Once upon a time, casino floors had a very traditional feel. One-armed bandits and money wheels were the order of the day, along with long-standing table games. Wind the clock forward to the present day and land-based casinos are on the verge of looking something like a video game arcade. That’s largely because the demographics of casino floors are changing. Casinos are looking to attract more millennials into their buildings and to do so, they are using video game franchises and other skills-based games to entice youngsters to sit down at a casino.
If you’re not au fait with the concept of land-based and online video slots, go to slotsexpert.com to find out more about these virtual, on-screen representations of traditional slot machine reels. Digital slot machines are designed to make the slot gaming process more fun and engaging, particularly for the next generation of casino goers. With video gaming still a popular pastime among millennials, casinos have had to take action and fast. According to statista.com, the value of the U.S. video gaming market was $17.69bn in 2016, with the global video games industry valued at $75bn.
It’s therefore little surprise that the land-based casino and iGaming industries have sought to develop video slots based on the biggest and best video game franchises in the world. The addition of virtual graphics on the reels of video slots has enabled developers to incorporate themed symbols, icons and even in-game bonus features, based on popular video games and video game characters.
The first-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty has enjoyed immense success, becoming the fourth-best-selling video game franchise of all time, selling over 275 million copies. A press release on businesswire.com in early 2016 confirmed that sales had topped $15bn. The game’s publisher, Activision, teamed up with iGaming developers Amaya Gaming to create an online slot game based on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The reels are set in the backdrop of a demolished building and it’s that familiarity and alignment with the video game franchise that casinos know will attract millennial gamers to their machines.
Lara Croft and Tomb Raider has featured in everything from video games to motion-picture movies. It was almost inevitable that this female protagonist would get her own video slot. The beauty of video slots is that developers can incorporate in-game cutscenes that relate closely to the video games and the personality of the video game’s protagonists. Bejeweled is one of the most popular mobile games of all time and as casinos are increasingly looking to introduce skill-based games alongside traditional table games, it’s unsurprising that a Bejeweled-branded video slot was born. The jewel-based game is made aesthetically pleasing thanks to the digital graphics.
In a nutshell, the vast majority of visitors to Las Vegas at the time of writing are aged below 50. It no longer makes sense for casino operators to develop slot games for a demographic that is now considered the minority on the casino floors and online.
