Still hooked on old casino slots? VR and NetEnt are here to garnish your beans
Have you ever sat at a table in a casino, looked at the dealer in the eye and in that split second known that he was about to take your lunch away? Well, that’s what the conventional casino must feel with the coming of Virtual Reality into play. But again, we are talking about an industry that has been able to reinvent itself over and over again so maybe I’m being a little dramatic over here. Whichever the case, Virtual Reality (VR) is fast catching on, especially in the online casino world. The technology seeks to bring a real feel to gaming, and its reach is simply limitless. SlotsMillion paved the way with the introduction of the first ‘VR-ish’ slot in 2015. Now NetEnt is joining in on the fun, and it’s even more intriguing to be part of this revolution.
NetEnt’s buy-in
In a twist that will enthrall casino enthusiasts around the world, NetEnt is going all in for 2017. The entertainment group is now taking over Gonzo’s Quest and putting it on the forefront of the charge towards surreal visuals and simulated environments. Gonzo’s Quest has always been great on its own, but you can bet what a VR dimension to what is already an epic production will do. NetEnt has yet to put a date on when this VR-based online video slot is going to come out, but a tentative guess would be anything from late 2017 to early 2018. If you want to fine tune your skills over the course of this indefinite layover, there are sites out there that allow you to play Gonzo’s Quest for free.
What will NetEnt’s VR slot feature?
· Diverse opportunities to explore your surroundings
The Demo shows Gonzo making his way out of the wild and using his map to find a way past barriers. There are strategies, aided by your VR equipment, that allow you to locate areas of weaknesses and wriggle rooms in the barriers.
· Great views
While the original Gonzo’s quests is a 2D affair, this one comes in with all the works a 360-degree view that’s worth dying for. The menus are also incorporated into one single screen, so you won’t need to toggle all over.
· Falling prizes
With this online slot, you will get to see your coins falling from the sky, which makes for great visuals any day.
What does NetEnt’s forays into VR mean for iGaming?
Slots is just the beginning. Soon we will see the VR technology implemented into live casino games. We are talking about a future where anything from blackjack to roulette, slots and even craps can become part of a simulated VR world. It looks like iGaming just started. When it’s done dealing its hand, we will probably see all sorts of VR action from our screens, which puts brick and mortar casinos on shaky ground unless of course, they choose to move with the times. Now, I’m neither an action Jackson nor some sort of an old man on the mountain, but I’ll wager a tenner that I just felt the ground give in some.
Garon Cockrell is the Founder and Editor of Pop Culture Beast and host of The Pop Culture Beast Show. He founded the site over seven years ago to have a place on the internet to write about the things he loved. Since then, Garon has become a best-selling author (Demonic and Other Tales), an award winning screenwriter (Best Screenplay 2013 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival), and a cast member on the top rated podcast, Never Not Funny.