| Casino Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
Branded Online Casino Slots GamesBy: Joe Valentino, Monday February 2nd 2009 5 Comments  Email  Print
When Microgaming launched the online slot game, Tomb Raider, in October 2004 a new genre of slots was born. In due course slots games of this genre came to be known as branded slots. Branded slots cash the popularity of existing brands in other areas like movies, or comic books or games in order to popularize the slot game. The slot game in turn enhances the brand equity of the chosen brand. Therefore it results in a win-win situation for all. There is an agreement between the owner of the brand and the developer of the online slot game. Tomb Raider was a very popular video game created by the leading developer Eidos Interactive. It featured the adventuress Lara Croft. A series of video games had been created by Eidos depicting different adventures of Lara Croft. The movie Tomb Raider starring the sultry Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft had further added value to the brand. Microgaming was the leading online gaming software developer. It entered into an agreement with Eidos for exclusive rights to develop a slot game based on the Tomb Raider brand. In October 2004 Tomb Raider was launched as a 5 reel 15 payline video slot. It began with Flash introduction depicting a sexy Lara Croft cartoon. The symbols on the reels and the bonus game faithfully reproduced what the Tomb Raider brand stood for. The game was an instant hit. In 2006 the deal between Microgaming and Eidos was extended to include the Hitman series of games. Hitman stars Agent 47, a ruthless assassin who "always gets the job done, nothing can stop him." Hitman has the same technical excellence as Tomb raider and is likewise packed with innovative features, expanding wild symbols being one of them. The latest branded game in this series is a sequel to Tomb Raider and was released last year. It is called Secret of the Sword. Though Cryptologic started later in the branded slots line it has overtaken Microgaming in sheer volume and is today regarded as the leader in this field. Cryptologic entered into an exclusive deal with Marvel Entertainment in 2005 for developing online slot games featuring Marvel Comic superheroes like X-Men, Elektra, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America. Subsequently the deal was extended to 2010. The most popular of these games, The Amazing Spiderman, was released in 2007 and its sequel, Spiderman Revelations, was launched in December last year. In all, over 15 branded Marvel online slots have been released by Cryptologic. Like the Microgaming branded slots, these feature outstanding bonus games and breathtaking graphics, sound and animation. In addition all Cryptologic Marvel slots are linked to a common progressive jackpot. 2009 is going to see many more branded slots because they have unparalleled brand equity. Article Tools
Comments Add Comment
Comment by: Perl N. On: August 02, 2009
Branded online casino slots games are very nice to see in the mix of online casino games now available. Many software providers out there are pursuing this. Both Cryptologic and Microgaming does a good job with these types of games as far as what I've seen so far. I look forward to RTG and some of the other US player accepting online casino software providers to hopefully start following suit in the near future.
Comment by: Angie Kent On: July 15, 2009
I think that the smarter online gaming companies will continue to pursue the acquiring of licenses and doing branded games like they have been. It must definitely increase the value of the online casino software company. I think that one of the main reasons why IGT bought Wagerworks for 300 Million some odd dollars was because they had already procured the online rights to games like Monopoly, Cluedo, Cleopatra and other popular games that are already found in land based casinos.
Comment by: Bill Buxton On: July 06, 2009
When it comes to branded online casino games that boast brands that are very familiar to player I think that it's cool. The Crypto Marvel theme games are a good concept as is Tomb Raider and the Hitman game that's offed at Microgaming casinos.
Comment by: Hero On: February 04, 2009
I definitely see a future for branded slots games and firmly believe that this will be more pronounced in years to come with more and more companies licensing the rights to bigger and better brands. From my perspective as a player I can definitely say that the playing at casinos that offer branded games instills additional confidence in those online casinos as some of these big brands including Marvel wouldn't permit casino software providers in licensing the rights to their intellectual property unless there were some serious probity and due diligence checks in place. Add CommentYou must be signed-in to add a comment: - Sign-in - RegisterMore Articles Chinese New Year Online Slot The Fantastic Sinbad Slot Game Romeo And Juliet In Online Slots Usher The New Year With Fluo Party Valkyrie Online Slot From Elk |
||
| Article Categories | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Gambling Law (13) Beginners Guide (381) Casino Bonus (41) Casino Banking (39) Getting Started (73) Casino Software (149) Casino Games (643) Slots (331) Blackjack (94) Video Poker (55) Roulette (36) Craps (19) Baccarat (19) Caribbean Stud (12) Pai Gow Poker (8) Sic Bo (7) Keno (12) |
||
| RSS & XML Feeds | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Subscribe to our Articles Feed Below:
|
||
 |
Top 10 Ranked Online Casinos | |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I like the branded games that online casino software providers have been developing as of late. They're fun and most of the times and the games that I've seen at least and played have been brands that I certainly can recognize.