Aristocrat Europe kicks off 2013 with its largest ever presence at ICE

“Aristocrat celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and for us ICE is the beginning of a series of global trade shows in which we have the opportunity to showcase first-hand how the engaging, entertaining and innovative aspects of our game development continues to grow as we increase our presence in the European market,” said Maguire.

Having already revealed details of a number of high profile licensed games heading into Europe via its ICE launch pad, Aristocrat is now drawing attention to further game segments designed to suit a wide range of markets.

Multi-Play is an area that’s proved particularly popular with players over the last six months, following the launch of Wonder 4. A new ‘special edition’ version will be demonstrated at ICE alongside another Reel Power led medley of four games-in-one called A Win For all Seasons.

Playing up to four reel sets concurrently is the theme of the Mega Pay range, with leading titles such as The Phantom now paving the way for new releases including ZORRO The Tale of the Lost Gold – complete with a unique, eye-catching ‘flaming Z’ topper – and There’s The Gold, a multi-reel set progression of its successful predecessor, Where’s The Gold.

Multi-Game enthusiasts will be seeing treble this year as the Legends series gets set to multiply. Following on from the recently launched Queen of the Nile Legends, two more legendary Aristocrat games, 5 Dragons and Big Red have been adapted to offer players the same dual-pack choice of ‘Classic’ or ‘Deluxe’ game play.

Operators and players who enjoy Aristocrat’s best-loved line games are now being rewarded with a suite of Classic games specially adapted and enhanced for widescreen play. The Classics include 9-line games Dolphin Treasure, Geisha, Pompeii, Queen of the Nile, Tiki Torch, Whales of Cash and the 100-line Wild Panda.

“For some players, nostalgia and familiarity with renowned Aristocrat games play a big part in our success,” said Maguire. “At the same time new players are being introduced to some of these key characters and themes through new media such as Online and downloadable fun-to-play mobile apps.

“Aristocrat has been making great games and entertaining people for 60 years and I believe that as we continue to drive innovation around the globe we will grow as operators and players discover and rediscover the inherent appeal of what goes into an Aristocrat game.”

“Aristocrat’s design and development programme caters for a range of player segments covering traditional gaming as well as new themes, new innovative concepts and experiences. Sometimes games will incorporate both facets,” he continued.

VIRIDIAN Hybrid crosses the divide between video game and mechanical reels. Here, the company is adding Emerald Empire to its Ultra Spin 4-level progressive jackpot series and introducing the Stormin’ Jackpots bolt-on progressive theme with the release of Indigo Cove and Lotus Garden.

The firm’s ICE stand will include a number of new standalone games incorporating a mixture of new gaming concepts and extensions to existing games categories:

• Gangsters Gold and Secret of the Dragon introduce the new Secret Symbol feature;

• Aristocrat All Stars II receives a Reel Power boost over its line-based predecessor;

• FireLight upgrades from Reel Power to Xtra Reel Power in FireLight II;

• The Xtra Reel Power library is further extended with new titles Buffalo Moon and Wolf Moon;

• Lady Buccaneer (Reel Power) adds to the line of REMIX games;

• Ante bet game Pyramid Magic sees familiar characters bring a new twist to wilds;

• Dragons Vault adds a sixth reel and stretched wilds to 50-line play.

“With such a variety to choose from, Aristocrat’s 2013 portfolio certainly features a game for every player and operator,” concluded Maguire. “We look forward to operators visiting our ICE stand, sharing in our excitement and leaving the London Show energised and ready to go!”