There has been a long-standing relationship between video games and online casino games. Not only do they share a lot of the same technology behind them, but they also borrow elements from each other.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at what elements brand-new casinos online are taking from video games and how various elements from new video games, and how the relationships are incredibly closely tied.
Video games set the bar for online casinos
For quite some time now, video games have been seen as the standard that online casino games have to reach. From new tech innovations to the ever upgrading graphics, the expectations put on video games carries over to online casino games.
Having to compete with video games setting the targets for casino games to hit, here are some of the ways they’ve integrated elements:
Bonus features & rounds in slot games
For a long time, slots were incredibly simple games. You put your money in, spin the 3 or 5 reels, and see if you’ve won anything. Whilst the basic premise of the game has stayed the same, they’ve come on leaps and bounds since the simple days of yonder.
With many video games having ‘side missions,’ online slots took inspiration for this and started adding special side bonuses. These bonuses have even progressed to having multiple stages, with the final stage being the hardest to hit – like a final boss almost – but also having the best reward, such as hitting the progressive jackpot.
RPG elements
Online casinos themselves have started taking after popular RPG games. These styles of games had a huge surge of popularity in the early 2000s, with games like the Final Fantasy series, Baldur’s Gate, and the Elder Scrolls series gaining a cult following.
Many casinos have implemented a leveling-up system for members, who can earn various bonuses when they place bets. These bonuses include things such as free spins on their favorite slots, bonus chips for live casino games, straight-up cash, and even real-life prizes – one casino even offered pizza!
Online slots also included elements of RPG game systems, with some games also having a leveling system that sees the player earning various bonuses in the slot game.
Graphical overhauls
One of the biggest tie-ins between the two industries is graphics. As video game graphics improve, so do the graphics of online casino games.
These changes are usually just lagging behind the video game industry by a small amount of time -usually just a few months to a year – but as soon as there’s a big change in graphical quality, casino games shift with it.
From the big move to high definition to virtual reality, throughout the last 30 years, casino games have always followed both console and PC graphics cards!
Anime personas and heroes
Another aspect of games that has exploded is the Anime aesthetic that has come out of Japan. Online casinos have run with this, and some have even gone as far as to have some sort of character mottled in anime style to welcome you to the casino, virtually show you around and introduce various features.
In this spirit, you can also find online casino brands which have ‘heroes’ of the casino doing the same thing – showing new players around. Some casinos even have bonuses themed around these heroes for people to enjoy when they sign up.
Gamification
In a kind of mish-mash of many of the previous points, one of the biggest changes are the entire gamification protocols being implemented in online casinos. With this, brands will add things like achievements and the aforementioned leveling-up systems to create a more video game atmosphere in their casinos.
Video games have created a whole new breed of ‘achievement hunters’ since their integration with Xbox achievements and Playstation trophies – some gamers will go out of their way to complete a game 100% and get every achievement. Online casinos saw this and figured out how to make the concept work just as well in online casinos as it does in video games.
The connection between video games and online casinos is undeniable – and in the future, we’re only going to see more aspects of each appearing in the other!
