It seems that casino games have reached their peak, with people all around the world playing anything from slots and baccarat to blackjack and poker online. However, the 90s were a revolutionary period for the casino industry as many casino games came out onto the market sparking many people’s interest. With this in mind, let’s explore the most popular casino games in 90’s to see how they have influenced the casino landscape today.
Firstly, it is worth noting that casinos were incredibly popular in the 1990’s as during this decade, the World Wide Web was made accessible for public use and the creation of the first online casino took place in 1995. This meant that casino games that were already popular in traditional land based casinos were now made accessible on online casinos. As mobile friendly online casinos were made, this also allowed casino fans to play games from the comfort of their own homes on their mobile device.
One game that was regarded as a hit in the 1990’s was ‘Golden Nugget’ which was released in 1998 for Nintendo 64. This game was truly unique at the time as it was the only game with casino activities that was made for the Nintendo 64 console. Gaming fans were intrigued by this game as it offered a variety of casino-style games such as Texas Hold ‘Em, Craps, Mini-Baccarat, and a variety of slot machines sparking the interest for many people in table and slot games. These are the same types of games that are available on online casinos today. This game in the 90s was great in familiarising casino fans with these types of games and led the way for more people wanting to try them in the future.
Furthermore, ‘Super Casino’ which was released in 1993 for the Nintendo Entertainment System revolutionized the traditional casino floor experience and left a long-lasting impression on players. With its 8-bit graphics, it conceptualised the experience of visiting a real life land based casino by offering players a glimpse into the glitz and glamour of casinos. This was one of the first examples of experiencing playing casino games without actually having to visit a physical casino establishment.
Moreover, one casino game that still remains popular today is Slingo. Slingo traces its roots back to the mid-1990s when it was first introduced as a physical board game. Created by Sal Falciglia, this unique game fuses together the idea of slots and bingo to create an interesting gaming experience. Nowadays, this game is equally as popular in the form of slingo online as it is widely available on an array of online casinos. Many people love this game as it is extremely straightforward whereby players are required to spin the reels and match the numbers on their cards to those displayed on the slot machine-style grid.
Of course, ‘Casino Kid’ released for the Nintendo Entertainment System also amassed a large following during the 1990s. This laid the foundation for many high quality casino games to come as it had a unique Manga-style theme. Nowadays, casino games incorporate many different themes including TV shows and films to keep the experience exciting, just like ‘Casino Kid’. This game also gave people a flavour of the different types of casino games.
In addition, although ‘Sonic Spinball’ primarily found its success for being a pinball-style game, released by Sega Genesis in 1993, it also features casino activities that appealed to both casino and video game fans. Not only does this game allow you to get a glimpse of your favourite characters but the Casino Night Zone which allows video games to experience how casino games work while playing a thrilling video game.
As suggested by the title, ‘Vegas Dreams’ released in the early 1990s followed the release of ‘Casino Kid’. IT slots perfectly into other casino related games released by NES. This game aimed to provide more than just an 8-bit room with a dealer and a player and instead found success in being a versatile, interesting game. It was one of the first casino related games that demonstrated the advancements made in terms of graphics as it created an immersive experience with a high level of detail that has been continued on today with the development of higher quality visuals and the integration of technologies such as AR and VR.
To conclude, casino games were extremely popular in the 1990s and these types of games are still around today. This boom of casino games that occurred in the 1990s can be seen today with the range of casino games available at online casinos. In the future, as technology advances and modernises our society, it is likely that we will see more casino games appear online that take inspiration from the popular games released in the 1990s.
