STATE OF THE SLOTS 2017
Our annual review of the collection of new slot machines you’re likely to see in the next 12 months
By Frank Legato
Every month since Strictly Slots began publication in 1998, we’ve reported on the newest slot games reaching the market. But every fall comes an opportunity to give you a complete roadmap of what’s coming in the way of new slots over the next year.
Fall is when all the world’s slot-machine manufacturers gather in Las Vegas for the annual Global Gaming Expo, or G2E, the casino industry’s main trade show, to reveal the new slot games they will be launching in the coming months. G2E is where casino operators go to shop for new games, and the slot-makers always bring their best.
As always, this issue of Strictly Slots gives you and exclusive sneak-peek at the slot games coming from the major manufacturers in the coming year. Last year, practically all of the slot-makers came out with new cabinets and new game formats. This year, they add a few more, as well as a flood of games to t all of those new formats.
Again as always, there are famous entertainment brands and legendary stars featured on many of the new games. Others have technology that make them like nothing you’ve ever seen on a slot floor. Still others bring the skill and entertainment of playing video games, and even mobile-phone games, to the slot floor.
We never have enough room in this feature to get everything in we would like amid a mind-boggling array of new stuff. But here, in alphabetical order by manufacturer, is a look at what’s in store for the new year.
AGS
Last year, AGS launched the second of its two main styles of slot machine in the premium Orion cabinet, featuring a 42-inch at-screen, high-definition monitor with a huge, continuous screen for all manners of special features in the games.
Orion joined a core cabinet series that was still gaining new fans of its own, the stylish dual-screen ICON cabinet. There have been many hits within the initial ICON library of 50 titles, including
On our ICON cabinet, Golden Wins, Longhorn Jackpots and Buffalo Jackpots. This year, AGS releases a batch of new games with similar play and features.
At the head of this year’s ICON games are new progressive links. Money Charge Jackpots is a multi-link progressive series designed to create more frequent jackpot wins at larger amounts. New ICON games including Wild Surprize will link to another new progressive line and feature core-gambler-style play and frequent bonuses.
Money Charge is accompanied this year by Xtreme Jackpots, the rst AGS progressive link of games on both the ICON and Orion formats. Linking more games, of course, means higher and more frequent jackpots. New base games Buffalo Jackpots XJP and Longhorn Jackpots XJP, based on the player-favorite originals, will have four jackpot levels and two bonus rounds.
The Xtreme Jackpots base games feature Jackpot Pick and Free Spins Bonus events. When a full stack of wild symbols lands on any of the middle reels during the base game, players have a chance to hit the Jackpot Pick Bonus and are guaranteed to win one of the four Xtreme Jackpots levels. Each game in the series also features a unique scatter-initiated Free Spins Bonus in the base game. The Grand Jackpot resets at $10,000 and climbs rapidly from there.
Also new for AGS this year is Colossal Stars, on the giant Big Red 2 cabinet. This is a new version of the giant-sized red cabinet familiar to fans of the Colossal Diamonds game. The new game has the same playability and mix of jackpots as the original.
New high-denomination video slots like French Quarter 7s and Premier Diamonds are among the games launched on the ORION cabinet using game play based on the Colossal series of larger-than-life machines.
Ainsworth Game Technology
As with many manufacturers this year, Ainsworth is concentrating on producing new content for great cabinet styles launched last year in the A600, A640 and A600 Slant Top. At the center of it all, in the premium A640 cabinet, is Pac-Man Dynamic Edition, a sequel to last year’s hit Pac-Man Wild Edition. For this game, the A640 cabinet was modified to look like a classic Pac-Man arcade machine from 1982.
The new Pac-Man game features an interactive bonus round that mimics the classic arcade- game maze through which Pac-Man chomps and avoids ghosts. This one also features a bonus wheel, as well as mystery features like Pac-Man appearing on the screen to award wild symbols and other bonus features on random spins.
Pac-Man heads a full lineup of new games on the A640 platform, including new games Desert Dawn/Desert Dusk, Rumble Rumble Eagle and Nostradamus.
