Targeting New Online Slot Audiences with Next-gen Technologies
Online slots have been one of the most popular casino games ever since they were first introduced to online casinos. Providing fast paced action with barely any effort on the player’s part and offering the possibility of a big win, online slots have been the preferred choice of gamblers around the globe for several decades.
However, as exciting as these games may have been in their original form, they were lacking some of the key elements to capture the attention of new generations. Hundreds of thousands of young people were simply not interested in online slots because they failed to provide the kind of excitement and fun they’ve been used to. Potential winnings were not a reason enough for them to spend their time and money playing slots instead of other forms of pastimes like various highly developed video games. That’s when the games like 32Red’s Terminator 2 slot started popping up.
The rivalry between video games and slot machines has partially driven the demand for new technology, but some technical advances have also inspired slot machine designers, which has led to the changing of slot machines for the better. (AccessVegas.com)
Exploring Next-gen Technologies Possibilities
Realizing they were losing ground with new generations, online slots developers have come to understand they needed to do something – and fast. The appeal of online slots was not lost; all they needed to do was find a way to make their games more appealing to the people who were used to high quality graphics and superb audio experience. It wasn’t like young people stopped gambling altogether. The study conducted by the UK Gambling Commission showed that 43% of people in England and Scotland, for example, were involved in some sort of gambling activities during 2012. Of that number, young men between the ages of 16 and 31 were by far the largest demographic group, and slots made up for about 10% of their overall gambling activities.
So, game providers and online casinos needed a way to attract these young men to allocate a portion of the time they spend online playing slots instead of engaging in some other activities. Slot machines are, generally speaking, the biggest revenue makers for casinos (online and offline), and it is paramount to refresh the clientele, so to say.
The industry needs to broadly think about how to get a younger demographic into the building. Those people are playing social games right now. They’re not really seeing casinos as appealing. (Tilman Fertitta, CEO of Fertitta Entertainment for msbusiness.com)
Combining the traditional idea of slot games with possibilities provided by new technologies seemed to be the best solution to this conundrum. We’ve ended up with games like the Terminator 2 slot, which combines classic slot elements with video snippets from the cult movie. Even though the movie was first screened over 20 years ago, it remains one of the best known film titles of the last century that even the new generations have seen.
Classic Movies, New Technologies, and Online Slots: A Perfect Combo
32Red is not the only online casino that used the blend of online slots and classic movie titles to appeal to new audiences. SlotBoss, for example, features a very popular Tomb Raider slot, which is just another example of translating a popular movie (and video game) theme into an online slot.
The idea adopted by 32Red and others is to use this new-gen additives and create a story-like experience for the players, where the slot follows a certain well known concept and lets the player discover bits and pieces of the story as they progress through the game. This adds a whole different element to the experience, where the goal is no longer just making money, but also participating in a story, making it feel much more like a proper game.
The move aims to eventually create slot games of the future, with many more video game elements added. That way, young people so used to social games and competing against others will get to have
that same experience while playing slots, keeping both them and casinos happy. Modern technologies certainly offer what is needed, so it is up to game providers and casinos to put these technologies to good use if they are to salvage the popularity of online slots.
Terminator 2 game promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUZIplf0Xg0