Skill-based Pokies to Launch in Australia

Pokies trace their origin to San Francisco in the 19 th century. The first slot machine was launched in the 1890s. It instantly became a hit as gamblers rushed to quench their curiosity on the coin-spitting machine.

In a span of 100 years, Pokies spread all over the world. Australia embraced the gambling machines warmly with almost every street in the country’s major cities establishing a Poky machine. Over 80% of the country engage in gambling of some sort. Many of the players are longtime fans, mainly older than 50 years.

In recent years, revenues from pokies have declined. The new generation of players isn’t interested in poker games. Millennials are more interested in sophisticated, skill-based games. To respond to the changing demands, casinos in Australia are replacing old slots with more intensive, skill-based games. Let’s look at the features makes the new games interesting to millennials and how they could help save the lonely poky parlors in Australia.

Great Storylines

Millennials think Pokies are “mindless and boring” according to an Australian gambling researcher. By contrast, they consider skill-based games entertaining and engaging. Modern skill-based slot games are targeting the younger generation with immersive storylines with pop culture themes.

A football themed slot engages the player in a tournament like a soccer world cup. The player picks a team and plays game after game until the finals. Throughout the process, the gamblers are made to believe they have control over the game. They gamble at different stages of the game. But the storyline keeps them hooked until they complete a tournament.

Games' storylines go hand in hand with the gameplay. Sometimes a game may have an uninteresting storyline. But if the games' characters, plot, and aim are interesting, players are hooked.

Role Playing

Contrary to the older generations, millennials prefer games where they have a role to play. They are not interested in pressing a button and waiting for lady luck to win. They love games like first shooters and multi-players.

Modern gamers want to be the stars of the game, shooting and annihilating any characters they come across. Role games have multiple benefits according to health experts. They cultivate creativity as the players strive to solve a certain problem. They are more entertaining and have a social aspect to them.

Great Graphics

One of the biggest concerns players have over Pokies is that they have simple graphics. Older players have no problems with the graphics. But millennials do. In fact, 75% of players say video graphics matter when choosing a game to play. In contrast to the notion that gameplay matters more, graphics are an important aspect of video gaming.

The fact that many slot games use graphics minimally makes them less entertaining to the younger generation. Another interesting fact about millennial gamers is that they don’t rely on one feature to choose a good game. The players look for a combination of features to decide whether to play a game or not.

As gambling game developers invest in graphics-rich games, they have to keep in mind the storylines as well. They must create good gameplay and keep the game high-quality in nature.

Ease of use

Video game manufacturers have long progressed from the days they used to make every game impossible to win. Taking a cue from casino games, developers nowadays create extremely easy to play games. Or maybe they don't. 

The advancement of technology has made it easier to defeat video game characters than ever before. It is easier to control the characters. Game progressions are saved automatically and you can always adjust the player mode.

Casino games have always excelled at making easy games. You can play Australian pokies online for real money on your first day at an online casino. You don’t need a guide to play the games. They are easy to play, immersive, and re-playable.

Game Variety

According to researchers, game variety can make or break an online casino. Many gambling sites have already learned to deal with the problem. They support hundreds of casinos to ensure players have the variety they deserve.

With millennials, Poky game variety is not enough. The younger players constantly experiment with different games. Casinos that want to attract the generation are developing all sorts of skill-based games. They have movie franchise-based games like the Fantastic Four. They have sports-themed games and music-themed varieties.

Because they also aim to make profits, the games have a gambling aspect in them. Players win by matching certain symbols. In puzzle games, gamblers are rewarded for unlocking new levels and solving different problems. The games have multipliers and opportunities for bonuses as well.

Spectators, Multiple Platforms and Competitiveness

These days, there is a thin line between gaming and socializing with friends. Among millennials, gaming has become a sociable activity. You see gamers stream their activities on YouTube and twitch all the time.

Many skill-based games also encourage social shares because players’ scores show their level of skills. The ability to play the same game across multiple platforms has also been playing a great role in the success of skill-based games.

Online casinos are responding to players’ demands by ensuring each game can be played on mobile devices. Although most millennials don’t play every game on mobile devices, they look for that convenience when choosing games. They also love games they could share to friends or stream and have thousands of fans watching.

Transparency

Although the gambling industry has been embracing transparency over the years, younger players are keen on ensuring they play fair games. Unlike many casino games, video game manufacturers show their transparency in every step of the development process.

Some manufacturers live-stream their game-making process to appeal to future fans. Once the games are complete, players have full knowledge of how the game works and what it takes to win. Casinos that look forward to attracting younger gamblers are taking similar measures. The gambling sites work with third-party auditors to evaluate the fairness of each game. They also display the names of game auditors for further transparency.

To Conclude

Australian gambling companies are following the footsteps of US-based casinos in adopting skill-based games. Millennials are the biggest targets when it comes to modern games. But since older players are also learning modern games, developers are making different games to suit players of all ages. What’s interesting is that skill-based games have better graphics and more immersive storylines but still easy to play for everyone.