Slot games continue to be hugely popular with players, particularly online. They use a wide range of themes and this plays a key role in how popular a slot can be with customers.
International Game Technology (IGT) has just released a slot game based on the late singer Whitney Houston. It’s available to play in American casinos but is bound to make its way to our shores in time.
The game has been produced in association with her estate and Primary Wave Music and can be played at some of the top slot sites in the UK such as Will Hill and Grosvenor. It’s the latest slot game to have a theme that is related to the music industry. Such games always prove to be popular, particularly if using striking images of the subject matter and of course featuring some of their greatest hits.
That’s the case with this Whitney Houston slot which features ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody.’ If a big win does come along, then it’s likely players will become “So Emotional.’’
In terms of music, you can’t get a much wider difference than between Whitney Houston and Ozzy Osbourne. The former Black Sabbath lead singer achieved more fame when his family was featured in a reality TV series.
That led to an Ozzy Osbourne slot game being released by Net Entertainment. With Ozzy being the subject of this slot it was never going to have a happy look to it. Four of the symbols were of Ozzy himself and there was also a skull and a crow. Oh and of course there just had to be a bat included as are some Black Sabbath songs.
Even louder music was heard in the Motorhead slot game that was also released by Net Entertainment. ‘Ace of Spades’ is blasted out and with a song title like that, it was easily used as a symbol due to the slot world loving to use playing cards as symbols. Another Motorhead song title is utilised in the Bomber Feature.
‘The X-Factor’ has also been the subject of a slot game released by Fremantle. It was released ten years ago but the symbols included were a tad disappointing. There was no sign of any of the judges such as Simon Cowell and Sharon Ozbourne. It was the same with Playtech’s slot version of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ with no sign of Ant or Dec, though some may say that was a bonus.
Those are just a few of the entertainment related slot games. The slots industry continues to release such games on a regular basis. One reason for this is that the subject matter already has a built-in audience.
Millions have either bought the CDs or watched the television shows or movies. The hope of slot companies is that their success will rub off on them when the game is released. It’s not so risky as coming up with an entirely new theme.
In the past IGT has enjoyed success with movie adaptations. ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ was a big hit for them as were their slots based on ‘Ghostbusters.’ They don’t just produce slots based on recent hit movies. IGT had success with their ‘Keystone Kops’ slot game and that really goes back to the early days of cinema.
Nor is this Whitney Houston slot their first slot dedicated to famous singers. There’s been a couple of games with Elvis Presley as its subject matter. They even managed to mix music and sci-fi when releasing a slot version of the classic Jeff Wayne ‘War of the Worlds’ album.
IGT has been reporting strong financial figures with consolidated revenue of $1.07 billion for the first three months of this year. That was a 1% rise from the same period last year.
Their performances in the UK may be hit by stricter regulation that is planned. Reform of the UK gambling industry has been planned for several years. Progress in doing so has been slow but there has been some movement this year before the calling of a General Election.
While online slot games are seen as being entertaining, there is also awareness that they can be addictive. Younger players are particularly at risk and from September of this year, maximum stake limits are due to be introduced, set at £2 for those aged 18-24. It’ll be £5 a spin for those aged 25 and above.
Whether this will go ahead isn’t certain due to the July General Election. Stricter regulation of the UK gambling industry is on its way though regardless of which party forms the UK Government.
