THE FUTURE OF…
The future of… SLOTS
We continue our series, as Casino International Online asks industry experts to discuss the present state and future potential of their sectors. This month Matt Broughton talks to
slotsonline.co.uk’s David Newstead
S
lots have been around for over 150 years and remain one of the most accessible forms of gambling. They don’t require players to understand complicated betting strategies or optimum decision
pattens to get the most out of a game. All players have to do is hit a button and wait for the reels to spin. This doesn’t mean that top gaming development houses aren’t constantly pushing for new ideas, mechanisms and concepts within the world of slots. They are pushing a huge amount of investment into trying to come up with the next killer app that will define the future of slots. Gaming mega-companies like
bwin.party and IGT
are attempting to assault the social media gaming market with products like Slots Craze and the Double Down Casino, bringing Facebook fans play- money slot gaming. They’re trying to take advantage of current reports that suggest there is a high level of correlation between popular social media games like Farmville and Mafia Wars, and slot games. Slots Craze requires players to spend a set amount of time and free playing credits on specific machines in order to unlock access to bigger and better games, while the Double Down casino features many of IGT’s most popular titles including Wolf Run and Pixies of the Forest. This attempt may look like a futile errand to many.
People are incredibly internet savvy these days and due to the massive saturation of gambling advertising both on the web and via more conventional media channels, it’s unthinkable that any user of social media is unaware of online casino gaming. If people want to play slot games they can find these at numerous internet destinations, even if they’re looking to spin for free. The level of production available in many commercial games simply trumps that on offer from the titles on these social media platforms.
56 JUNE 2013 That’s not to say that slots manufacturers aren’t
developing techniques to bring players back to the reels of their slot machines time and time again. We’ve seen a notable rise in the amount of games that now pack unlockable content, including Playtech’s Sopranos, Microgaming’s Thunderstruck II and perhaps the king of the genre, IGT’s Monopoly Plus. All of these games require players to achieve certain game-play goals which in turn release bigger and better prizes and bonus mechanisms. This seems to be a far more effective method of sticking players to a game’s reels when compared with the effort required to try to tease an audience into a long-standing relationship with your slots through social media.
LOOKING GOOD
Without question the biggest advancements in the slot machine industry have been those that sit right in front of the player’s eyes. Net Entertainment’s Platinum Slot series - featuring titles like Gonzo’s Quest and Elements: The Awakening - are setting new standards with their fully-animated sprites and detailed, sumptuous backgrounds. The industry is also forming alliances with film studios – consider IGT’s Ghostbusters and Microgaming’s Battlestar Galactica. Both of these titles feature huge levels of high definition visual entertainment, backed with rich media animations and film clips. It’s no longer enough for a game to offer a good pay-table and a decent feature, slots these days have to appeal to players on an aesthetic level like never before. This has lead to some manufacturers trying to
create more and more immersive slot machines for their land-based customers. Take a look at the IGT’s casino slot machine The Dark Knight, which has been created to some of the highest standards this development house has ever known. It requires players to sit down cabinets akin to a Japanese multi-
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