Branded Slots
When developing a game, the provider faces an important question – to create a new IP or use ready-made content. In the first case, the company has to come up with characters, stories, and other nuances. In second, you can buy the rights to use intellectual property. Branded slots include all games that feature famous characters, images, or celebrities. People go to the Batman and Spider-Man movies because they know what they’ll get in return. For this reason, people most often play branded slots.
Branded Video Slots – What Is It?
Thematic are slot machines developed on the basis of already existing intellectual property. Their history and characters are well known to online casino visitors. For example, based on a famous Hollywood movie or a multiplayer game.
An example is a simulator from Microgaming – Game of Thrones. The provider introduced a novelty with icons depicting the heroes of the Game of Thrones in 2015. The game aroused the interest of even those who are indifferent to gambling entertainment but are fascinated by an exciting series.
Themed Slots Developers
Reliable online casinos offer online slots from NetEnt, Blueprint, IGT, Microgaming and Playtech. It’s these five licensed companies that can boast the largest selection of branded devices.
NetEnt’s first themed video slot, Frankenstein, was released in 2011. Nine years earlier, Microgaming Studio presented Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider helped bring in a new audience.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Branded Slots
Choosing slots dedicated to movies or, for example, reality shows, a guest of an online casino can plunge into a familiar atmosphere. Developers are attracted by the opportunity:
- Build a positive reputation by partnering with a legendary brand like Marvel. Global corporations like Disney won’t give their intellectual property rights to a studio whose reputation cannot be trusted.
- Expand your audience, increase awareness. Playgrounds with great pleasure place those slots that stand out – by design, theme, mechanics, etc.
Branded slots also have disadvantages. First of all, they are not available in those states where gambling is officially prohibited. Providers set strict limits for online casinos.
The second minus is the reduced RTP. Developers have to pay about 12-15% of their profits for the right to use someone else’s intellectual property. With an increased percentage of return, the device simply will not pay for itself. An example is The Lord of the Rings slot from Microgaming. The studio had to pay such large commissions to Warner Brothers that the project became unprofitable. The company was forced to break licensing agreements with providers.
Movie Themed Slots
In the gambling industry, this topic is widely used when creating slot machines and finds a lively response from gamblers. The world’s best video slot developers have pleased gamblers with dozens of slots based on popular movie universes. Most of the icons in them are images of characters from the film. If the slot has a bonus game, then it is also based on the plot of the movie. For example, in the Kong slot’s bonus round, the player needs to help King Kong escape from persecution. In Ace Ventura slot, in turn, the bonus game is built around helping animals.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was released in 2005. Developers from the Playtech took the plot of the film as a basis to create a slot of the same name.
The Silent Movie slot is dedicated to the best films of the early 20th century. Clips from such films are used as symbols: “Dirty Romance”, “Journey to the Moon”, a series of films Keystone Kops. 100 years ago, all movies were in black and white, so the Silent Movie slot machine is designed in exactly the same style. The game uses atmospheric music reminiscent of the first Charlie Chaplin films. Black and white slot machines are a rarity in the world of online gambling. This is one of the reasons why you should definitely pay attention to the Silent Movie slot.
The second part of the sensational blockbuster about the Terminator is considered the most successful. As children, many of us dreamed of a friend like the T-800. In the film and video slot from Microgaming, the main role went to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The invincible Arnie goes in search of John Connor to protect him from a killer robot. It is not surprising that the Terminator 2 slot uses not only card symbols, but also photographs of heroes: Sarah Connor, Terminator without a human face, T-1000. Despite the fact that the Terminator slot was released back in 2014, it does not lose its relevance today.
Playtech, which has signed a contract with Warner Bros. Pictures, has released an interesting video slot about Superman. The main character of the slot machine needs no introduction.
As a rule, after the release of a movie that has become popular, a slot machine based on it comes out after a while. Thus, the number of slots in this genre will only increase. It is difficult to list absolutely all the popular films or series based on which slots were made, but there is a game for absolutely every taste, from world-famous blockbusters to horror films.
TV Shows Themed Slots
Of course, providers do not miss the opportunity to make money by releasing slots based on popular TV shows. Imagine, yesterday you were sitting at the TV screens enjoying an entertaining TV show, and today you are already the main character of your favorite TV show, playing slots.
The television game “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” has inspired a plethora of digital quizzes and other forms of digital entertainment. Sony Pictures Television has made more than one million dollars out of this series, demonstrating that they know just how to turn into a millionaire. The slot machine inspired by the TV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” was the first authorized slot in the Big Time Gaming portfolio, yet the creators nevertheless were able to develop a very thrilling gameplay.
Television talent contests consistently gather a huge audience at the screens. The format of such TV shows is also used to create slot machines. The most famous branded slots are Britain’s Got Talent by Playtech, X Factor: Steps to Stardom, or The Voice by IGT.
But developers have to pay for a license, and not every studio can afford such expenses. The Swedes have created a Reel Talent slot about a talent contest among animals. The game was published by Microgaming.
Music Themed Slots
Musical-themed online slots feature games honoring great singers, musicians, bands, musical decades, and contests. Each manufacturer uses unique approaches to creating slot machines with musical themes, inserting popular tracks, using their fragments, or adding themed bonuses. There are many musical-themed slot machines, and among them there are those that are most popular among users:
Guns N’Roses by NetEnt studio is dedicated to the legendary rock band and its best hits are used as sound accompaniment. The device contains five reels, 20 fixed paylines, and its feature is the presence of thematic bonus rounds and features.
For most people, Jimi Hendrix is clearly the best rock guitarist who ever lived. But beyond his virtuoso guitar playing, his songs have stood the test of time among audiences around the world and still inspire generations to this day. Perhaps unsurprisingly, NetEnt worked hard to license the Jimi Hendrix slot and the result is a very musical yet potentially very lucrative Hendrix themed slot.
Comics Themed Slots
Games based on famous comics are a very impressive segment of modern slot machines. Slots of this genre are present in almost every online casino. The leader in the production of devices of this theme can be considered the company Playtech. The manufacturer’s line includes several dozen slot machines based on Marvel and DC comics.
The set of characters in slots based on comics, as a rule, is as follows:
- portraits of the main characters;
- various attributes of superheroes and antiheroes;
- some games use card symbols.
Another important distinguishing feature that ensures the popularity of games of this genre is exciting themed prize rounds. They are based on the comic book plot. Often in these bonus games, the gambler will have to play on the side of a superhero and fight with his opponent. The main characters of the games can be not only the heroes of the comics themselves, but also the characters of films based on them.
The most popular hero-themed slot is The Incredible Hulk. Playtech developers have not stinted on as many as 5 progressive jackpots, which are constantly growing. Another hit from Playtech is dedicated to the 3rd part of the Iron Man movie. Popular slots also usually include Captain America and Wolverine. Video slot Daredevil offers options for the bonus game, where there is Daredevil’s mistress – Elektra and many other branded villains from Marvel.
It is important to remember that a brand does not necessarily deliver high performance. In fact, it can do the complete opposite if it doesn’t resonate with the audience himself. Or when the game mechanics are less exciting to please the brand somehow. This is further exacerbated if the fans feel that it could have been done better. Pairing fantastic mechanics with a popular brand is a recipe for success, but it’s a challenge.
If you are a novice gambler and are just starting your journey through the bowels of the world of gambling, then we bring to your attention a selection of the best slots and providers in the world of online casinos.