As different areas of the gaming industry started looking more closely at each other for inspiration, you might be surprised to hear that there are more similarities between video games and online slots than many people realize.
Today, we’ll examine the mutual factors that bring these two worlds together and how, over the last decade, they’ve positively influenced each other, fuelling each other’s creativity and success.
Harnessing the Power of the Internet
Video games have flourished in a modern, international gaming industry, and, as the name suggests, online slots have done the same. The impact of online casinos has been felt on multiple levels of the gaming world; it’s not just in the world of game design, but it’s transformed how companies market their brand, who they onboard on social media, and how they build the story and the fabric of their gaming ideas.
Understanding how the gaming industry has been impacted by online casinos is a question with many detailed facets, but if we boil it down to the most basic, video games and online slots have captured the customer’s appetite for greater ease of digital services.
Online slots did this originally when they emerged around 25 years ago. However, the video gaming industry didn’t truly capture the magic of global online gaming until the early 2010s. Leveraging the internet and capturing its remarkable innovations has turned top video console games into digital money printers.
By utilizing microtransactions, which first showcased their potential in mobile gaming, both online slots and video gaming companies have cashed in on the phenomenal online demand.
However small, video games that require in-game purchases rely on the same technology and marketing strategies as multiple online slot companies. While the fabric of the games may differ, the power of microtransactions and their incredible potential lie at the foundation of this innovation.
Identifying the Appeal of Audiovisual Innovation
Although a few slot games might seem to have an arbitrary approach to their game designs and themes, the vast majority are anything but. The potential profit margin for online slot game design companies can spiral into the millions of dollars, even just for one title over the year. However, for gamers to constantly play the game, they need to lean back on high-quality audiovisuals, immersive graphics, and colors and imagery that reach out and grab the gamer.
Video gaming has been doing this since before the internet emerged as a player in the gaming world. As far back as the days of Space Invaders in the 1970s, when Taito developed the arcade game for a mass audience, it was clear that providing a colorful and musically immersive game could engage an audience for hours.
Obviously, slot gaming has other considerations, and designers and software companies must ensure they abide by and design the games within the appropriate confines of gaming legislation.
Utilizing Social Media as a Marketing Tool
Traditional forms of advertising and promotion are now second-rate compared to well-structured and effective social media marketing. Thirty years ago, radio and TV advertisements would take up a massive portion of any gaming company’s marketing strategy.
However, in the modern market, especially in gaming, websites like YouTube and Twitch have become the new battleground for gaming marketing, where the number of subscribers can directly correlate with the number of people who see a product. This applies to all types of casino gaming and the broader gaming industry.
Some of the top Twitch streamers are professional video gamers, and some of the world’s biggest celebrities use their social media channels to advertise gambling companies. Again, there are ethical considerations for celebrities and influencers who use their channels to promote free spins rather than just the latest video game. Still, from a marketing perspective, this is another strong component that the two sectors share.
A Duty to Customer Care
Video games and online slots must also ensure that the games they design are ethical and abide by the gaming legislation and laws of the regions. We’ve seen online slots come at this from a different angle, using sweepstake casinos where you can leverage gold coins, in-game tokens, and play games without depositing any real money. This approach has been particularly practical in states in the US where conventional casino games are not regulated, such as Texas and Alaska.
However, it’s also worked for video games like Grand Theft Auto, which implement casino gaming in their title. Still, as they only allow gamers to play with in-game tokens or game-specific money they have collected in the game, they can operate outside the framework of conventional casino gaming.
Video games also have other considerations; they need to avoid using too much foul language or violence. Online slot companies, especially those that host their own casino gaming platforms, must also ensure that they have the necessary tools for problem gamblers to stem their gambling if it becomes harmful.
Many sites now have their own page dedicated to online gambling and customer care, which includes time and deposit tools, and directing people to charities and professionals that deal with gambling addiction, such as Gamblers Anonymous. If you believe you have an issue or know somebody who does, you can contact these charities for assistance.
Final Thoughts
Of all the mutual connections between video games and online slots, the clearest intersection must be social media marketing and tapping into a global audience. Sure, video games and themes have crossed over into each respective sector, but the similarities go a lot deeper and drill right into the fabric of both sectors.
Ultimately, the internet brings all of these worlds closer together. Instead of fractional, local markets and gaming companies competing against each other for a domestic market, it’s a borderless international community aiming to get ahead of the competition.
Due to the similarities in gaming and the types of audience intrigued by online slots and video gaming, marketing companies in both sectors look toward each other for inspiration. While this doesn’t always work, and there are specific nuances to consider, video games and online slots have many more similarities than differences.