Slot machines have changed from the simple, mechanical one-armed bandits of old. They are now complex and entertaining electronic marvels, and some are even themed around pop culture programs like “The Voice” and movies such as “The Goonies”.
Slot manufacturers must keep up with culture, and cater to an ever evolving audience. They’re also anticipating ways the novel coronavirus pandemic may have changed consumer behaviors. There are five trends manufacturers now think will take hold in the industry:
1. Creating cocoon-like spaces: The pandemic forced casinos to social distance players at slot machines whether the games were spread out physically or units were turned off to create separation. Companies such as Scientific Games to think about how to communicate that a slot machine will be an intimate “business class”-like experience to customers. That could mean machines with individual signage rather than a sign hanging over a bank of clustered machines or table games or curved displays that make the player feel like they’re enveloped in the game.
2. Grabbing a younger audience: Some of the existing gaming floor tech that this younger generation of player has shown an interest in include Kyber, Scientific Game’s augmented reality electronic table game that uses a laser projector to create bonuses that are projected onto a tabletop and its Quartz Hybrid electronic table game terminal, which has a smartphone-like display aimed at making gaming easier to understand.
3. Pop culture is king: The trend of theming slot machines around popular movies or TV shows isn’t going anywhere, said Jon Hanlin, senior vice president of commercial strategy for gaming company Aristocrat. His company is trying to close the gap between an entertainment project’s release and a matching slot machine for it. Normally it can take up to 18 months after a movie is released for it to get a slot machine adaptation.
You can read more about these trends and the other trends pushing slot machine culture at The Press Enterprise.
