunderkick and Pragmatic Play have successful takes on the Rapist with Buffalo Blitz, Pink Elephants and Jurassic Giants respectively! Thunderkick used BoR as a basis for their popular Falcon Huntress. And the ultimate piss-take was obviously Play'n Go making a huge hit with a shameless copy of BoRD which even won slot of 2016 in my CM poll!
Ditch these stale old 400x glossily art-worked games and their tired near-copies and bring us some EXCITEMENT! Look at Play'n Go with 4-fugure potential in most of their new editions, or 5000x in their cascade slots. Look how they appear frequently in CM Winner Screenshots and then count how many modern Netents are in them??? Personally I remember some great Netents such as original Twin Spin, Egg-o-Matic, The Turd, DoA, Rockets, Big Bang and even Wonky Wabbits and Wild Water were popular along with Dazzle Me - what do they have in common? BIG WIN POTENTIAL, NETENT!!! Not dreadful maxima of 2-400x. You have a great interface on your slots with all the settings a player needs of game speed, autoplay, loss-limits, graphics quality etc. but at the moment it's like going to an Art Gallery and looking at a wonderful, intricately crafted and gilded frame with a fucking crap painting inside it!
So give slot reviewers like myself a reason to come back to Netent games rather than playing the original older classics when we do actually play them for real money with our deposits! I repeat, look at the screenshots and winner videos here and see how many are of recent releases, such as your Phantom Of The Opera duo - yep! bugger-all compared to other developers. Yes, some of your recent ones have showed a little initiative such as Slide And Roll (the retro-themed one) and Planet Of The Apes but these are buried under the dross. Remember Microgaming can churn out shite and to a lesser extent Playtech but they have bespoke casino contracts and exclusive platforms to guarantee their presence such as Viper or the Playtech client at casinos like Omni, as well as having all the big bookmaker casinos such as Paddy Power, Boyle, Will Hill and Ladbrokes sewn up - you Netent, do not have this luxury so you cannot get away with too much rubbish!
So I am offering my consultancy services to you. I'll meet you once in Stockholm then work with you from video-link from home, say 80 hours per month in an advisory role. 5000euros per month should cover it on a 24-month contract, but keep half back until the end which only gets paid me if your turnover has increased 15% or more in monetary terms by the end of the 2 years. If it has, you pay the 24x2500euros at termination of the 2 years, if not I get nothing.
This may sound abrupt and quite bold, but fuck-me! if I can't get you doing better than now, all hope is lost.
My Open Letter To Netentertainment:
Netent have market saturation; nearly every multiplatform casino offers their slots, hell even the rogue Alpha Interactives have them (if genuine). This means that new customers are proportionally far harder to come by than when they were a fledgling company offering at the time in 2012-14 very original and varied games that were on the whole decent slots. Therefore most of their growth has to be garnered from existing customer bases which means as most of them are multi-provider sites that Netent has to maintain its play percentage at those sites.
This clearly isn't occurring as those sites are adding extra developers almost daily such as Red Tiger, Pariplay, Merkur, Yggdrasil, Thunderkick, Play'n Go, Pragmatic Play, Iron Dog, Genii, Quickspin, Playson and Leander alongside the established 'big boys' already there like MG, IGT and WMS/SG. Now sorry for that long list (which I could add another 20 developers to) but it was necessary to put perspective on how hard Netent need to fight for their share of the spoils. Remember the developer gets a tiny percentage of every spin played through their slots and the casino's revenues don't necessarily rise pro-rata to the amount of games they offer. This means each individual game is fighting for an increasingly limited share of this pool.
This is where developers like BTG have made such a killing - working hard on very few games which are highly inventive and attractive to players and as I pointed out earlier I did hear officially ( I cannot name the casinos as agreed) but more than one told me at LAC that BTG were getting 15-25% of their player deposits and activity with just a select few games. This won't just affect Netent per se but the other smaller developers have far bigger scope to get into casinos where they don't yet have a presence and can grow that way - Netent cannot as they are usually there already.
So how do they retake this lost revenue? Quite simply by making depositors want to play their games, which means a huge shake-up in development. I ain't a slots developer but I have a very good idea of what they need to do from a customer/product perspective.