Desert Dawn and Desert Dusk both feature colorful graphics and a free-spin feature in which the player touches a lamp for “wishes” that add additional spins and expand the reels, taking full advantage of the 42-inch A640 monitor to a maximum of 12 rows and 200 paylines.
Rumble Rumble Eagle is a sequel to last year’s Rumble Rumble Bear, featuring a two-level curved bonus reel above the main array that awards wild reels and other bonuses. It features a two-level, “must-hit-by” mystery progressive jackpot.
Nostradamus is a four-level progressive carrying a clever theme and some innovative features. One of the four progressives hits every 85 games, on average, through a picking bonus in which the player selects objects from the sky to match a prize. Throughout, Nostradamus’ face moves while he makes wisecracks on the top monitor.
A new progressive link, Liberty Link, will be launched soon as part of the same family of progressives.
Ainsworth is recharging its group of progressive games this year, with new titles led by Haoyun Dao, an Asian-themed linked progressive. Haoyun Dao (it means “good luck to you”) is a two-game link including special features such as free games with a “Power Feature”—on one game, that can win multipliers up to 64X, and on the other, it expands the reels from 243 ways to win to 2,000 ways to win.
During the free spins, the lower-paying poker symbols disappear from the reel array, leaving only the top of the pay table, with 3X wild symbols appearing randomly on reel 2 and 5X wilds on reel 4.
The three mystery progressives, won through a pick-and-match bonus, rise in frequency proportionately with higher bets— 10 times the wager means 10 times more frequent progressive bonus rounds.
New core video titles for Ainsworth this year will include Big Hit Bonanza, Twice the Diamonds, Cash Cave, Mustang Fortune, Light ‘Em Up and others.
Aristocrat Technologies
As usual the biggest highlights from Aristocrat this year will include some great new entertainment themes, Watch for Westworld, based on the HBO series now entering its second season. Westworld is based on the 1973 lm of the same name, depicting an amusement park replicating a town in the Old West, complete with saloon shootouts in which guests face down android desperados —until a glitch in the android technology results in them actually killing guests with real guns.
The TV show was HBO’s highest-rated program last year. Aristocrat is using the imposing Arc Double format, the floor-to-ceiling display that brought you Britney, to bring Westworld to the slot floor.
The G2E Arc Double lineup will round out with new entries in the Grand series—Timberwolf Grand is the game—and the fifth game in the popular Tarzan series, as well as a new game based on The X-Files, the popular sci-series about government efforts to conceal evidence of extraterrestrial life.
A new progressive link, Liberty Link, will be launched soon as part of the same family of progressives.
Aristocrat also entered the mechanical reel-spinning market last year with its RELM series of traditional reel games. The RELM cabinet features protruding, oversized reels, backlit with colors and surrounded by a display employing in the neighborhood of 400 LEDs, which the game designers use as enhancements displayed in sync with game events. In June, the company launched the series with eight inaugural games—7 Salute, 7 Paradise, Triple 7 Wildre Double, Golden Flower, Crazy 7s, Ancient Pearl, Red Odyssey, Double Gold Spin, Double Hot Fire and 3x 7 2x Lotus.
This year, Aristocrat is doubling down on the reel-spinning genre with RELM XL. Set for a launch at G2E, RELM XL places a 43-inch curved monitor above the spinning reels, with a bonus wheel as a topper. Inaugural games for the cabinet tap two of Aristocrat’s most successful current game franchises—the first games are Britney One More Time, Buffalo Inferno and Buffalo Thundering 7s.
Another new cabinet, called “flame55,” is ready for launch this year with four inaugural titles. The distinguishing factor of this cabinet is a dual curve—a 55-inch vertical monitor curves in two places, forming the shape of an “S,” with the bottom and top areas of the monitor tilted toward the player.
As with the RELM XL, Aristocrat is tapping its most popular game franchises for the launch of theame55 cabinet. The first two games will be a new Mariah Carey title and Game of Thrones: Fire and Blood.
Another new cabinet making its debut this year is the innovative dualplayer- style EdgeX. The EdgeX cabinet has a completely new, eye-catching design featuring dual 43-inch landscape-curved LCDs that provide personal panoramic game views with maximum horizons.
