Konami has some of the biggest and most unique video game franchises in the world in its roster. While many game fans will want a new console release for the likes of the Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Contra series, Konami has found a niche for its biggest video gaming brands.
The Japanese company is vast and features many divisions, but its video gaming and gambling divisions have enjoyed success when crossing franchises from gaming into gambling. Perhaps through brand recognition alone, bringing key properties to slots has led to Konami machines being very popular.
However, the scope of these crossovers has been relatively quaint so far, with there being a much bigger and better opportunity for Konami to utilise the method in some of the most popular iGaming game types, such as live roulette.
Konami using Video Game Brands for Gambling Games
Konami Gaming, Inc. – the gambling division of the company – has brought a great many of their video game properties to their gambling machines. Popular series have been used for pachislot games and standing slot machines.
The most recent blending of a franchise with casino gaming was with one of their much-loved horror titles coming to their in-house video slot cabinet. The cabinet features several themed slot games that feature part from the video games series. In a gambling sector where there are literally thousands of titles, as is the case with slots, it’s a smart move to release a new machine that features a recognised and respected brand – even if that brand is from a different strain of gaming.
It’s a tactic that works, too, as proven by the Konami financial reports. The company has experienced a great deal of success in the gambling sector, with their ‘gaming and systems’ revenue for the 2018 fiscal year clocking in at J¥29.6 billion (£207.7 million). Not all of their machines draw from video game franchises, but there’s no doubt that featuring video game brands is very appealing to potential players.
However, to expand the reach and revenue of this strategy, Konami may want to consider delving into the ever-growing iGaming sector of gambling, specifically in live roulette.
Konami Should Explore live Roulette for their Next Crossover
Online slots borrow themes from other franchises all the time, and so there are plenty of games. In the live casino roulette section, however, the crossover games like Live Age of Gods Roulette feature in a naturally smaller section, stand out for their bonus theme and have become very popular as a result.
Age of Gods is one of the biggest and most popular progressive jackpot suites in iGaming right now, with the Live Age of Gods Roulette game combining live roulette play with the jackpots of Age of Gods as well as a studio theme and croupier outfits in the theme of the Greek mythology-based title.
As you would assume from a slot machine game, the video game-themed slot games from Konami are jackpot-oriented. Given the distinct theme of the video games and the mechanics already in play on the slots, it should be relatively easy to effectively port the standing machine’s slots into a live roulette game and create a studio in the theme of their leading survival horror game. They could, perhaps, throw in some other in-theme antics like roaming Pyramid Heads or some in-studio jump scares during the live gaming.
Konami franchises are recognisable and loved around the world. So, if they are to continue to merge them into their gaming machines, they may as well go all-in, embrace the more popular and accessible form of iGaming, and create some truly unique games, with live roulette being a strong option.
