Head to any major online casino site nowadays, and we bet you’ll find a wealth of games that are based on pop culture. Think games themed around your favourite bands (Guns N’ Roses, Motorhead, etc.), TV shows (Family Guy, Game of Thrones), movies (Jurassic Park, Terminator 2), and more. Pop culture is heavily impacting online casino game themes, and there’s a major reason why—it sells. Let’s tell you the impact pop culture is having.
Increased Gamification
One trend we’ve started to notice, and one that is no doubt driven by the increase in the number of ‘gamers’ out there (you can thank easily accessible mobile games for that), is increased gamification, particularly in slot machines.
If you played the slot machines of yore, most of them were pretty bland ‘Match 3 Fruit’ affairs (sometimes, you could go wild and match 5 fruits instead!), but that’s changed. While those simpler games do still exist, the culture has changed a little bit surrounding gaming. People are much more confident playing games that are a bit more ‘gamified’.
If you play a modern slot machine online, most of them are loaded with special features that enhance engagement and feel different from the typical slot machine fare. We do not doubt that it is pop culture that has led to this. If pop culture wasn’t pushing the idea of gaming, then we’d still be stuck with those rather bland slots. Which, while fun when winning money, doesn’t give much enjoyment.
Drawing in a New Audience
Gambling companies want to make as much money as possible. This means that if they want to succeed, they need to increase their overall customer base. We’ve seen casino game developers, particularly slot machine developers, turn to pop culture for some ideas.
For example, two of the more popular games in recent years have been based around the Deal or No Deal, and Wheel of Fortune franchises. To be honest with you, the vast majority of ‘normal’ gamblers are not going to play these games. Sure, they’re fun, but there are better games. However, those non-gamblers will look at them, recognise the brand name, and may contemplate having a go.
We wouldn’t be surprised if it was pop culture-themed games that were drawing in more new players than the standard ‘popular’ games among typical gamblers (e.g. Starburst, Mega Moolah, etc.). Of course, once the person has been pulled in by their favourite pop culture references, they are much more likely to experiment with a few other games too.
New Ways to Support Your Favourite Bands
In the past, if bands wanted to make money, they either needed to sell a lot of records (and the record label would take a healthy cut of that), sell merchandise or play a load of live shows. Sure, most major musicians aren’t hurting for money, but bands are always looking for ways to extend their brand.
Over the last decade or so, pop culture has impacted music-based slot machines. Long ago, companies realised that better sounds and experiences helped to keep people around, spending their money for a lot longer. So, they figured they’d turn to bands that pump out some good music to see whether they wanted to license their brand to them. Guns n’ Roses and Motorhead were two of the bands that agreed (followed by a whole host of others). We’ve now got slot machines with awesome soundtracks, and heavily themed around top bands. Again, these are incredibly popular.
A lot of players are seeing these games as a way to support their favourite bands. Plus, who wouldn’t want to play a casino game where you’ve got some awesome rock music beating to your every spin?
Better Theming for More Engaging Games
When games are based around pop culture, the games can be a bit more thematic in how they work. This is because people are much more likely to understand the references. Take the Deal or No Deal slot machine, for instance. People know that the actual game is all about opening boxes, so when that feature rolls around in the slot, people know what to do. They’re much more engaged in the game.
That’s not to say that non-pop culture-themed games aren’t engaging. They are, and there are plenty of them. It is just that we tend to buy into the theme a little bit more when we understand the licence behind it. It just makes it a lot more fun. We are sure that there are plenty of other gamblers who feel the same way that we do on that front.
Pop Culture Games Tend to Make More Money
Head to TalkSport.com and look at the best mobile casinos there. Each of them will be loaded with loads and loads of awesome slot machines but, you know what? The games that always make the most money are those that are based on pop culture. People love them, and online casinos will often keep these themed games front and centre for their customers. Because these games make more money, companies love to make them.
Not all casino game developers can afford to buy the licences to cover major pop culture properties, and that’s fine. When a game becomes popular, you’ll notice that a lot of games that are very similar start to pop up. For example, when the Motorhead and Guns n’ Roses slots became popular, a lot of companies started to experiment with rock-themed games. Even top animation films have had an impact on character designs (check out the Reactoonz slot, or something similar). When popular ‘themes’ in movies become popular, they often bleed into games. For example, a popular historical movie may have an impact on the slots that are developed. It is quite easy to see when you know what you’re looking for.
Head to your favourite online casino now. We bet it won’t take you long before you realise how much pop culture has impacted the games you play.