The cabinet is launching with The Walking Dead 3 progressive game, based on the TV show’s seasons 6 and 7.
Finally, one more new cabinet will house a mega-license—the Madonna series of games, with footage and music highlighting the star’s long career. Different versions of the Madonna slots will be based on different eras of the star’s musical career and feature songs from those periods.
Aruze Gaming America
New game groups, new cabinets and new ways to play are on the menu for Aruze this year, starting with a new and improved series of electronic table games, or ETGs.
Last year, Aruze introduced a powerful new computer platform for its slot machines, called APX. The extra computer horsepower is now being used to create modernized versions its popular ETGs, starting with Shoot to Win Craps. One of the new ETGs this year is Dragon Sic Bo, featuring the live shooter button that set Lucky Sic Bo apart and adding the new multiplier and jackpot features as well as a curved LCD monitor providing high-resolution graphics, game history and jackpot information to attract players.
Aruze’s line of slot machines, meanwhile, continues to improve. Two new game families are being added to the Cube-X Vertical series, launched last year with Tower Stack Dragon and Tower Stack Lion, games that used the cabinet’s extra-long 42-inch top LCD monitor to display three individual four-by-five reel sets.
An ante wager called “Plus Factor” adds a selectable play area and turns all symbols on the fifth reel wild.
With six titles in the Tower Stack family, Aruze is launching two new game families for the Cube-X Vertical. The Expander Reel Series of games includes a signature feature that grows the reel array from three rows to nine. Inaugural games include Crazy Coin and Dream Money.
Both games use a three-by-ve base game in a cash theme. The Expander Reels feature occurs randomly, growing the reels as high as nine rows and adding wild symbols at the same time.
The other new game family is the Ancient Wheel series. Each game employs a base slot in the Ultra Stack series with a large virtual bonus wheel on the 42-inch vertical top monitor.
The inaugural game, Ancient Wheel Big 5, awards random numbers of free spins along with the Ancient Wheel Bonus, which uses two different wheels to determine the bonus prize or one of four progressives. The outer wheel spins to either a credit award or a jackpot slice, which, if hit, triggers the inner wheel to determine which progressive is won.
Finally, the company is introducing a cabinet called the Vertical 80. This is an attention-grabbing platform that basically doubles down on the normal 42-inch presentation of the Cube-X Vertical, creating an 80-inch vertical presentation.
The game on the platform to be launched this year is called Extreme Thunderstorm. The monitors display a three-by-five reel array under a vertical bonus wheel, which is under a multi-level progressive display—which is under a horizontal bonus wheel on top.
Gamblit
Gamblit Gaming is one of the first companies to bring skill-based, video game-style games to casinos. The company’s Model G social and interactive gaming table features a 42-inch touch screen that can be shared by up to four players. This table houses popular titles such as Gamblit Poker and Cannonbeard’s Treasure.
Model G pilots can be found around Las Vegas at places like Planet Hollywood, the Level Up gaming lounge at the MGM Grand, Caesars Palace, the LINQ and Paris Las Vegas, as well as in Harrah’s locations in Lake Tahoe and southern California.
Gamblit will soon launch its TriStation cabinet—which features a wide portfolio of games and allows interactive play for as many as three users. It is expected to be approved in October.
The most notable TriStation title currently is Jetpack Joyride, in which players strap on a virtual bullet-powered jetpack and accomplish missions while avoiding a variety of obstacles. The game boasts more than 350 million downloads since it was first introduced in 2011 for Apple devices, and it currently maintains 14 million monthly active users. Other TriStation titles include Catapult King, Lucky Words, Slice of Cake, Match Evolution, Smoothie Blast and Breakneck.
Everi
Everi has been busy filling out its library of games, adding cabinets, licensed themes and innovative bonus technology to ll out its games to a variety that competes with any manufacturer in the business.
New titles will be launched for the Core HDX, Platinum HDX and Texan HDX cabinets, alongside premium presentations like the High Rise and Tower 370 cabinets.
The next generation of Everi hardware, introduced last year, is the Empire MPX cabinet, a radically different form factor designed specifically for Everi’s first big licensed brand, Casablanca. This year, the company has used that cabinet and its 43-inch, infinity-style vertical monitor to open up new possibilities for banked games.
