Merkur – the games with the sun
One of the two very big manufacturers is Merkur from the Gauselmann company. The games with the sun became very popular in the 90s with the slot machines in pubs and petrol stations. In the meantime, however, the games have evolved and what were then electromechanical machines have now become fully electronic slots based on computers.
But the appearance of the actual machines has also changed considerably. Whereas in the past the “boxes” simply hung on the wall, today modern entertainment gaming machines are set up. In most cases, this also includes a seat on which one can make oneself comfortable to play. The devices (multigamers) themselves can be used flexibly; as a rule, you can choose from several games today without having to change the device for a different slot.
Today, video slots with 5 reels, such as Wild Spirit, dominate, but games based on the classics, such as Triple Triple Chance, can still be found in the game selection. The fact that this slot machine manufacturer does not rest on its laurels is evident from the fact that a new game is released on average every month. The new releases of the last months were:
- Fruit of the Desert: 5-reel slot with desert setting and classic fruit symbols;
- Random Joker: 5-reel fruit slot with unique wild feature;
- Up to 7: 3-reel slot with 5 paylines with symbol upgrade on full frames;
- Diamond & Gold: typical video slot, 1st and 5th reel are automatically wild during free spins;
- Dimension Blue: 4 symbols on 5 reels each with a new reel spin feature.
The new slot machines could also be played in online casinos, but they were removed last year and can now only be played in gaming arcades.
Novomatic – the popular Novoline games
The logo of the well-known manufacturer NovomaticNew Dominator series machineThe games of the Novoline brand are also well known to amusement arcade patrons. The manufacturer Novomatic, based in Gumpoldskirchen, Austria, like its competitor Merkur, has evolved from the old slot machines to modern fully electronic gaming machines that are in no way inferior in terms of game selection and convenience. The new NovoStar machines even offer a choice of several slot machines, and the Executive SL machines are multiplayer terminals on which you can play games with several participants, such as roulette.
The core of the game development, however, is still the slot machines. Here, too, video slots with 5 reels have been released in recent years. For the development of new titles, various studios were taken over and incorporated into the Gauselmann Group, such as Admiral, Greentube, EDP, Mazooma,!NEW, Astra Gaming or Extra Games Entertainment.
But classics like Book of Ra in particular have also been developed further. The latest titles are Book of Ra deluxe 6 with 6 reels or Gate of Ra with a female main character. Other Book games use the same game principle but new environments such as the Mayan pyramids, astronomy or Greek mythology.
Bally Wulff
Bally Wulff, third-largest manufacturer of slot machines, is now part of the large Schmidt Group, which operates around 180 gaming venues. The modern gaming terminals are delivered with entire game packages. The packages such as Maxi Play Select, Action Star Hero or Gastro Star contain up to 50 games such as Sitting Bull, Ramses Book, Fruit Mania, Gates of Persia or Super Duper Cherry. The focus here is also on modern 5-reel video slots with free spins and risk ladders.