Producing a hit slot machine of any type is never easy. There are dozens of competitors, constantly changing demographics, new technologies and a host of other variables from branding and graphics to play mechanics and progressives. But there are two machine categories that are especially challenging for manufacturers: video poker and high-denom reel slots. IGT retired the video poker trophy so long ago, no one even knows what it looks like anymore. While not quite as formidable as Poker, it’s been equally hard to make a breakthrough with the dollar-and-up reel-spinner.
Reels in general have never been easy. IGT’s “S2000” and the look-a-like Bally “S6000” had the category to themselves for years. However, in the face of stiff competition from videos, the general category (except for high denomination) began to fade. At least until some new players came along. The first was Konami with their “Advantage” cabinets. Then Aruze turned up the brightness (literally) with their “Innovator.” IGT and Bally/SciGames both came back strong with the “S3000/Crystal Dual” and the latest “Twin Star” respectively. Aristocrat was the most recent player to join the fray with their “Relm.”
While not matching video performance, all of these manufactures have had varying degrees of success in low denomination reel formats. But none of them, with the possible exception of a few IGT legacy titles, have really created strong interest from the big spending, high-limit reel players. At least until Everi’s “Player Classic” was released. It was first launched as a Class II game from MultiMedia (MGAM).
Most new reel-spinners, even the best of them, take months or years to gain popularity. But the “Skyline” version of the “Player Classic” was an immediate hit, first in Native American casinos in a Class 2 format. When MGAM merged to become Everi, the hits have just kept coming in both Class 2 & 3.
Dean Ehrlich, an Executive Vice President at Everi says, “We have differentiated play mechanics throughout the Everi portfolio without making it overly complex which throughout the years has created significant brand loyalty.”
Perhaps it is the game’s lack of complexity that gave folks willing to risk more than a few dollars per handle pull the trust and confidence to try this machine early on and then stick with them. The three-reel formats are far simpler than most competitors and seem to have the perfect feel of a traditional game. But Everi has managed to combine these basic popular elements of a standard three-reeler with an attractive top box capable of delivering bonusing and progressive features found on the latest video platforms. That has been the goal of almost every manufacturer in the reel-spinning category for years but getting the right balance has been elusive. Everi seems to have found the perfect formula and they’ve been able to repeat it successfully time and again. It’s a unique sophisticated simplicity.
The nationwide Eilers-Fantini Performance index has shown Everi as the Number One reel-spinner among high denomination games for months. The company has four games in the Top 10 of this category. Likewise, Reel Metrics ranks them as the strongest of the non-Big Four manufacturers overall, and based on the “Player Classic” and also a #1 ranking in Portrait Cabinets (the “Empire Flex”), they’ve moved ahead of Konami to take the Number Four spot in last month’s “ship share” index.
New models of the “Player Classic” are being released in Q3/Q4 and will include two versions of their “Triple Double” series: “Triple Double Patriot” and “Triple Double Gems.” Multipliers multiply winning combinations except the progressives. Two bonus multiplier symbols on an active payline multiply together and multiply the winning non-progressive combinations. Again, in keeping it simple, the progressives are symbol-triggered, a time-honored reel-spinner tradition.
Ehrlich adds, “In sum, it’s our measured approach to game design creating themes with simply game play, enticing upside, familiar mechanics, and clear pay tables, which we believe are core elements this loyal player base appreciates.”
Don’t count on Everi losing this loyal fan base anytime soon.