Everi is using the Empire MPX to launch a new group of video slots, six to reach casinos this year with 11 additional themes to be introduced in 2018.
Highlighting the first group of themes on Empire MPX will be High Voltage Firestorm, a follow-up to the popular High Voltage Blackout, one of the top games from last year’s G2E lineup.
The Empire MPX, in fact, has spawned an entirely new form factor, the Empire 5527. Those numbers indicate the size of the displays—a 27- inch at-screen LCD topped by a 55-inch portrait-style LCD.
Everi is launching the Empire 5527 with what is the first of a great group of licensed brands the company is launching: The Brady Bunch.
The Brady Bunch, produced by Paramount for ABC from 1969 through 1974—and in syndication ever since—has been woven into American popular culture for four decades. All of the most memorable scenes and situations from the show’s five seasons are woven into an impressive collection of themed bonus events, complete with footage and audio from the show. (Yes, there’s a “Marcia Marcia Marcia!” bonus.)
Meanwhile, Everi also will show the Empire 5527 in an striking presentation it calls Empire Arena. It is a six-game pod with the 55-inch monitors touching each other to form one continuous attract display. It will be launched with Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, themed on television’s longest-running program featuring shark-based stories, research and unique insights.
In the Empire Arena setup, the underwater theme appears like a bright, animated 3-D aquarium in the middle of the slot floor.
Last year, Everi announced a new licensing agreement with Dreamworks Classics. The Dreamworks license resulted in one of this year’s big hits for Everi—and a game that is now spawning an entirely new game group in the high-denomination stepper category—Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Everi is featuring other major new reel-spinners in both branded games and non-branded games. On the branded side is Singin’ in the Rain, a multiple progressive based on the legendary MGM musical. It is a three-reeler with multiplying wild symbols and a free-spin bonus.
Finally, a new wide-area progressive link features another major licensed theme—Willie Nelson. The music, images and performance videos of the legendary Texas country music entertainer are wrapped around two inaugural high-denomination, three-reel mechanical titles, Shotgun Willie and Whiskey River. A top progressive jackpot starts at $100,000.
Rounding out branded video offerings is Knight Rider, based on the 1980s action show starring David Hasselhoff and a “smart” Pontiac Firebird Trans Am named KITT, which was self-aware through artificial intelligence and got the crime-fighting Michael Knight out of jams.
Some of the biggest highlights in Everi video will draw on the company’s popular TournEvent tournament system.
The base games on Tourn- Event have been wildly popular with the product’s fan base, so Everi has adapted the most popular features into in-revenue games. Pop’N Win mimics the main score-boosting feature of TournEvent—touching floating balloons to register credits—in a faux-skill bonus. The bonus recreates the experience of the TournEvent contest, with the player bashing the spin button and watching for floating balloons. Scores are then translated into bonus awards.
GameCo
GameCo is another new company bringing skill-based, video game-style offerings to casinos. Last November, the company launched its Video Game Gambling Machine, or VGM, in Atlantic City with the game Danger Arena.
Danger Arena is a first-person shooter game. Each play presents a different scene to the player, who uses a joystick to shoot robots. The more robots you shoot in around 90 seconds, the more money you win.
Other games on the VGM are Pharaoh’s Secret Temple, a mobile-style game along the line of Candy Crush; and Nothin’ but Net, which awards players for skill shooting a virtual basketball.
This year, GameCo is introducing VGM games based on Paramount’s Mission Impossible and Ferris Bueller brands, as well as Terminator 2: Judgment Day from StudioCanal. A separate partnership with Namco will result in a game along the lines of Namco’s Soulcaliber II weapon-based videofighting game.
GameCo is also set to introduce a system product that networks and synchronizes individual VGMs to allow for competitive multi-player experiences, similar to eSports tournaments.
IGT
IGT is calling on all of its game development prowess to flood content into the many new cabinets it introduced last year and this year.
One of those cabinets, the CrystalCurve TRUE 4D, is not to be missed.
Games like Zuma 3D, Plants vs. Zombies 3D and Return of the Sphinx 3D formed one of IGT’s fastest-growing game segments even as the company’s engineers were perfecting the follow-up series, the improved “4D” group.
