Ainsworth is one of the older poker machine operators in Australia, and the company has worked hard to bring itself in line with more modern gaming trends. This week, the company announced that it would be getting involved with one of the most popular trends in recent years: movie-based poker machines.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Ainsworth will be launching two new pokies based Showgirls and the Sound of Music. They are two completely different movies – with one being a classic musical based on a nanny’s relationship with some lovely children and the other being a movie about a stripper – so, it seems like the company wants to appeal across the board.
The new games will be released in the American gambling market, as they will be released in a market sector that is currently prohibited in Australia. This market sector allows games manufacturers to actually share in the profits of poker machines; whereas, in Australia, all profits from pokies are distributed back into the community and throughout the gaming sector.
"As we grow our licence library we can grow the business," says Danny Gladstone, Chief Executive of Ainsworth. "It's a competitive marketplace. Every manufacturer wants to get into that space." This type of revenue-sharing is only offered to the most popular poker machines, so that casino operators can make the most of it and that they can justify slicing their profits in half.
One such game that has entered into this type of agreement is Aristocrat’s Walking Dead poker machine, which has seen the biggest debut of any pokie in America. As such, Ainsworth aims to create big-name pokies. Showgirls and The Sound of Music are instantly recognisable brands, and they will certainly help to generate a great deal of buzz among pokie players.
About the Author
