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I’ve been writing about casinos for long enough now, and I can say with great certainty that there was a time when movie-themed slot games were not areas that game designers wanted to explore in any sort of detail. In the early days of casino gaming, a lot of designers preferred to focus on the tried and tested themes, the mythology games, and the games that didn’t try to rock the boat too much, proverbially speaking.
That’s not to say there isn’t still an enormous market for real slots online; the ecosystem of the online casino gaming universe has resulted in a vast number of slot themes and genres finding success.
Granted, there are other factors to consider here, such as mobile apps, rapid internet speeds, and cheaper smartphones, although they still don’t come cheap. All these factors built bridges to bring in millions of new customers. Still, without innovative slot game designers tirelessly searching for new ideas like movie-themed slot games, as well as innovation within the vast universe of real slot games, there’s every chance that slot gaming would not have emerged as an industry with universal appeal.
How Movie-Themed Games Adapted
Slot gaming companies were still finding their feet in the market at the start of this century. They did not have the scope or popularity that they do now, and there were far fewer companies operating right across the landscape.
This meant fewer marketing companies, game designers, and less money and risks to be taken by those companies that were finding success in the early days of online casino gaming. The last thing these companies wanted to do was to fork out vast sums of money to pay for the rights to have licensed movie slot games, knowing that they might not even recoup their initial huge lump sum investment.
Fast forward the clock twenty years, and they are everywhere, so what’s behind the significant change, and how have they managed to bottle up such a universal appeal? Well, the demand for slot gaming is the primary catalyst that has resulted in slot game companies searching every possible avenue for gaming ideas.
This led them down some interesting paths, fusing themes, creating slot games that had a dozen or so bonus games, and some that were complete wastes of time and money. However, movie-themed games channeled this popularity and were able to offer familiar gaming options with characters, stories, and audiovisual slot experiences that struck a chord.
Changing Medium of Entertainment
Although the movie-going experience is something that many of us still enjoy, it’s not a stretch to say that the internet has completely transformed the way many of us watch TV shows and movies. Not only does IPTV transform the television viewing experience, but it also means greater access to movies, something that many of us simply did not have access to in the days before the internet.
Legit versions of IPTV technology include the likes of Disney+ and Netflix, and you must always check the legality of a broadcaster or provider of IPTV before registering for a service. However, as access to movies has expanded enormously thanks to streaming services, it’s opened up the floodgates for slot gaming companies looking to find any sort of niche that is going to generate interest in a rapidly competitive and changing global market.
It’s not just slot themes that have transformed and adapted. There’s also the rise of Bitcoin slots, which have been one of the fastest-growing niches in the casino gaming industry since the beginning of this decade.
Again, though, they use the same commonality to appeal to people. The rise of cryptocurrency has led to millions of people seeking familiar markets where they can connect their cryptocurrency to their wallets. The fabric of the slot gaming remains the same, but by offering something new alongside it, it keeps the intrigue high. It’s the same with many movie slots that use a traditional format, whether it’s a 5×3 or 5×4 grid with a free spins feature, but it will be themed to a notable movie.
Can Movie-Themed Slots Continue Growing?
In truth, it feels like many slot themes are becoming more saturated. There’s a lot of demand, but now the supply is also meeting that demand. Thousands of casinos have emerged over the last couple of years, and it’s not a number that is slowing down.
Ultimately, as long as slot gaming companies can pick the right movie ideas to partner with, and they aren’t spending too much money on the naming rights before they set their designers onto the job of creating a fresh movie-themed title, there’s always going to be a market for them. The universal appeal of movies and blockbuster billion-dollar projects means that there are going to be opportunities for subsectors to cash in on it.
Slot gaming companies have the potential to be the subsector that yields the greatest profit from the universal appeal of hit movies. Still, they need to be selective in their approach and ensure they are picking movies that have crossover appeal. So long as they do this, there’s plenty of room for growth.