All about Microgaming
Microgaming is one of the biggest names in the online gaming industry. Basically, if you play games online, you WILL have played at a Microgaming casino site. They design the software behind the online versions of traditional games like Bingo, Baccarat, Blackjack, Poker and Roulette. Plus of course, they are responsible for the design of hundreds of different slots. Just about all the major online casino sites carry at least some of this company’s designs, especially slots. Today, familiar classics like Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and Thunderstruck are joined by new designs like Bar Bar Black Sheep, Game of Thrones and Jungle Jim El Dorado as indispensable essentials on any self-respecting casino’s games list. The total number of unique designs continues to increase, and is soon expected to pass the thousand game milestone.
So how did it all begin? Well, the company claim to have produced the very first online casino, back in 1994. This is disputed by its rivals of course, but either way, it certainly was at the forefront of the development of the online casino back in the mid-1990s. It has continued to grow ever since. The company is based on the Isle of Man, and is fully regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.
Today, the company does much more than just design games. It also provides a full suite of management and marketing services for its customers (that’s the casino operators, not us: we’re just players!) This includes lots of analytical and measuring tools to help the sites to improve the player experience (and thus get us to spend more). This includes the way the site communicates information to its players, and the development of marketing messages and promotions. In this way, Microgaming aims to help the casino operators attract new players, and to foster loyalty amongst those it already has.
All these complex business support mechanisms add up to a full suite of valuable data, allowing the site operators to develop effective strategic and financial planning. Microgaming can also supply fully-working online banking systems, customer service helpdesks, live gaming services and chat hosts to its operators. Protection against security breaches and fraud can also be provided.
All of this is done seamlessly and efficiently. This is good for the operators, who can hope to maximise their income. But it is also good for us, the players. All this expertise and technology enables us to enjoy a smooth running site with loads of entertaining games to play, as we shall explore below…
A Bit of Background Behind Microgaming Slots and Live Gaming
Microgaming was originally renowned for its traditional table games. This was really where it all started: with their pioneering casino network. The innovative Poker and Roulette software which helped to popularise online gaming in the late 1990s was very influential, and the company remains at the forefront of traditional table gaming software to this day. It now produces versions of just about all the traditional table games, such as Baccarat, Blackjack, Keno and Pontoon, as well as continuing to develop new formats of the big two: Poker and Roulette. But today, it is Microgaming live gaming that is becoming increasingly popular. Its live casino rooms bring an extra atmosphere of realism to the virtual world, almost bringing the feel and glamour of the real land-based casino into the player’s living room.
But the company was also at the forefront of the development of mobile gaming, designing its first mobile compatible game in 2004. Today, more games are played on compact devices like phones or tablets than on the larger, more traditional displays of laptops, desktop PCs or Macs. Games are provided in download or Flash versions: the difference being that downloads can be played as stored games on the player’s device, such as via a mobile app, whereas Flash games can be played directly through the player’s web browser. Today, most games are released in HTML5 form, which ensures game compatibility whichever kind of device you choose to play on.
But it is really in the company’s extensive range of slots that the software designers’ ingenuity and innovative creativity shines through. The company has an incredible range of titles, covering just about all the major genres of the five reel game. It is particularly strong on film and TV franchise designs: Game of Thrones is probably the most popular recent major franchised title. Tarzan was released in 2016 and is also growing in popularity, following in the footsteps of older blockbusters Jurassic park and Terminator 2. They may be older classics, but they have stood the test of time.
There are plenty of more traditional slots of all types. Fruity favourites include Froot Loot, Fruit Vs Candy and Summertime, while gemstones are covered by Genie’s Gems, Reel Gems and Retro Reels Diamond Glitz. Egyptologists will like Isis, Pharaoh’s Fortune and Throne of Egypt while fans of the Oriental genre may prefer Asian Beauty, Lucky Firecracker or Wild Orient. But in truth Microgaming’s wide variety of games mean there really is something for everyone. They even have a particular fetish for weird food related games. Try So Much Sushi, Wasabi-San or Win Sum Dim Sum (Couch Potato and Cutesy Pie don’t count).
If there is one criticism of these sultans of software, it is that there are a few to many old school “retro” games. These clunky fruit machine one armed bandit style slots are ten a penny: the idea is that they are “classic” games, but few are fondly remembered from back in the day. Unless you are a penny arcade fanatic, games like Diamond 7s, Flo’s Diner and High 5 are best avoided.
On the progressive side on the other hand, Microgaming can excel. Their wide network of operators means that their progressive jackpots can rapidly mount up to some really life changing prizes. In fact in April 2017, one of the company’s games broke the world record with an amazing £8m win. This magnificent mega money was won by a lucky punter playing Mega Moolah on their phone – the largest mobile jackpot win in history.
So the bottom line is, if you love to play online games, you’re sure to find something you fancy amongst this company’s designs. Microgaming has titles covering everything from the most basic three reel one armed bandit to the most up to the minute glitzy graphics, and just about every theme and genre. With more than twenty years’ history of designing great software, there is something here for everyone.