They need to first identify their most popular games and focus on rehashing those instead of dismal old copies/variations of the tired old 400x math model slots. Why not a South Park copy in a new graphic design? Why not a High Volatility Twin Spin or a 6-reel version capable of paying thousands x stake but with a gentle base game mechanic like Bonanza. This is where they went wrong with Jungle Spirit IMO; great feature set-up and choice and big-win potential in the base game but too many ridiculously long dead non-winning spins in the base game that absolutely rogered your balance, possibly due to the inclusion of the 'Bullshit Butterflies' that stupidly predictable random feature which is clearly responsible for the base game being so bad - get rid!
Don't be afraid to copy proven classics such as Rhino and Book Of Ra and Thunderstruck 2 - over 30 developers have a version of BoRD on my data, about 20 have a version of Buffalo/Thunderhorn and RTG and Genesis have good versions of TS2 with Asgard and Olympus respectively. Playtech, Thunderkick and Pragmatic Play have successful takes on the Rapist with Buffalo Blitz, Pink Elephants and Jurassic Giants respectively! Thunderkick used BoR as a basis for their popular Falcon Huntress. And the ultimate piss-take was obviously Play'n Go making a huge hit with a shameless copy of BoRD which even won slot of 2016 in my CM poll!
Ditch these stale old 400x glossily art-worked games and their tired near-copies and bring us some EXCITEMENT! Look at Play'n Go with 4-fugure potential in most of their new editions, or 5000x in their cascade slots. Look how they appear frequently in CM Winner Screenshots and then count how many modern Netents are in them??? Personally I remember some great Netents such as original Twin Spin, Egg-o-Matic, The Turd, DoA, Rockets, Big Bang and even Wonky Wabbits and Wild Water were popular along with Dazzle Me - what do they have in common? BIG WIN POTENTIAL, NETENT!!! Not dreadful maxima of 2-400x. You have a great interface on your slots with all the settings a player needs of game speed, autoplay, loss-limits, graphics quality etc. but at the moment it's like going to an Art Gallery and looking at a wonderful, intricately crafted and gilded frame with a fucking crap painting inside it!
So give slot reviewers like myself a reason to come back to Netent games rather than playing the original older classics when we do actually play them for real money with our deposits! I repeat, look at the screenshots and winner videos here and see how many are of recent releases, such as your Phantom Of The Opera duo - yep! bugger-all compared to other developers. Yes, some of your recent ones have showed a little initiative such as Slide And Roll (the retro-themed one) and Planet Of The Apes but these are buried under the dross. Remember Microgaming can churn out shite and to a lesser extent Playtech but they have bespoke casino contracts and exclusive platforms to guarantee their presence such as Viper or the Playtech client at casinos like Omni, as well as having all the big bookmaker casinos such as Paddy Power, Boyle, Will Hill and Ladbrokes sewn up - you Netent, do not have this luxury so you cannot get away with too much rubbish!
So I am offering my consultancy services to you. I'll meet you once in Stockholm then work with you from video-link from home, say 80 hours per month in an advisory role. 5000euros per month should cover it on a 24-month contract, but keep half back until the end which only gets paid me if your turnover has increased 15% or more in monetary terms by the end of the 2 years. If it has, you pay the 24x2500euros at termination of the 2 years, if not I get nothing.
This may sound abrupt and quite bold, but fuck-me! if I can't get you doing better than now, all hope is lost.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2012
- Location
- Londonia
I am starting to think you were being serious in that last part. I suspect there may be a half-truth in there
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2012
- Location
- Scotland
Dunover for CEO!
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2013
- Location
- Belfast
Which will be promptly turned into 120,000 euros playing Bonanza at Cash-ooooooo-mo
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2015
- Location
- Near Newcastle
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2013
- Location
- United Kingdom
5000 a month? That's cheap mate - you should be asking for a lot more than that. I would ask for 10% of the revenue increase i could get them over a 24 month period.
