One of the more popular formats in the online slots world is the concept of Megaways, which feature elements like a growing bonus multiplier, six reels, bonus spaces above the middle reels and variable reel heights. For players who frequent both online and in person casinos, they sometimes wonder if Megaways will ever make the leap to physical casinos:
Question about the amazing Megaways on online slots. Are they ever going to bring them into a brick and mortar casino?
D’Anne M.
At some point we figure it’ll make the leap, but attempts to bring some of those elements to in-person casinos has not yielded much results.
Companies like IGT and Aristocrat have tried out games with variable reel heights in recent years. In the case of Aristocrat, they tested it with the venerable Buffalo line of slots, creating Buffalo Gold Max Power. In the case of IGT, it was another popular brand, Da Vinci Diamonds, with Da Vinci Diamonds Masterpiece.
But even though the Buffalo title in particular got some installs in casinos, you’d be hard pressed to find them today, only a couple of years later. None of the titles which had this mechanic really did all that well.
Of course, these were just testing elements of what makes Megaways games special. For two years running we saw a genuine Megaways game at the Ainsworth booth at G2E. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen it on casino floors to date.
Gaming Arts ported a popular online brand, Big Catch Bass Fishing, but with the port they simplified some elements of the bonus round, opting against having the growing multiplier element many of the fishing games do when you trigger a bonus. During G2E 2024, we were told a future version may introduce this to casino floors, but they opted for a more traditional game to start.
And this may be part of the challenge – the demographics of those who enjoy Megaways online may diverge with those who enjoy the more traditional slots on the casino floor, so it may be a scenario of just waiting for the right time to be able to pull in players who enjoy the online game variations.
For now, that means we continue to wait for a genuine Megaways game to succeed on casino floors, but we imagine it’s a matter of when, not if, it happens.
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