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Konami, once premier publishers of series like Metal Gear Solid, PES, and Silent Hill, are back on top in the West – for their slot machines. It’s not a new big entry in one of their series that’s catching attention or the ongoing support of Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel or eFootball, but the popularity of All Aboard.
All Aboard is a brand of video slot machines with various versions. All of them have in common the train motif, which when six train symbols are shown on a spin starts a bonus game where money is won every time another train is shown, up to a maximum number of times, giving a grand jackpot.
It’s identical to any other slot machine you’ve seen from the modern era, though likely quite different to any sort of old-style fruit machine you may be thinking of. YouTube is packed with videos of people playing (and, unsurprisingly, winning) on All Aboard slots, and you can read more about it here. Here’s Konami’s official trailer for it:
The actual awards it has won include Best Progressive Slot (a type of game) and Best Video Slot as awarded by the Southern California Gaming Guide Reader’s Choice 2022. Konami are proud enough of it to hand out a on the topic. It notes, particularly, “massive success” here in Australia.
As gambling continues to infiltrate traditional gaming spaces through the rise of the Slots category on Twitch, it’s ultimately sad to see a once-great game publisher reduced to claiming the success of “nearly a dozen” variations of the same basic slot game. Of course, they’ve been at it a long time, including turning many of their famous franchises into pachinko machines.
Of note, none of Konami’s games seem to be available on Stake, where the vast majority of Twitch gambling takes place. Why is anyone’s guess – they certainly match up with all the content I’ve seen from that website. No doubt the right combination of game, IP, and sponsorship could actually make a big splash for them. Of course, it probably wouldn’t go down too well with the hardcore fans of those franchises.
In case you’re wondering, while the graphics and number of features have been greatly upgraded, there is still no skill or strategy to these slot machines. Those who play online professionally usually run games until they get bonuses as a way to limit spend but otherwise are just gambling on their own luck. Sponsorship, naturally, makes an obscene amount, and any deal with an online casino can and has come with extra funds, better luck, or the like.