In fact, we should team up
Although bear in mind, if you do start working for anyone, instantly you'll find out how we don't compensate or rig anything... and then the tin-foil hatters will be after you like they are after me.I have to say, all joking aside, that this is a very good post. I would have to say that to some extent i disagree - but only very slightly. There doesn't HAVE to be massive potential in a game for it to be good. You don't HAVE to have the ability to win 5000x for the game to do well. Games do exist that perform well that just have damn good maths, pay out good wins often enough that the players are excited, have some potential (maybe only up to 500x) but have a really good ride.
We can’t base the Maths for every game on streamers... of course they only show the big wins. If I watch CasinoGrounds weekly round up it’s the same 10 Games every week - but they are not all blockbusters like Bonanza.
The problem NetEnt have with a lot of their games now is their maths doesn't really seem to cater to anyone any more. They don't have the really big win potential, and more importantly they don't even have reasonable win potential - the 400x seems almost impossible. As impossible as 2000x is on a BTG game. So if you play a game and you believe that the limit is 100x (and there are successful games where it's very very hard to get more than 100x) you need to deliver the good wins (50x - 100x) with a reasonable frequency. And for me, NetEnt fail at doing this too.
Couple that with some shocking decisions about licences, game designs, the awful Twin Spin Deluxe, etc.. and you can see exactly why they have got worse.
You see, as a player you'll all know it's about belief. On Bonanza there is a belief that the 1000x feature (or more) could happen to you - because you've seen and heard of it happening. You know it's rare, but it could happen. So you play it. In the same way, if there was a game that you played where you felt that it was possible to get multiple 100x wins close together, you might still play it - the outcome (1 x 1000x vs 10 x 100x) is still desirable. Yes they don't feel exactly the same, but it's still good - and games can be and are successful that work in both ways.
I think NetEnt have way too much RTP in the low, dribble wins. Certainly in the range below 5x. And you just don't need these - the days of high hit frequency, low average win games seems to be behind us for the moment.
The other thing to note is that, regardless of what BTG might say, they cannot have patented the way they are doing games like Bonanza in the EU, or in fact most countries in the world, so why don't NetEnt look at doing something along the same lines? Ok, it might take a while and maybe in 12+ months time that boat might have sailed, but there are still many other mechanics you could try with the "megaways" functionality (although you can't call it Megaways).
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 22, 2012
5000 a month? That's cheap mate - you should be asking for a lot more than that. I would ask for 10% of the revenue increase i could get them over a 24 month period.
In fact, we should team up
I have to say, all joking aside, that this is a very good post. I would have to say that to some extent i disagree - but only very slightly. There doesn't HAVE to be massive potential in a game for it to be good. You don't HAVE to have the ability to win 5000x for the game to do well. Games do exist that perform well that just have damn good maths, pay out good wins often enough that the players are excited, have some potential (maybe only up to 500x) but have a really good ride.
We can’t base the Maths for every game on streamers... of course they only show the big wins. If I watch CasinoGrounds weekly round up it’s the same 10 Games every week - but they are not all blockbusters like Bonanza.
The problem NetEnt have with a lot of their games now is their maths doesn't really seem to cater to anyone any more. They don't have the really big win potential, and more importantly they don't even have reasonable win potential - the 400x seems almost impossible. As impossible as 2000x is on a BTG game. So if you play a game and you believe that the limit is 100x (and there are successful games where it's very very hard to get more than 100x) you need to deliver the good wins (50x - 100x) with a reasonable frequency. And for me, NetEnt fail at doing this too.
Couple that with some shocking decisions about licences, game designs, the awful Twin Spin Deluxe, etc.. and you can see exactly why they have got worse.
You see, as a player you'll all know it's about belief. On Bonanza there is a belief that the 1000x feature (or more) could happen to you - because you've seen and heard of it happening. You know it's rare, but it could happen. So you play it. In the same way, if there was a game that you played where you felt that it was possible to get multiple 100x wins close together, you might still play it - the outcome (1 x 1000x vs 10 x 100x) is still desirable. Yes they don't feel exactly the same, but it's still good - and games can be and are successful that work in both ways.
I think NetEnt have way too much RTP in the low, dribble wins. Certainly in the range below 5x. And you just don't need these - the days of high hit frequency, low average win games seems to be behind us for the moment.
