As far as SHMUPs go, few are considered true classics of the genre as much as Centipede. Since it arrived in arcades in 1980, it’s been ported, cloned, and remade numerous times. The game even played a special role in the Adam Sandler snoozefest Pixels.

Centipede was but one of many retro arcade titles to be made into slot machines. There’s an Atari branded online social casino featuring multiple takes on Star Raiders and Asteroids. They also have Pong and Centipede (whose misspelled name “Centepede” is strangely telling about the classic brand’s current owners) advertised as “coming soon.”

Atari isn’t the only historic video game brand that wants to make money off of real money gaming, either.  Konami, which has long had a division dedicated to real money gaming, is perhaps the most high-profile.

Image credit: Yogonet http://www.yogonet.com/international/2015/08/18/konami-to-debut-frogger-slot-machines-at-g2e-2015

The company has been reported to have lobbied hard for the approval of Nevada’s Senate Bill 9, which opens the floor for “skill-based gaming” to be incorporated in slot machines. The introduction of skill would ostensibly mean that slot machine payouts would no longer be governed purely by chance; players would stand to receive a bonus based directly on their skill through specific mini-games.

While skill-based machines haven’t gained much traction on Nevada’s casino floors yet, the company doesn’t seem to be concerned. According to Polygon, Konami’s new CEO said that “mobile is where the future of gaming lies,” and that’s where they seem to be zeroing in for now. Gaming Realms, the company behind online gaming site SpinGenie, expects the lively mobile market to eventually reach $42 billion in revenues by the end of 2016 — a pie of which Konami undoubtedly wants to get a big slice.

The change of Konami’s focus to real money gaming has largely been met with dismay from fans. From a purely objective viewpoint, however, it does make sense. The company won’t have to spend too much time creating new IP, not when it has a full stable of instantly recognizable titles to draw from. Some fans would consider this unholy mining of classic titles as an affront; Konami likely doesn’t care much, if at all.

NOTES:

Image credit: Yogonet http://www.yogonet.com/international/2015/08/18/konami-to-debut-frogger-slot-machines-at-g2e-2015

Carl Williams

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