chanster

Neato! I wonder if these slot machines will show clips from the Originals, Special Editions or DVDs?

The sellout continues......

Try Your Luck with Star Wars Slot Machines
June 10, 2004

International Game Technology (IGT), a leading slot machine manufacturer, has partnered with Lucasfilm to create a series of Star Wars themed slots for casinos. The development will be done at IGT's Reno plant under the direction of Joe Kaminkow, IGT Vice President of Product Design.
"We chose to do Star Wars first for the passion many of the creative designers at IGT share for the title, as well as its broad adult fan base. It is much more than a movie; it is a reality of the cultural phenomena of the 20th century," Kaminkow says. "On a personal level, in the early 1990s the company I worked for prior to IGT created the first of its two Star Wars pinball games. They were fun to play and it was a great feeling to crawl back into the Star Wars universe I enjoyed as a fan and player."

The Star Wars game is different because it is designed and delivered on IGT's Advanced Video Game Platform (AVP). The game has a full stereo sound system, which recreates the music and speech in stunning clarity. The graphics have real 3D elements as well as video clips from A New Hope.

"Real 3D motion-captured artwork is also evident in the game and takes slot machines to a new level achieved by very few games or even motion pictures," Kaminkow reveals. "The game also has a unique mechanical representation of the Death Star that hovers high above the game, rotates and stops on winning values -- sort of an orb-shaped wheel. To play it all you do is select the maximum lines available as well as maximum bet and you are qualified for an opportunity to win a multimillion-dollar jackpot. In the bonus you try to advance through the Death Star to escape and eventually help Luke and Han blow it up at the end of the bonus round."

This game is very true to A New Hope -- great speech, fantastic musical score, live video, true 3-D graphics, and exciting game play," Kaminkow explains. "Everything a fan would want has been jam-packed into the game. It's rich and deep and there will be hours of discover for the player and fan."

Those fans not confident in their poker face, or who shy away from away from complicated instructions are in luck. Since the game has no need of skill, all levels of players can try their luck.

When in the bonus round, the player will be faced with some choices on which stormtrooper to shoot or TIE fighter to destroy. These choices influence the outcome of the bonus. The ultimate moment is the destruction of the Death Star ... if the player can get by Lord Vader.

"What I like most about the game is the total overall Star Wars experience on a game designed for adult play," Kaminkow confesses. "It's fun, fresh and very nostalgic. This is the first in a series of exciting games we hope the Star Wars fan will enjoy playing as much as we enjoyed designing."

The first game represents A New Hope, however future games will represent other episodes or specific characters. The Star Wars slot game is scheduled to be available in most casinos throughout the country by the end of the 2004.

Giantrobo

why not, i've seen some great themed slot machines.

Abranut

I could've sworn that I saw a German Star Wars slot machine for sale on ebay a couple of months ago.

Jackskeleton

This not only rapes my childhood, but it also does a number on my wallet.

Deftones

Not as cool as other countries get.

IGT has Austin Powers slots in a few places. They had a South Park slot machine, but pulled it off the market shortly after it was released.

Mike

I've seen the South Park machine steadily at casinos for the past year or two. I saw one as recently as early May. (Though $40 later I wished it didn't exist!)

TheMadMonk

If you hit the jackpot, does it dispense Ewok dung?

silentbob007

It can never be as good as "The Family Feud" ones ....

Rivero

My inner child has a bleeding ass.

gcribbs

I guess it is all about the money.

You would think Lucas would not want to make money this way off Star Wars.

Mondo Kane

I hardly ever win anything on IGT machines, but of course I'll give this one a shot.

Shannon Nutt

Well, considering there are also slot machines based on The Terminator, M*A*S*H, The Twilight Zone, Young Frankenstein, Saturday Night Live, I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island, Animal House, I Dream of Jeannie and The Beverly Hillbillies, I don't see what the big deal is. And I didn't even mention all the slots based on TV Game Shows...

Get Me Coffee

The force is with you... *DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING *DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*DING*

Panda Phil

Everyone yelling "Sellout!" obviously weren't around in '77, '80, and '82 when SW stuff was marketed every way you could imagine.

Surprised it took someone this long to come up with this.

JoeyOhhhh

Pardon my ignorance about how slot machines with themes are licensed and such, but would Lucas get a piece of the money made off of the machines?

silentbob007

I can't imagine he would ... he'd only get a piece of the sale of the machine. That's my uninformed speculation, of course.