The other thing to note is that, regardless of what BTG might say, they cannot have patented the way they are doing games like Bonanza in the EU, or in fact most countries in the world, so why don't NetEnt look at doing something along the same lines? Ok, it might take a while and maybe in 12+ months time that boat might have sailed, but there are still many other mechanics you could try with the "megaways" functionality (although you can't call it Megaways).
Yes, my message again there - they shouldn't be afraid to look to others for inspiration, needs must! Quite often the cover version is far better than the original (Hendrix's version of Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' for example.) Again, as you said it's the BELIEF that big wins can be had that make a game exciting, even if they fail to materialize so as soon as I see a new Netent and check out the pay tables, that hope is dashed before I take the first spin. Check out Play'n Go - they know this as you can tell, hence they always splatter 'WIN UP TO 5000x BET' over their new games. In fact you'll see further evidence of this in an hour or so when the latest PNG slot goes up on my video reviews.
I'm sure you'd do a tremendous job because you were one of those who knew what was wrong with their slots from the start (the Netent variance). It takes a slot player to make a good slot IMO and from the look of it, NetEnt must have hired video game players and sneaky mathematicians to build their slot engines.
Slot players don't just want entertainment, they want to feel like they have a chance to cashout. NetEnt failed to address the last part.
i want this company to fail Big Time, the insulting scam program 'pay-per-view animations' has finally worn out with the player base and they voted with their spade. surprisingly it took this far after releasing rubbish for years. i think some of ex notent staff was hired by novomatic, the latest online releases are unbelievable bad with the same ~x400 maximum win, teasing ramdon features and eating the money like old novos but with no big win potential, and is not a slot or two, all new releases for at least a year are following the same pattern which is worrying. i wish they would import more slots from their machines in online. i see that people want notent to succeed and get back on track basically forgiving them for siding with the casinos for years(has any notent based casino failed in the business?). for its contempt to its player base, i want to see them struggle and turn to videogames to create the much beloved eye candy animations than fooling gamblers to pay for them.
SlotGrinder
Dormant Account
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2016
- Location
- England
Do you remember Max Damage and The Alien Attack ? Not the slot but the one that was like a video game ? Maybe that game wasn't so great but tbh they screwed up because they made it random to the point where it didn't actually matter what you did or where you progressed to. But people like playing reactoonz and eventually getting gargatoon so players are willing to "invest" for that big hit . So I'm surprised there's not more ambitious videogame style slots where progression actually matters . Like you have to travel through a land by collecting scatters/wins or w/e and then you reach the castle and fight the dragon for a big win then you start stage 2 you are in a forest and have to work your way through advancing from hitting certain wins/scatters until you reach the troll and get 10 freespins with a multiplier and a big bonus if you collect 10 scatters in the fs to kill the troll or some crap 
. I mean something with genuine progression and variety . Slots seems so simple and basic I wonder how they take longer than a couple of hours to make ?!?
. I mean something with genuine progression and variety . Slots seems so simple and basic I wonder how they take longer than a couple of hours to make ?!?It's really all about having a chance to hit a win big enough to cash out. What most popular slots have in common is they give wins of lets say 300 times stake or higher fairly regularly and usually with a chance for a lot bigger wins. Most Netent slots just don't do that. Even if they can give those kinds of wins, they are far too rare and too much of the rtp is in smaller wins. Sure if you bet high enough even a lower win will be enough to cash out, but I think most people prefer betting lower to get more playtime and they still need to feel there is a chance to win. When the highest 'realistic' win on a game is 100-150x, it's just not going to be enough most of the time.
Looking through the screenshot thread for March, there are screenshots from pretty much every provider of good wins of several hundred times stake, for Netent the only game reaching that high is Dead or Alive and one very rare 300x hit on Wonky Wabbits.
Looking through the screenshot thread for March, there are screenshots from pretty much every provider of good wins of several hundred times stake, for Netent the only game reaching that high is Dead or Alive and one very rare 300x hit on Wonky Wabbits.
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2014
- Location
- Glasgow and Home - N Ireland
Different people will want different things but the one thing they all have in common is the want/desire/hope to win big. Few netents have that.
