For as long as Hollywood has been around it has been a big part of pop culture. The last few decades, in particular, have been exemplary of this, with every blockbuster hit bringing a slew of a new tie-in merchandise with it. What started out as themed pinball machines and Top Trump cards has now become merchandise aimed at a slightly older audience. Hollywood has been slowly moving into the world of online gambling.
Slot machines are a good example of this transition due to their extreme versatility. Unlike card games like poker and blackjack, themed slot machines have always been a thing – the first themed slot was the Liberty Bell, manufactured in 1899. This was just 5 years after the birth of the original slot machine. From there, we moved into fruit themed slots during the Prohibition era. After prohibition, we saw slot machines slowly move towards other popular forms of entertainment, such as the sport themed machines we still have today. It wasn’t until recently that Hollywood has been able to fully harness the power and appeal of the slot machine.
Thanks to the huge leaps in computational and graphics technology, we now have what is known as the video slot. Video slots are machines which have the ability to display the entire game, reels and all, on a single screen, removing the need for physical reels. Along with the ability to play themed minigames, these machines can play full clips from the tie-in movies, their full score and even video clips from the leading actors. While there is an appeal for machines themed after the timeless classics in physical casinos, the best place for these movie tie-ins often tends to be online.
With today’s fast-paced society, people want to play games that tie into the latest blockbusters while the film is still fresh and relevant. With physical slot machines, this isn’t always easy as not everyone can get to Vegas to play a certain machine. Because of the way internet technology has hurtled forwards over the last few decades it’s now entirely possible to play one of these video slots on your phone as you wait for the bus to work; anyone can play any online slot from the moment it goes live, drastically improving the availability of any tie-in slot when compared to a physical casino.
If you want to load up a Jurassic Park slot machine on your phone, you can do just that. If you want to play a slot machine which ties into The Dark Knight, where the Joker tells you that you have to take a side, spinning a wheel to decide your fortune, you can do just that – and you can do so in full HD graphics at such a smooth framerate that people 10 years ago would have their minds blown.
The appeal of these Hollywood tie-in online slots is very real. That Dark Knight’s online slot helped a British man win £5.8 million back in 2012, having played a bet of only 30p. Most people play the slot simply because they’re fans of the franchise – even if they don’t win they’re still entertained when they walk away, and that is all anyone can really ask for with any game they play. The idea that this game may help you win a life-changing sum of money is only going to increase your investment in the franchise if you’ll pardon the pun. Either way, this is a win-win situation for Hollywood.
While these movie tie-ins are a relatively new thing in the world of online slots, the popularity they’ve seen implies that they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. While some companies like Disney have shied away from the idea because of their family-friendly image, the results for studios which have taken the leap are looking pretty good so far. If you want to try your hand at one of these movie-themed slots, make sure you check out this handy infographic from Ladbrokes. It will give you all the help you need to get started, getting you up to speed with how to play online slots.