The CrystalCurve TRUE 4D cabinet features a 50-inch curved portrait ultra-HD top display and 32-inch, landscape, ultra-HD lower display. It includes a digital player panel with dual bash buttons and player-adjustable settings for sound, mid-air haptics, chair rumble and intensity of the game’s TRUE 3D technology.
The first game in the new group, Sphinx 4D, features gesture control and mid-air haptic technology—you gesture or point, and the game reacts—empowering the player to interact with a slot machine in ways never before tried. As the 3-D bonus journey continues through the Sphinx, the player reaches out and, so to speak, touches the game.
Players reach out to drag orbs to the center of the CrystalCurve 4D monitor to trigger progressives, wilds, multipliers and free games. There are Easter eggs like changing the monitor scene from day to night by drawing a circle in the air, or drawing a heart to have it appear on the screen.
The second 4D title, to be launched at G2E, explores the technology further in Ghostbusters 4D. Like the first game, it is loaded with special features, in this case bringing to life the most famous scenes of the 1984 comedy starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
Perhaps the best is the “Ballroom Buster Bonus,” which re-creates the memorable scene of the Ghostbusters’ first job, clearing a hotel ballroom of the vile “Slimer” ghost. The player points to where he thinks Slimer is hiding, and aims the proton-pack stream to nab him or reveal credit awards.
The new TRUE 4D games don’t mean IGT has slowed development on the popular TRUE 3D series on the AXXIS 3D cabinet. This year, the company expands that series with two new brands.
In a natural pick for the technology, IGT is launching James Cameron’s Avatar 3D, a game that re-creates memorable scenes from Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster—not coincidentally, a movie as memorable for its 3-D animation as for the storyline of the fictional planet Pandora.
That planet is meticulously re-created for the slot game, using actual 3-D footage from the lm for cut scenes. Mountain banshees fly to the reels to add wild symbols. One bonus offers the perspective of riding a banshee through the air into various Pandora locations.
Another big launch for the TRUE 3D product group is a new version of one of IGT’s most famous classic reel-spinners—Red, White & Blue TRUE 3D Reels, a high-denomination three-reeler offering the option of single-line, three-line or five-line operation.
The base game is the same as the traditional Red, White & Blue, except that high-paying symbols are popping out of the screen and red, white and blue stars appear in the spots between the reels randomly to open a fourth reel, which awards wild symbols, credit awards and a trigger to a second-screen bonus.
In the bonus, the player res 3-D rockets, which explode to reveal wilds, wilds with multipliers and free spins.
One of the highlights in the premium group this year is a new entry in the group of games based on the Sex and the City TV series. The new Sex and the City game employs PowerSight technology, which actually allows the player to trigger various game features by fixing a gaze on one portion of the screen. Players will be able to gaze at the screen to select characters and symbols in the main game and to select icons in picking games in the bonus.
Other premium-game highlights include Blake Shelton, a slot based on the career of the country music star; and a new version of the classic IGT video slot Fort Knox.
The reboot of Fort Knox, one of IGT’s strongest titles from the early 2000s, features base games Diamond Vault, Twin Win and Majestic Gorilla. The bonus journey through the gold vault is updated, but with the elements of the classic game preserved.
The company’s new large-format games, on the S3000 XL and Wheel of Fortune Megatower platforms, are also now out in the market. One other high-level progressive will help launch another new format, the reel-spinning S3000 XL large-format cabinet. Wheel of Fortune Megatower, live now in casinos, places the legendary wheel game in a giant format for the first time.
Expect some surprises in video poker from IGT this year as well, in the form of a new group of video poker games that return special bonus features for an extra wager. The classic pay tables remain unchanged in these games; the extra bet pays for the bonus features.
Double Big Wheel Poker, a new multi-hand game, features concentric virtual wheels on some cards, which triggers spins to add multipliers to all hands. In Stack the Deck, for a seven-credit bet, any dealt three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, full house or four to- the-royal hand adds up to five additional cards to the deck for the draw. The game also features a 2,000- credit payout for the “Baby Royal,” a 9-K straight flush.
