Aristocrat, creating online versions of some of your favourite classic casino slots

OVERVIEW

Aristocrat is a well established online casino game developer that aims to create the very best online casino gambling experiences for players every day. The company has a long history in the industry going all the way back to 1953 when it launched as a developer of slot machines for land-based casinos and other gaming venues. It’s an Australian company and is currently the largest supplier of gambling machines in the country; it’s also the second largest in the world, after IGT. It’s been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since 1996 and has continued to experience significant success by diversifying; while maintaining a focus on physical casino games.

The company has delved into both the online and mobile markets, making a considerable impact in both. The international team at Aristocrat is made up of over 5,000 people; the developer operates in more than 90 countries and is fully licensed to distribute slots and various gaming machines in over 240 jurisdictions.

Aristocrat has made several major acquisitions over the past few years: its acquisi-tion of Plarium Global Ltd in 2017 saw the company take its first steps outside of the field of online casino game development. This is because Plarium Global Ltd specialises in developing free-to-play desktop and mobile games with a strong social aspect. A similar company, Big Fish Gaming, was then acquired in 2018.

STRENGTHS

The critical advantage of Aristocrat is that their games are tried and tested. That is to say; its online games are adapted from its land-based games. The company doesn’t create original online games, instead choosing to take its pre-existing land-based games and create online versions of them. By opting for this way of doing things, Aristocrat knows that its online games stand a high chance of becoming a hit with players; after all, its land-based games are very successful, with many people having played them at casinos and other gaming venues all over the world. Therefore, it stands to reason that online versions of these games will also prove popular.

Despite them being in a different format, they’re designed to be almost exact replicas of the originals. This may be a safe approach to take, but it’s one that seems to be working.

WEAKNESSES

Aristocrat has gained an excellent reputation for itself thanks to the high quality of its land-based slot machines. They come in all sorts of themes, with many of them based on popular franchises and IPs; a sample of these include Britney Spears, The Big Bang Theory, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.

However, a fundamental weakness about the developer is that, unfortunately, licensing arrangements mean that many branded titles can’t have online versions developed. Aristocrat’s catalogue of branded slot machines is quite extensive com-pared with what other developers have to offer, so it appears a shame that this is the case. It is hoped by many that the developer will be able to launch online versions of its branded land-based slots in the future, as there’s no doubt they’d be a huge hit with online players.

Another weakness to point out is that, while the developer’s online games have been received quite favourably, its games library is on the smaller side compared with other developers.

KEY INFORMATION

• Aristocrat has won a good number of industry awards over the years. These in-clude the following:
• Social Casino Operator of the Year at the Gaming Intelligence Awards 2018
• Best Slot Product at the 15th Annual Gaming & Technology Awards 2015
• Oasis 360, which is North America’s most widely used casino management sys-tem, was developed by Aristocrat. It’s a complete solution that offers operators pretty much every tool they need to connect their brand and games with players and drive up profits.
• The developer pioneered the five-reel slot machine and was also responsible for launching the very first electronic slot machine.

FINAL VERDICT / RATING

What’s excellent about Aristocrat is that it sticks to what it does best. While some other developers take risks by continually launching new games, Aristocrat focuses on creating online versions of its well established land-based slots, which are some of the most widely available and regularly played in the world. It would be good to see the company's portfolio of games expand to include online versions of its branded slot machines, as well as more games in general.

Though Aristocrat may not have the greatest online presence, the online games it does have available are fun to play, especially if you’ve played them in land-based casinos before. If you’re not familiar with the developer’s land-based slots, you don't have to visit your nearest casino to try them out - simply get online and find an Aris-tocrat casino instead. You’ll notice there are many top casinos offering games by the developer. If you like beautifully rendered games with exciting features and entertaining gameplay, Aristocrat’s slots will surely appeal to you.