A couple of weeks back I wrote about my favorite G+ Deluxe games, which you can read Part 1 and Part 2. I also recently wrote about Ocean Casino Resort, and how their unusual history meant they have a lot of those games available on machines that should survive awhile.
Fans of the old WMS games have probably noticed their availability thinning out. The reason is pretty simple – many of the machines that these games were built to run on were designed anywhere from 10 to 20 years ago. Getting parts for these machines gets increasingly difficult.
As such, many casinos working to keep some of them alive are cannibalizing their own machines for parts, and that means over time less of these machines on the floor. This coincides with a surge of new gaming hardware from a lot of the manufacturers which are bigger and brighter taking their places.
The situation is better in some markets than others; Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have pruned their collection to just a few left, while in Las Vegas last December there was so many amazing old machines at Mandalay Bay to play, among other locations, that I felt like a kid in a candy store.
One of the biggest challenges is that WMS was not as aggressive as other game companies in keeping their popular titles available on newer machines. Aristocrat and IGT have been pretty good at ensuring their classic games can still be ordered on modern machines.
So when new casinos open up at places like Hard Rock in Atlantic City, you’d find games like Sun & Moon, Geisha and the original Buffalo on the gaming floor. On the IGT side Cleopatra and Cleopatra II are regularly available on new hardware. WMS games did not have that advantage.
Two years ago, I was at the Scientific Games showroom and saw they had a new Jungle Wild game. Talking with the team there, they had realized that fans wanted to see these games survive, and they had begun a problem to revive old titles.
Last year, I noticed Bier Haus, and so G+ Deluxe was on their radar. Now, Scientific Games is listing no less than four G+ Deluxe themes as available to casinos on modern hardware:
The Scientific Games team has done an admirable job in recreating the feel of these games based on what I’ve seen of them – I haven’t played them personally yet but it’s exciting to see these return to the casino, and these are even more faithful than some of the other remakes.
For those who aren’t a fan of the G+ Deluxe line but love other old WMS games, they’ve been rebooting other games too. I’ve written here about the Jungle Wild remake (and its twin Luau Loot), but they’ve also taken on others, including:
- Goldfish
- Invaders from the Planet Moolah (the original)
Many of these are still working their way to various casinos, but those that are fans of these classic games will have something to look forward to in the future.
Hi Joshua! I am wondering if readers’ comments are visible at knowyourslots? I haven’t seen any comments and there must be many…
Hi there – comments are moderated initially but unless there’s a major issue, I tend to let them through.
I came across under AP slots. I’ve played it many times but can’t see any AP associated with it?
The Must Hit By nature of the progressives is why that’s checked off, but it’s definitely not in the same category as the other AP slots where the game itself is structured that way.
Those four G+ machine titles have a HUGE following, esp King of Africa & Mystical Unicorn, I am happy to see they will survive! I sent feedback about them to The Seminole Hardrock Casino which has only 4 left on the floor in Hollywood, FL.
Yeah wherever I see King of Africa and Mystical Unicorn they seem to be popular, so clearly casinos are keeping them around for a reason š It is good to see that the games will live to see another day!