Finally, IGT is launching the next generation of its virtual reality product, Siege VR, as well as a group of innovative skill-based games, such as the mobile-style Lucky’s Quest and the complete range of games in the Reel Edge series, led by Texas Tea Pinball.
Konami Gaming
In a trend you may have noticed by now, Konami is another company that is filling a large group of new cabinets with fun new games.
In 2016, the state-of-the-art Concerto cabinet was joined by the curved-screen Concerto Crescent, the Concerto Stack, the Concerto Slant and the multi-game Concerto SeleXion. The Crescent’s 43-inch curved screen, the 43-inch at monitor of the Stack and the relaxed-angle dual 27-inch screens of the Slant collectively give Konami games a completely new look.
The cabinet buildup continues this year with yet another new form factor for the Concerto family—a large-format cabinet housing a single, imposing 65-inch high-resolution monitor, called Concerto Opus.
This year, Multiplier’s Ridge kicks o the Ultra Reels 972 Ways series. The reel array in this format is 3-3-3-6-6. With every five-of-a-kind win, a mountain at the bottom of the screen explodes for a multiplier up to 10X.
Other standouts include Octo-Blast, a follow-up to the game Chili Chili Fire, with a unique mystery feature that appears in several Konami games this year—the “Fade Away Feature.” Randomly in both free games and primary game spins (more frequently on free games), the main Octopus character will squirt ink on the reels and wipe out all the lower-paying poker symbols, leaving only higher-paying symbols for a re-evaluation of the win.
Other highlights include the debut of a completely new game mechanic, called Strike Zone.
Strike Zone is a new way to give players more return in exchange or higher bets. The Strike Zone is a special area within the reel set in which special features like wild symbols, multipliers and mini-bonus wheel spins are activated. The higher the bet, the larger the Strike Zone portion of the screen, starting with two reel positions at minimum bet and rising to a three-by-four box in the center of the primary game with a maximum bet in the first pairing of Strike Zone games, Celestial Sun Riches and Celestial Moon Riches.
Incredible Technologies
Incredible Technologies will do more this year of what it does best—taking its most popular game features and placing them in great new presentations.
This year, IT perfects the next generation of the company’s hardware, the Infinity V55. The heart of the Infinity V55 is its 55-inch, at 4K vertical full-touch LCD monitor. While IT cabinets Infinity Super Skybox and Super Sky Wheel each feature a 55-inch at monitor above a base Infinity U23 core video slot, the V55 puts the entire game on the big monitor, making it the industry’s largest screen on a core cabinet.
The inaugural games for the Infinity V55 will not disappoint fans of Incredible Technology games. In the Crazy Money genre—Crazy Money was IT’s first hit slot game, featuring the interactive “Money Catch” bonus—is Crazy Money Gold, part of the Gold Bank game family.
The complementary title to this release is called Rays of Egypt. Crazy Money Gold has an expanding reel feature—randomly, the reel set doubles in rows. On Rays of Egypt, huge stacked symbols utilize the full length of the 55-inch monitor.
Heat ‘Em Up Power Wheel is part of the Power Wheel family. It adds a bonus wheel to the popular game Heat ‘Em Up, while preserving what made that game popular in the first place—the patented “Sky Reels” feature that provides an additional six-by-four reel array to the display, along with additional pay lines; and the “Power Up” feature, which allows players to advance to four different bonus wheels.
The companion game to Heat ‘Em Up Power Wheel is Fate of the 8, which attaches the Crazy Money bonus game mechanic to an Asian-themed game. Fate of the 8 replaces the Crazy Money Money Catch bonus with a “Koi Catch Bonus.” Instead of flying bills, the player is “catching” koi fish that swim across the video screen.
The surface is all touchscreen— the whole screen. During the bonuses, you can stand up and touch any portion of the big screen.
In addition to showcasing the new games on the V55, IT will be launching games in all of its other cabinets. One highlight will be Celestial Goddesses, which uses the Super Skybox format to masterful effect with the “Solar Jackpots” multiple progressive display, with a giant, flaming wheel extending across four 55-inch monitors to house the bonus event.
