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Modern developers are at a crossroads: on the one hand they have a huge loyal audience, who already like the current slot machines, on the other hand there is a younger generation, who is used to playing games of another type. At the moment, there is an obvious preponderance in the number of players among the adult audience, but we need to attract newcomers as well, looking to the future. That's why theories are being developed about what the slots should be in the future. That is what we will share with you in a new article Golden Reels blog.
Creating slot machines has long required a fresh approach, because all the products that are now on the market, in fact, are similar to each other. But the young audience, which grew up on cool video games, is constantly on social networks and thirsty for something new, does not consider slot machines interesting to play.
What should be the next generation of slot machines?
Many developers are now inventing new genres, combining classic games with modern trends. Many call such games "smart games. They combine mobile video games, social communications, and online slots, which combine to create a unique user experience.
Examples of such combinations have been all around us for a long time, only we are not always able to see that there is any casino element in the game. Take at least two games that are popular at the moment, not from the world of gambling houses: Cs:GO and Hearthstone. The first is a first-person shooter and the second is a collectible card game. But even they have an element that clearly reminds you of a casino.
In the shooter you have the opportunity to customize your character by dressing him differently, creating unique graffiti on the walls, and most importantly, getting improved weapon skins. And each of these elements can only be obtained by buying the corresponding case. Making such a purchase, the player does not know exactly what kind of skin he gets. In front of him only appears a special screen, very much like roulette, which presents all sorts of prizes that he can get. By clicking on Spin, the player starts the wheel and randomly gets one of the gifts. Want to get exactly the skin you want? Most likely have to spin the wheel more than once. And the chance of falling out of the unique skins, and at all put at a minimum value.
If in the shooter you buy items that are not related to the course of the game, the collectible card game without these mechanics can not do so. For different actions, performing quests, or through purchases in the store, the player gets a special set of 5 random cards of the latest addition. Cards in it are completely random, and you can not predict, in contrast to the shooter, what you can get. Except that if you don't have certain cards, you won't be able to build a deck for the game. And if we are talking about a legendary card, then such actions will have to be performed quite often.
How do these examples not resemble a casino? The player comes to the game, which is essentially free, but for the sake of increasing his own combat power, or to create a unique character, he has to perform actions of a gambling nature. He also spins roulette, investing real money, and the same hopes for the big prize. Our conjectures are not at all theoretical, because some countries have prohibited these games to sell such "cases" to players of their jurisdictions, as they have correlated these mechanics with online casinos, for which the developers do not have any license.
That's why it seems to us that the future of online casinos is to combine really interesting games with classic casino mechanics. Yes, modern providers have advanced far in the craft that they have been doing for more than 20 years, but to keep up with the games of the big game studios, they will have to drastically revise their approach to work or simply open up other areas within the company, separating the classic casino and its new branches.
Should we forget about casinos forever?
The problem with the influx of new audiences is not new, the low popularity of slot machines among young people is observed all the time of casinos' existence. Studies show that people between the ages of 18 and 30 almost never gamble (sports betting is a different story). However, this interest appears after 30. Perhaps young people simply do not have the financial capacity to play for real money, perhaps the fact that the pace of life in this period makes them seek only the most active entertainment. It should be noted that the younger generation is still interested in casinos, but they are least interested in slot machines, while card games such as poker or blackjack attract their attention.
To summarize, without any development the traditional casino will not be interesting to the generation Y, because its format remains unchanged for decades. And today's players do not want to play even the best computer games that came out ten years ago. But don't bury online casinos. The owners will definitely find the key to the hearts of young players and history will spiral again.
