It’s hard to determine who’s number one in the slot world. Is it the corporation with the highest stock price? The manufacturer with the best ship share? The firm with the most press buzz? Surprisingly, one accolade that was never claimed even by the most overzealous marketing department was the title of “the best slot machine in the world.” It was an aspirational goal, but no one really thought it was obtainable, because for nearly a quarter of a century the answer was always the same: IGT’s Wheel of Fortune. That all changed two years ago, when Aristocrat knocked off the long-time champ with their progressive Lightning Link. They have defended the title for a second year, but it’s doubtful they’ll challenge the two-decade WOF record. They may not even make it a third year, since their own successor, Dragon Link is gathering steam.
There was one other ranking that traditionally carried considerable weight in the industry, and that was which game is the most frequently copied. Because of patent and copyright protection, there were few WOF clones for years. Once the court finally overturned the patent, Aristocrat had already surged ahead in the clone wars with their iconic Buffalo. Everyone has a wheel bonus today, but you were not even considered a contender if you didn’t have at least a handful of Buffalo-like games in your product catalog. But, like IGT’s Wheel, Aristocrat also lost the most copied title last year to, you guessed it, their own Lightning Link. At last fall’s G2E, virtually every competitor claimed that their latest progressive product was “most similar to,” or even more boldly, better than Lightning Link.
In other words, it’s good to be Aristocrat these days.
Their success in base and progressive games is legendary, as mentioned above, but they’ve also become a strong player in the hyper-competitive world of branded games. At NIGA they are showing an all-new Game of Thrones: Fire & Blood on their big screen flame55 cabinet. With the final season of HBO’s classic fantasy drama set for 2019, interest in the theme is sure to grow wildly this year. But that hot title is backed by dozens of others: Tarzan, X-Files, B-52s, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Mystery Date, The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory, Sons of Anarchy, Batman, Ted, Candy Land, Tim McGraw, My Cousin Vinny, Bettie Page, Zorro, The Big Lebowski, Elvira, Dumb and Dumber, Tapatio, Batgirl & Catwoman, Sharknado and Downton Abbey (is it politically correct to mention Sharknado and Downton Abbey in the same sentence?) I left out all the “™” symbols above, but these pricey brands all have them.
It’s hard for me to try to pick which of these games will be big hits in 2018/19. The PR machine will certainly be pushing the GOT Fire & Blood, which will feature highlights from Seasons 4, 5 & 6 of the series. It will debut on the flame55, which is aimed to build on the success of other cabinets such as SGI’s J43. It has a double-curved HD monitor (4K, of course) and 4.1 stereo audio. It will be previewed at NIGA and should be released just before summer. Also look for a new Mariah Carey theme (pictured) on this same flame55 box.
As others have done with Aristocrat’s hit themes, Aristocrat themselves have not been shy in copying their competitors on quality cabinet design; their Arc Single was arguably one of the best adaptions of Bally’s breakthrough Wave cabinet in the curved LCD category. But they can also claim considerable originality when it comes to boxes. The Helix, with backlit display screens that seem to float in front of the cabinet, was revolutionary. And they took big and tall to new heights with the Behemoth, an 84” screen that stands 9’ 9”. Despite copying the base of Bally’s curved concept, the Double Arc elevated the idea (literally to 9’ 6.5”) with the release of Britney Spears. While the pop singer’s game mechanic didn’t have the same long-lasting appeal of the star herself, it was probably the most impressive impulse play machine ever created, or at least in a tie with Konami’s Titan 360. It was nearly impossible to ignore this giant pink icon anywhere on a casino floor.
Relm is the big unknown for Aristocrat. The world of spinning reel slots has always been a difficult nut to crack, especially since video has been so strong. This cabinet does look promising, especially in the enhanced Relm XL that features a large video screen as a topper to the reels. (By the way, Britney Spears is back at NIGA 2018 in a new Relm XL version.) They’ll be previewing this cabinet with a new 7up theme in the classic soda colors of lime green (pictured). The unknown factor is that reel spinning games just take longer to work. I’m not sure exactly why, but it’s been proven true. So it’s just too early to know if the Relm or Relm XL will also establish Aristocrat as a winner in the reel spinning category.
My track record of predicting future slot hits is far from perfect. With that caveat, I urge you to take a strong look at a new linked game on the new Helix XT cabinet, Gold Stacks 88, from Aristocrat’s Oz Games Studio. The original title was strong, and it looks promising on this new box.
My other pick would be the re-release of Tarzan on the Double Arc (pictured earlier). The original from Ted Hase of Studio 54 was a sleeper hit for ATI for years, and now he has reworked the math for this impressive cabinet.
As if they needed any help, Aristocrat has also beefed their sales team with some recent additions. At the start of the year, the Managing Director of the Americas, Matt Wilson, announced that Ross O’Hanley, ex-Konami VP for North American Sales, will join the team as VP of West Coast Sales. He splits the country with Brian Pierce, who was named VP of East Coast Sales at the same time. Pierce has been with ATI since 2016 after a great career with both WMS and Bally, and both he and O’Hanley are well-respected in the industry and great additions to the Aristocrat machine. While I’m name dropping, Rich Schneider and Mathew Primmer have done an incredible job with product development both in the US and Australia, and Kelly Shaw, heading Systems again, is one of the country’s best. It wasn’t an accident that she was named a “Great Woman of Gaming” a few years back. As I said earlier, it’s good to be Aristocrat these days.
