adds Pastia . “ That is extremely important in this market environment . So , we are able to evolve the brand because we are able to extend the brand across different player segments .
“ And our jobs in the product and licensing organizations are to make sure that the studio is aware of what needs to be part of the brand identity . But on the other end , we need to give them freedom to evolve and interpret the brand based on the most recent trends .”
While IGT continues to add to its licensed portfolio with game families that include Sex and the City , The Price is Right and the new Whitney Houston series , Light & Wonder maintains one of the most successful and longstanding licensed game collections in the business . The most prominent are three games originally released by legacy company WMS Gaming — Monopoly , The Wizard of Oz , and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory .
Light & Wonder , which released its latest Wizard of Oz game last year , displayed new entries in the Willy Wonka and Monopoly series at G2E . The new Monopoly game actually merges with the most legendary internal title from legacy Bally in the stepper game Monopoly Triple Blazing 7s . “ We still have key licenses in our portfolio because players still enjoy Monopoly ,” says Drane . “ They still enjoy Willy Wonka and Wizard of Oz . So , those are still critical to us .”
Aristocrat ’ s most popular licensed games , in addition to Tarzan , have been the Game of Thrones and Walking Dead franchises , as well as Crazy Rich Asians . “ What we ’ re learning now is that you ’ ve got to have great game math behind it ,” says Hanlin , “ and that accentuates the brand .
“ A good example is Crazy Rich Asians . That game came out well after the movie left the theater , so you wouldn ’ t say it was at its peak of popularity or social awareness . But because it was a good game , and it mixed the brand , fun movie clips , and the great locations that movie was filmed in , paired with a great game by Joe Kaminkow and Dave Marks , you ’ re able to have the best of two things meld together . That ’ s when a licensed game takes off . If you just slap a brand on top of a generic math model and there ’ s no connection , you ’ re highly likely to fail .”
Resurgence ?
Each manufacturer will continue to evolve the core internal brands that have become legendary in the industry , and , while nothing is likely to develop anywhere near the halcyon theme days of the early 2000s , there is definitely potential for new licensed themes , as evidenced at G2E last month .
“ We ’ re always on the hunt for good licenses ,” says IGT ’ s Fales . “ It ’ s evolved ; where formerly , once or twice a year we would do big evaluations and make decisions , now we ’ re taking an approach where we ’ re constantly looking and evaluating and understanding what our current partners have , what ’ s new and interesting in the industry , what ’ s been successful .
“ There will always be a place for licensed brands . There will always need to be new licenses being introduced into the market .”
“ Will we see the days of Hee-Haw and M * A * S * H ?” says Aristocrat ’ s Hanlin . “ Probably not . The entertainment market is fragmented . Before , there was a monoculture where 30 million people watch the finale of M * A * S * H . They made a slot machine out of that .
“ That doesn ’ t happen anymore . You don ’ t see don ’ t see these monoculture or big brands . That ’ s why the NFL is so dynamic for us . But I do believe there are passionate fan bases around IP in the market , and I think there are opportunities for us to think outside the box .
“ Do I think things like the NFL could usher in an era of increased licenses ? Yes . I absolutely do believe that .”