The company will display four titles in the Super Sky Wheel format, along with additional titles for the Skybox cabinet.
Scientific Games
Scientific Games this year taps the full potential of its TwinStar group of cabinets, including the variations of the cabinet launched last year and a few new premium versions of the format.
This is the format that Scientific Games has been developing since the merger that formed the company from former top slot companies Bally Technologies and WMS Gaming. It is the first cabinet that features content of both former brands.
Perhaps the most popular with players is the TwinStar J43 premium style cabinet, with the “J”-shaped tall vertical monitor. This year, Scientific Games extends the J43 library with several new titles, starting with companion games Zeus Unleashed and Kronos Unleashed. These are followups to Zeus and Kronos games we did on the TwinStar, which have been standouts on that platform. Another featured game is Double Blessings, a follow-up to the hit Dancing Drums.
Also new on the J43 are two new entries for the company’s Wonder Woman slot series. Called Bullets and Bracelets and Golden Lasso, the games were placed on the J43 because the first Wonder Woman games were really successful on the Pro Wave cabinet.
The TwinStar 3RM reel-spinning format was launched early this year, completing the group in the field now. The 3RM was launched with two low-denomination games, 88 Fortunes and Fu Dao Le.
The high-denomination reel-spinners to be introduced this year will reprise some of the most legendary Bally reel-spinners—new versions of the classic Blazing 7s, Bonus Times, Black & White, Black & White 5X Pay, Double Jackpot Triple Blazing 7s and Quick Hit 5X 10X.
Other new TwinStar titles include new games for Lock It Link, the popular game series featuring a bonus that locks symbols in place and re-spins for larger awards. The company is launching two new games for the Lock It Link group—Cats Hats and More Bats and Eureka Reel Blast.
Scientific Games is expanding the TwinStar family of cabinets this year with three new premium hardware formats. The first is the TwinStar Skyscraper V24/24/55. That’s two standard video monitors topped by a 55- inch vertical at LCD monitor.
The inaugural game brings back a legendary WMS brand—Jackpot Party. It has all the familiar Jackpot Party elements— the pick-‘em feature, the spin of the disco ball on the top screen.
Next up is the imposing TwinStar V75—featuring a massive 75-inch ultra-high-definition curved display. The machine is equipped with an oversized iDeck button panel, bash buttons on both sides, a USB charging port, and a seat to accommodate two.
The inaugural V75 game is another Monopoly title—Monopoly Hot Shot. It’s a Monopoly-themed slot with the Hot Shot mechanic, with three mini game-in-game bonuses.
Also, the company is launching the TwinStar J43 with iReels. It uses the J43 format for a game featuring spinning reels with transparent animation over top, like the old WMS Transmissive Reels and Bally iReels game groups. The two launch games are The Lord of the Rings: Rule Them All and Cash Spin Deluxe. The latter features gesture control to physically spin the bonus wheel.
Speaking of licensed brands, this year will be another branding bonanza for Scientific Games. Heading up the highlights list of upcoming releases is Monopoly Millionaire, the next game on the Pro Wave 360 platform. The 360 uses a continuous, 360-degree overhead monitor for bonus rounds on individual Pro Wave units in a circular carousel.
Finally, the company is launching several Monopoly Revolution on the innovative multi-player PRIZM cabinet.
Monopoly Revolution is the first slot game on the PRIZM format, which has been focused on electronic table games content. PRIZM is a four-player table, each player with an electronic wagering station..
Scientific Games is using many of the new form factors on what promises to be the most high-profile licensed game series at the show—the first games in the James Bond series.
The company is launching the first three titles at G2E in a Bond series that eventually will highlight all 24 feature films and six different actors who portrayed Ian Fleming’s legendary British agent—— along with a number of the villains and “Bond Girls”—in films produced by Eon Productions.
The first game in the Bond series is themed around the latest Bond lm, Casino Royale. The Casino Royale slot is on the new Gamefield 2.0 cabinet, which features a horizontal 43-inch portrait monitor for the base game owing up to a vertical 43-inch top-box display. On the J43 with iReels cabinet will be Goldfinger, and Diamonds Are Forever is presented as a wide-area progressive.
