Demetris and Peter Palexas opened a slots property in Miraflores, Lima called MardiGras in 2001. In the early 2000’s video slots just started being introduced into the gaming market in Peru. At the time, new gaming machine prices were quite high for the market that they were operating in. That’s why decided to start a small development company called Intervision Gaming in 2003. The brothers started with a team of four people and their team has grown to well over 100 employees.
What is the current structure of the company? How many employees and offices do you have?
Demetris Palexas: Our group of companies has evolved over the last 18 years. Our team consists of more than 100 in Peru who design and develop our content, software and hardware. Game Media Works has developed more than 300 games and multiple purpose platforms over the last 18 years. Our content is made available through the Intervision Gaming brand as well as the GMW brand. GMW promotes our content for online gaming and Intervision Gaming for slot machines. The new GMW slot machine brand is being distributed exclusively in the US with Media Delivery Systems.
After working for more than 18 years in the gaming industry, what are the main professional challenges that you have faced?
Peter Palexas: We have faced many challenges in this industry, too many to mention. Although highly regulated, our industry has been wrongfully discriminated by the financial sector in Peru. As a result, our customers rely on finance from the manufacturers. Being a small boutique gaming developer, it has been difficult to provide the market with the same competing terms offered by the bigger manufacturers. The manufacturing of slot machines is a very difficult business model especially as a startup. To start, it can take at least 6 months to place a single machine from the time of manufacture to placement. The high cost of holding inventory, high cost of research and development plus the expectations of providing manufacturer finance makes this a very difficult business model. Another very high-risk factor, that many people do not realize, is that if you develop a bad batch of non-performing games in any single year, this mistake could cost you your business and lifelong work. We have admittedly made these mistakes, luckily, we have survived to tell the tale. For these reasons, we are one of if not the only slot machine manufacturer born in Latin America that has survived this long.
How was the experience of creating a company between brothers? What are the principles and mission under which the company was founded?
DP: It has really been great. We get along and complement each other’s efforts. We both participate in the creation of the game content and product ideas. I am weighted more towards business development and Peter more towards technical development. We both cover a wide spectrum of responsibilities across multiple continents, which we wouldn’t have been able to do alone.
What interesting features do the new slots that you will be presenting in October bring?
PP: We are extremely excited about our new S5 model. This is our 4th generation platform which took 8 years of product and platform development. This is a monster machine that stands 9 feet tall. It uses a high-powered computer processor to drive the latest games and graphics. This platform is very versatile and configurable. Being operators of both online and offline products, we understand the needs of what a platform should provide to ensure the highest value and return on investment asset. The S5 is ergonomic with a very small floor footprint and boasts two 27” and a 47” monitor with excellent sound and play comfort. This platform will be able to provide single games with multi denominations and the ability to configure each denomination with a different RTP. This platform can run a single game or 50 games, all depending on our client’s needs and game pack configurations. Another great feature is the ability to run multiple progressive jackpots on the same platform. We have taken a completely different approach to gaming. We understand that players expect more from their favorite gaming device. They want choice, loading speed and a must offer a multi-layer of in game entertainment. Our S4 and S5 model provides all these features.
On your website there is a timeline on the development of cabinets and the evolution of slots. What have been the main innovations that you have incorporated into your slots throughout your history? How has the company innovated your jackpot systems?
DP: The S4 and S5 model is currently running with our 4th generation platform. This is a culmination of 18 years of research and development. We have taken note of all the practical requirements needed by operators from their games in order to achieve maximum performance. Our 4th generation platform is an operators dream. We believe that it is by far the best platform on the market at the moment. These are just some of the innovative features it offers: 1 to 50 game configurations, multiple jackpots linked to multiple devices, RTP setting per total bet and by denomination, game loading speed, and high-capacity features. These are just some of the many features that allow the casino to configure an unlimited combination of games and jackpots. When we developed our 4th generation platform, we developed it with a macro approach to the gaming floor. This will allow an operator to configure 100 machines in a varied of ways down to the single game configuration that is guaranteed to ensure an excellent experience for a player from the moment they set foot on the gaming floor.
What design concepts do you take into account when developing your cabinets?
PP: There are many factors that one needs to consider when developing a new cabinet. The most important is the players experience when sitting down at the cabinet. We need to take all the needs of a player to ensure that our cabinet is player friendly and comfortable and provides the best experience for the time spent playing our games. The second priority is to ensure that the cabinet is operator friendly: easy to service and security compliant. Ensuring that it meets all the required set standards. Finally, quality and durability of all the parts to ensure that the machine will last for years with minimum service and parts replacement.
Gamblers these days not only want to gamble, but they are also very interested in entertainment. What challenge does that thought pose to the world of games? How do you satisfy that demand?
DP: Many manufacturers make the error of chasing the latest trending game bells and whistles, whilst this might be appealing to the operator always looking for the most innovative game it does not necessarily translate into high returns. Our philosophy is different, we are after creating games that players love to play. Players are looking to have fun and relax. The game math must offer the right combination of volatility whilst still providing time on device. Creating a top 5 casino floor game is comparable to creating a top 5 music charts pop song, it is an art, there are basic rules and guidelines that could help but ultimately the combination of all the pieces and how the game creation comes together will determine the success of the game. Our success is a culmination of more than 300 games developed over 18 years. Our practice is what makes our games perfect today. We have had success as well as many failures and this combination has resulted in our games been able to compete against the deepest of pocket manufacturers and developers the world over.
Are you working on developing online games for mobile devices?
PP: Our game content company Game Media Works has developed the latest HTML games. We boast almost 100 games and at least 40 are available in 17 languages. The same great progressive jackpots are applied online for both native and HTML applications.
What are the company’s main projects for the second half of the year? And for 2022?
DP: We are expanding our team in Peru to increase the development of games for our slot machines, we have a massive library of proven games from our online platforms that we need to build onto our 4th generation slot machine platform. We are rushing to complete our UK and Spain iterations for early 2022. We are striving to complete our class 2 platform for the US market.
What are the main opportunities that you are seeing for the land-based market? With the land-based gaming market number recovering in the last months, what are your expectations for the industry?
PP: Numbers don’t lie. Our 4th generation slot machine platform has shown excellent performance in Canada, Peru, Mexico and the US. We are rushing to grow our footprint in all countries. Since we are a boutique company, our inventory is very limited. So, we will prioritize our games for the customers that have most supported us during the years.
Are you planning to attend this year’s edition of G2E?
DP: Yes, we are attending G2E and having a launch event for our S5 platform on 5th of October for all our customers. A great excuse to catch up and have a little fun. I believe that we will get back to the way things were. It doesn’t matter how many Zoom meetings one has, there is nothing like a meeting in person. We are human after all and a social animal.