Iv yet to meet anyone who solely plays a slot for the music.
Iv yet to meet anyone who solely plays a slot for the music.
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2008
- Location
- midlands
Just looking at a few recent rotten tomatoes,
Shangri La , why on earth give sticky wilds in the free spins then take them off again,annoying or what?
Planet of the apes,what a waste of a good franchise, reasonable game idea but sooo controlled.Awful maths.
Vomit inducing Wolf Cub,base game awful, feature even worse.
At one time they could have got away with shit like this but there are so many talented game producers out there,they
need a massive re think.
Compare these games with Reactoonz for example, fantastic game,bloody teasing swine but delivers massive wins
with examples all over youtube.
Wish I was a little younger and more motivated, I would be bidding against dunover offering my services,
not blowing my own trumpet, but after 25 years of game development and about the same playing online
I would be able to contribute a lot if they were willing to listen.
Shangri La , why on earth give sticky wilds in the free spins then take them off again,annoying or what?
Planet of the apes,what a waste of a good franchise, reasonable game idea but sooo controlled.Awful maths.
Vomit inducing Wolf Cub,base game awful, feature even worse.
At one time they could have got away with shit like this but there are so many talented game producers out there,they
need a massive re think.
Compare these games with Reactoonz for example, fantastic game,bloody teasing swine but delivers massive wins
with examples all over youtube.
Wish I was a little younger and more motivated, I would be bidding against dunover offering my services,
not blowing my own trumpet, but after 25 years of game development and about the same playing online
I would be able to contribute a lot if they were willing to listen.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2012
- Location
- Londonia
I remember when Netent didn't focus on just flashy visuals and actually made good games. Their games looked 'good' but not outstanding, but they definitely had a distinct charm to them.
So a healthy mix of win potential and good presentation. Then they abandoned the former and focussed solely on graphics, which incidentally backfired due to their strange post- Dracula crayon style, probably in no small part down to most of their staff leaving.
One need only see how turgid DOA looked, yet it managed to be the greatest slot probably ever devised. That's the benchmark and focal point they need to go back to, all the while finding a way to move forward with the times and making something to rival BTG's runaway success.....
So a healthy mix of win potential and good presentation. Then they abandoned the former and focussed solely on graphics, which incidentally backfired due to their strange post- Dracula crayon style, probably in no small part down to most of their staff leaving.
One need only see how turgid DOA looked, yet it managed to be the greatest slot probably ever devised. That's the benchmark and focal point they need to go back to, all the while finding a way to move forward with the times and making something to rival BTG's runaway success.....
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2013
- Location
- Belfast
Yes indeed. At the end of the day, good gameplay (substance) should - actually, no - it MUST be prioritised over good asthetics and acoustics (style).
And the once great MG proved that you could get all three elements right in the same game (Dark Knight and IR being prime examples).
Netent have turned their noses up at this player-friendly notion. Jungle Spirit is IMO the only decent slot they have made in the last 3 years, and even that has its flaws (eg BSB almost certainly meaning a win that is a multiple of 4.5x, and likely capped at 81x.)
For me, the final nail in the coffin was Twin Spin Deluxe. Netent SHOULD have created a worthy sequel, but BTG had beaten them to it long before that when they created Queen Of Riches, a game that REALLY delivers the kind of jaw-dropping wins that even Bonanza and DHV can't match.
The former giants of this industry thought they could just rest on their laurels and let their reputation do the talking.
It seems now though, that they are finding out (to their cost) that players are beginning to ask that difficult question.....
"What have you done for me lately?"
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2006
- Location
- Isle of Man, Macau or Vegas
And another one goes...
"During my two board tenures I have been part of the board of NetEnt for a total of 15 years, 11 of which as chairman,” said Carlund. “Due to personal reasons not related to the company, I have now decided to leave the board."
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..."During my two board tenures I have been part of the board of NetEnt for a total of 15 years, 11 of which as chairman,” said Carlund. “Due to personal reasons not related to the company, I have now decided to leave the board."
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- Joined
- Dec 9, 2012
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Love that line of bull (Footballs the same) easier just to say Leave now and keep half benifits or be sacked and get sod all
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