Software Developer: Aristocrat

Introduction

Aristocrat is a well-known casino developer who’ve got over 50 years of experience making slots, and gaming cabinets, and today we’re looking at the games they’ve made for online play. We’ll cover regular slots, to progressive jackpots, and we’ll even look at the company itself, to see where they come from, and why they’re so popular.

Aristocrat slots are a common sight in land-based-casinos around the world, and while the game developer hasn’t seen quite so much success online, they’re fast becoming a household name for many who indulge in online gambling, and it’s not uncommon to see Aristocrat’s games offered through other software provider’s platforms, as we’ve seen Microgaming do so many times.

Primarily serving the US and Australian land-based markets, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Aristocrat began to optimize their games for desktop and mobile play – and since then, they’ve gone on to port over many of their slots for online play – something we’ll cover in this post.

First, we’re going to take a brief look at Aristocrat, and their history:

About Aristocrat

Aristocrat is one of the oldest gambling companies in the world, first founded back in 1953. Originally founded as a sports betting company, Aristocrat soon became involved in slot machine development, and this trend has continued right to the present day, with the company continuing to grow in size, and number.

In fact, today the software provider employs over 5,000 staff around the world – making them one of the biggest employers in the online gambling industry – and they’re found in over 90 countries, showing just how powerful and experienced they really are.

Aside from their slots, Aristocrat offer a range of land-based gaming machines, social gaming products (think Facebook free-to-play games), and casino management systems (the platforms which online casinos actually run on.

It’s their slots which have made them so famous, however – and we’ll take a look at some of their most popular games in the section below:

 Aristocrat Slots

Aristocrat slots can largely be categorized into two sections; branded, and non-branded. We’ll look at their non-branded slots first and will get to their branded games in just a moment.

Non-Branded Slots

Aristocrat have a certain knack for building games that attract players, both before gameplay, and during the spins – and it’s not hard to see why and how.

Their games are visually outstanding, and it’s clear no second-measures are taken when it comes to designing and developing a title.

One of the best examples of the software providers graphical skills is found in their “Weird Wicked and Wild” slot, which uses an abstract theme mixed with cinematic audio sounds to create a deep, rich, and highly-enjoyable playing experience.

“Buffalo” is another non-branded slot that offers an immersive playing experience and coupled with the potential for wins as high as 14,000X your stake, there’s more than one reason to give the game a play.

Almost all of Aristocrat’s slots feature some form of bonus-round – usually free-spins – and while this is common in most software provider’s games, Aristocrat tend to make their bonuses quite high in variance, meaning it’s rare you get a poor-paying bonus.

Branded Slots

The branded slots department is where Aristocrat really shine, and you don’t have to look far to see how influential the game developer is – just look at some of the brands they’ve partnered up with!

Their most popular branded game is undoubtedly “The Walking Dead”, which was built in direct partnership with AMC, and this game can be found in land-based-casinos and online casinos around the world. Featuring actual cut-scenes from the series, along with audio clips and visual animations, the game is great to look at; but it also offers really decent gameplay, and two different bonuses ensure a sense of variety you just don’t find in many slots today.

Britney Spears is a slot aimed at the more recreational player, and while it won’t’ appeal to hardcore slot enthusiasts as much (due to its low-variance nature), it – again – showcases what the developer is capable of, with stunning 3D visuals accompanying every spin.

If you’re looking to play something a little less intense – then the Big Bang Theory slot is ideal, featuring smooth, fluid, and enjoyable gameplay – that’s just a tad less ‘in your face’ than the Walking Dead.

Other branded slots include Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, and Sky Rider.

Aristocrat’s Classic Slots

Unlike most software providers, Aristocrat aren’t afraid to hold true to their roots, and their game catalogue is made up of a huge range of “classic” slots – or, in other words, games that are more like the one’s you’d have found in land-based-casinos in the 70’s, and 80’s.

Classic slots tend to feature just one, or sometimes three paylines – and they’re a lot higher in variance than video slots, as it’s a lot harder to make a winning combination of symbols (due to the lower number of paylines.)

Of course, this means wins come less often – but when they do come, you’ll enjoy MUCH bigger wins; and one of the most popular classic slots the developer have produced, is “Queen of the Nile”, which offers up to 2,000X your stake on a single spin, for matching 3-of-a-kind of the top symbol.

More Chilli is another classic slot from Aristocrat that’s become a hit with players, and a subtle Mexican theme engrosses you as you play. A succinct and pleasurable soundtrack featuring flamenco guitarists accompanies every spin – and again the win-potential is clear, with up to 1,500X your stake available to win on any one spin.

Other classic games from the provider include “Dragon’s Gold”, “Mr. Cashman”, and “Mr. Cashman 2”.

Mobile Gaming

Aristocrat aren’t overly well-known for their mobile-optimized games, and it’s fair to say that it took the developer a while to fully-embrace the whole mobile gambling scene.

Still, that being said, today they’ve started to make some big changes to their games, with some of their more popular titles now available to play on cell phones and tablets, and with the mobile gambling market continuing to grow, it’s likely we’ll see this trend increasing over the coming months and years.

One important thing to note, is that some of the slots which aren’t mobile-optimized may still run on mobile devices – so if you notice that a slot isn’t rendering ‘quite right’, or if something looks a little off to you, it may be because you’re playing a non-mobile-optimized version.

Final Verdict

Aristocrat is a big name in the online gambling world, but UK and European players may find the brand a little ‘foreign’, as their game-range is only slowly becoming available to United Kingdom Gambling Commission-licensed and Malta Gaming Authority-licensed casinos.

Still, despite their slightly underwhelming online presence, the developer has a long history in creating successful land-based-casino slots, so you can be assured that any game you do decide to try out will be worth playing and will live up to your expectations.