Can Slot Games Take Inspiration From Video Games?

Credit – https://pixabay.com/photos/slots-slot-slot-machine-5012428/

Slot game developers will look at all potential avenues and routes for inspiration. We’ve seen these ideas fizzle out, we’ve seen unlikely ideas become some of the most popular slot games of their era, and in the highly competitive world of online slot gaming, it only takes one of these titles to truly break through for a slot game developer to become a prominent name in the iGaming world.

Those who take inspiration from video games are not widespread. It is a niche idea, and it also involves initial overheads that are not present in many other slot themes. With developers and designers usually operating within such fine financial constraints and margins, the idea of spending big on image rights and copyright with some of the world’s biggest video game companies is usually not an idea that the big bosses like to hear.

Due to these costs, slot gaming companies that have drawn inspiration from video games are among the industry’s more notable names. New slot games and ideas cover such a massive range of ideas that the competition is just as vast as the breadth of inspiration that is out there.

However, if we look at some of the crossovers from video games and how they have successfully permeated other media, could we see a surge of slot gaming companies drawing inspiration from video games?

Capturing Other Prominent Ideas

For a slot gaming company to tap into an idea and use a video game as a successful model, it is often a good idea to leverage the gaming mechanics they have already rolled out into other successful themes. For some, this is in the world of mythology, but if we are talking about games inspired by highly popular video games, the obvious candidates are Street Fighter, Tomb Raider, and Call of Duty.

The diverse commodification of Call of Duty has been ongoing since the game burst onto the home video game console scene back in the 2000s. It is still a defining game of that era, and while the slot game that bore its name didn’t quite generate the same level of appeal, the crossover between video games and slots has been tried before, and often with mixed results.

It is a balancing act between cost and popularity, and while many smaller slot design companies avoid using video games as inspiration, those that can capture the crossover market stand to make a decent profit, as long as the game’s fundamentals are appealing, which is another non-negotiable that determines the longevity of any slot game.

Ensuring The Games Are Compatible

One issue slot gaming companies face is that there is only a finite number of games that meet the criteria for slots success. Look at the popularity of EA Sports FC games; gameplay early access reviews showcase just how enormous the appeal is for each game, and the millions of dollars that pour into player licensing, stadium licensing, and kits and image rights are huge overheads that EA Sports need to cover every year.

Now, for a game like this to be turned into a slot game is just unfeasible. It costs far too much, and there would need to be substantial market research to determine whether there is crossover appeal between the two titles.

Games like Tomb Raider became obvious candidates because they are thrillers, offer a unique angle, and explore mysticism and the aura of mythology. Games like Resident Evil have also served as inspiration; as the popularity of Halloween slots shows, the spooky themes and eerie atmosphere of specific slots can strike a chord. These are the kinds of angles that slot game developers look to when drawing on the video gaming industry, rather than sports games or other themes that might not have the same crossover appeal.

The Future Of Video Game Slots

As AI continues to smash down the walls of copyright issues, and OpenAI has spent the last few months trying to claw back the fact that the cat has got out of the bag, it is still the costs involved that stop slot gaming giants from leaping into the video game theme with both feet.

Now that the market is more saturated and more themes are approaching a bottleneck, we may see more developers take risks with video game themes.

Ultimately, though, the market has to be there. As the lukewarm reaction to the likes of Tomb Raider and Resident Evil showed, they aren’t always ideas that work. When they don’t, it results in losses for slot gaming companies. In such a competitive industry, they are not going to continue bleeding cash if they can’t afford it, and they know that ideas in other themes will yield a greater return. However, if the market starts thinning and more unique themes are the order of the day, then video gaming inspiration could fit the bill – only time will tell.