Creating games that resonate with players
Next Gaming, located in Las Vegas NV, continues to build upon their vision of delivering unique and engaging slot games to the casino floors.
“Owning the 80’s arcade genre for skill-based games has been the focus of Next Gaming.” Mike Darley, Next Gaming’s CEO says,“The games appeal to a wide demographic range and offer entertainment value that is uniquely positioned to elevate the slot gaming experience. Our first phase of games contains some of the most familiar and cherished titles of that era.” This is surely evident with their current portfolio which includes Asteroids, Missile Command and Tempest from Atari and Arkanoid and Bust-A-Move from Taito. Consistently ranked among the top arcade games of the 80’s, these titles are brought to life with their “retro-mod” design elements, which combines the authenticity of the original games and contemporary visual elements. “In working closely with both Atari and Taito, we were very adamant of keeping the authenticity of the original arcade games.To do less than that would have defeated our purpose of reviving the emotional and familiar connection to those games.The brand and game recognition generally triggers fond memories of playing those games in the arcades with your friends or playing them on a console with friends and family at home” says Darley.
“Our focus groups consistently confirm that we are delivering on our objectives. Comments such as,“I really don’t play slots, but I would play these games!,” “I spent hours and hours in the arcade and now I can finally play them in a casino,”and“They play just like the originals but with a chance to win some money, get on the leader board and earn bragging rights!”
“In working closely with both Atari and Taito, we were very adamant of keeping the authenticity of the original arcade games. To do less than that would have defeated our purpose of reviving the emotional and familiar connection to those games.”
—Mike Darley, CEO, Next Gaming
When you reflect on the conversations that started a few years ago about the need for innovation with slot products,Next Gaming is delivering.They deliberately chose to design games that resonated with the entire demographic spectrum from baby boomers to millennials and even the up and coming GenZer’s who are turning 21.These games are certainly cross-generational and the opportunity to capture new players and offer something uniquely different to the current players is being delivered by their talented team.
For their second phase of games, Next Gaming is developing Tempest and Missile Command from Atari and a brand-new game, which they have designed in collaboration with Taito, Bust-A-Move Adventures. This group, along with the others, stay true to the authentic play of the arcade versions while incorporating the branded interpretation of Next’s retro-mod style.
To further compliment their gaming portfolio and offer some- thing for everyone, Next Gaming has just recently licensed Centipede from Atari and has two VERY familiar titles from Taito which will be announced prior to G2E. Darley continues,“The relationship we have fostered with both Atari and Taito continues to flourish.The confidence they have in us by allowing their most iconic titles to be placed in our hands is quite a compliment.”
When asked when their games will be ready for placements Darley replied: “We are currently in the labs for precertification testing to ensure our games are ready for our field trial period in Nevada. Concurrently, we are testing for additional jurisdictions which include, but are not limited to, Oklahoma, California and Atlantic City.”
We can’t wait.
