New Slot Machines

Online slot machine games are arguably the most popular form of internet gaming. A massive amount of money is spent on them every single year, and a huge sum of money is also paid out to winning players, too.

But does a new slot really make that much difference to the online gaming market and what happens to older slots, when they fall into decline? In this article, we will take a look at everything you need to know about new slot machines.

The lifespan of a slot

New slots are of course, new! It is only natural that when a new slot comes along, it will take a place in gamer’s hearts. Who doesn’t want to try out new games? But what happens to older titles? We know that there is no slot afterlife, and when they are gone, they are seldom ever brought back. But does a slot have a lifespan?

In a way, it does! Online slots are only offered as long as there are enough people playing them. It is entirely possible that should a slot not be played for months on end, or should it be seen as outdated for whatever reason (graphics, wagering setup or features), then it could be removed from casinos and slot sites, in favour of the newer titles. This isn’t always the case with slots that run in a series, as players like to have the option of playing a predecessor, as well as its sequel.

The evolution of slots

The evolution of slots is important, as it is this which provides the motive behind the release of new titles. When a casino software developer has a winning idea that proves successful with the gaming community, many other casino software developers will pinch that idea.

They will try to incorporate it into their own new slots, and so that feature spreads. New slots generally try to improve on other slots in the same genre or theme, which have gone before them. Such improvements could include better graphics, or more attractive and rewarding features.

New features to be found in slots

A number of new features have been introduced to online slots in recent years. These features have proven successful enough, that they have been incorporated into many new slot machines.

Such features include having over 200 paylines (sometimes as many as 1,000) which are non-adjustable, expanding wilds, rolling reels, money wheel bonuses, shuffled icons, randomly triggered progressive jackpots, 3D graphics and the ability for a slot to be played on mobile gaming devices.

The non-adjustable paylines have become very popular, as they allow players to wager on hundreds of paylines, all with a stake that costs around 0.25 or 0.30. This is in stark contrast to a typical video slot which offers 25 or 30 paylines, for the same stake. Rolling reels are another new feature.

Sometimes known as avalanche reels; the icons that constitute a winning payline will explode upon a win, and be replaced with new icons. This gives a player more chances to win on a single spin. Shuffled icons serve a similar purpose.

If a player hasn’t won anything but has decent icons, they could re-shuffle themselves on the reels, to create winning paylines, at no extra cost to the player. It is now also fairly common practice for new slots to offer increasing multipliers on rolling/avalanche reels.

How many are we talking, per year?

There is no set number of new slot machines that an online casino software developer will produce in any given year. Some of the smaller developers tend to release between 5 and 10 new slots a year.

The larger online casino software developers, such as Microgaming and Playtech, usually release anything from 25 to 30, sometimes more. It really depends on the market, and technological advances in the industry.

Not all of these new titles will be big hits, though. If you are looking for something exceptionally special, then you’re after an eagerly anticipated slot. These are new slot machines that contain a wealth of new features, and are unlike many other slots that we have seen before.

On most occasions, these slots will be licensed to a movie, television series, cartoon/comic book or video game. Typically, there are only 5 or so of these hugely anticipated slots per year, and this includes all titles by all casino software developers.

New slots means special launch promotions

It most certainly does! Many online gaming sites now offer special promotions to announce the arrival of their new signature slot. New slot machines having promotions attributed to them at their launch, is just another part of the slot machine’s evolution.

These deals are never going to blow you away, though they might just tempt you into trying a slot that you otherwise might not have bothered with, or may not even have known about.

Such promotions attributed to newly launched slot machines include free spins on the slot, and special cash bonuses, offered to the player when they wager a specific amount of credits on the new slot machine.

And finally…

Special offers can only go so far though. Ultimately, it is up to you if you find a slot appealing enough to play. Nobody is ever going to spend a lot of their money on a slot machine, if they don’t like it.

For this reason, just because it is a new slot machine, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is going to be a crowd pleaser. Most slots do well on their launch week, however some fade away into nothingness, whilst others go on to become classics.

You should remember that just because a new slot machine has been released, it doesn’t mean that you have to abandon a slot that you love. You may find that many new gamers flock to the new slot, leaving older slots that haven’t paid out their jackpots recently, relatively un-played.

This is a great chance for you to dive in and try and win said jackpots. It’s not quite as black and white as that, but what is true is that the fewer people there are playing your big money progressive slot, the more chance you have of winning it!