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Innovation. A word that is seeped throughout the tomes of history. Think the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. Yes, the one where the development of pyramids was said to have been perfected, writes

CRAIG

DAVIES

, Editor of CasinoBeats and SlotBeats.

Believe it or not, pyramids are also still being innovated today on a global scale, although this familiar sight is being done so in the form of those 5x3, 5x4 et al spinning reels.

This headline term also represents one that drives so much of the day-to-day make-up of this industry, but one that is maybe losing much of its meaning, primarily due to the ubiquity of its use.

Perhaps this is to be expected given the tidal wave of titles that are released every single week, but does this development of more of the same point to the fact that we’re simply nearing the end of the line in product innovation for online slots?

There is undoubtedly innovation, but in the wider context of the industry, is it enough?

Copycat syndrome is rife, think of the numerous iterations of everyone’s favourite adventurer in Indiana Jones, or how much of a love affair we have with fruit, etc…

It could be argued that Megaways is worthy of inclusion here. Personally, I know countless slot enthusiasts who think certain mechanics “make every game look the same” (not my words - don’t shoot the messenger).

From a purely media perspective, it is crucial to be careful of attaching words such as ‘innovative’ and ‘cutting edge’ to anything and everything.

Another key thing to keep in mind is the concept of innovation versus progression. Are a large slice of the concepts labelled as innovative truly transformative? Or are they simply kicking something that we are already all too familiar with down the road a little more?

After almost six years in the industry, some ‘innovative’ concepts seem to have been spoken about almost as much as Latin America has been dubbed the next big thing. Although it is refreshing that significant progress has been made across the latter.

Getting back to the topic at hand, the impact of the players themselves must also be placed under the microscope, alongside the trust of operators in welcoming fresh concepts.

An individual could well be comfortable with what they know, or simply not be blessed with masses of time to spend looking for titles to play. The double-sided coin here balances the effectiveness of a lobby against the thought that said player would simply head straight to what they know.

How much innovation is too much? To this point, maybe we could consider Aesop’s Fable The Tortoise & The Hare.

Swinging things back to slots and the tidal wave of output that was touched upon earlier, could the danger be that there’s now more of a focus on producing a catalogue that appeases the many? Or simply producing a vast amount of games?

If you throw enough ideas at the wall, one will stick, right? The heightened output is undoubtedly an advantage to some. Those being the larger studios that could be particularly well-versed at enjoying success across multiple territories and demographics.

Does building upon this create the risk that potential hit titles are simply being swamped by the volume of competition? Could true innovation be slipping between the cracks, or be a mere whisper among the ear-splitting noise of more established and much better-funded counterparts?

So, where do slots go from here? To engage and excite you need to stand out. In the mid-to-long term, innovation is undoubtedly key to surviving the content deluge.

However, a balance between innovation and familiarity must be struck. Reinventing the wheel every month can push players in the wrong direction, while, on the flip side, a consistent output of reskins is simply not the way forward.

Thinking outside of the box is crucial, and those that churn out the same, or incredibly similar, content will inevitably get left behind.It is simply not a numbers game. Quality must win out over quantity.