Lord of the Rings slots going offline

[The Buzz]

Online Casino Reports is reporting that Microgaming will no longer offer the Lord of the Rings slot game, which Microgaming casinos debuted in 2010, by the end of the month.

http://www.onlinecasinoreports.com/n...-the-rings.php

As the article says, the reason behind the change most likely has to do with rights fees.

[Renee]

Could be that a new, better game is replacing it

[Maria F]

It says on the onlinecasinoreport site that ‘likely has to do with royalties’. It must be very expensive for them to use it.

[TheBoyMitchell]

Could be that a new, better game is replacing it

Could be, but online casinos rarely withdraw a game to replace it with a sequel do they? Dont they normally just add it into the portfolio a la Thunderstruck 2, Desert Treasure 2, Iron Man 2 etc.

I would imagine that a Hobbit slot will come online in 2013 because of the film, but I doubt thats why LOTRs is being pulled. If its a licensing/royalties issue, then maybe Microgaming is having to cut its cloth accordingly and pulling back on games based on films, which would let Playtech get an even bigger hold on this market. If thats the case then this significantly weakens Microgamings position in terms of being a premier games provider, even to the point of conceding that they cant compete with Playtech...

[F-L-C]

I know which game is replacing it muwhahaha but yes I agree that's not the reason they are ditching it. I'm glad I don't have a LOTR url

[iGamingWriter]

This was a time specific game - the films a long long gone now, the hype surronding them has died down. I suspect that the game attracted a lot of players in the past and as time goes on it's market share is dropping, making it less profitable to pay the large licensing fees for the rights. I wouldn't attach any more significance than that too it. That said i do think that Playtech is becoming more and more dominent.

[baldidiot]

I'm hoping all MG casinos send out a "last chance to play LOTR" email - could result in a nice rush of activity.

[Ruairí]

You...shall not... Play!

[SlotsAff]

I'm hoping all MG casinos send out a "last chance to play LOTR" email - could result in a nice rush of activity.

This is a good idea

[lowrisk]

Some hyped up game will overtake it I'm sure

[JackTenSuited]

someone on casinomeister rumored a batman slot to replace it but isn't there already one on a different network?

[TheBoyMitchell]

A decent Batman slot would be awesome, especially based on the Christopher Nolan films, but that still doesnt stop the issue of Microgaming apparently not being able to afford to pay for heavy licensing and dropping machines when the players drop off.

Its just a personal opinion but I dont think that you would ever see Playtech work this way. They would rather implode in a massive ball of financial fuckupery than carefully pull slots to manage their budgets. After all Gladiator came out a year before LOTR and yet Playtech still have that in their armoury. Even if Microgaming are going to replace it with something new, I personally think the bigger signal is that the lack of available resources that they have since they lost a bunch of operators (seriously - who is a UK white listed Casino that has MG - Ladbrokes?) and with Playtech having taken over Hills, Bet365, Paddy Power, Betfred, the new Gala (and the new Coral in a few months) they have seriously eaten into the potential revenues that MG had. The whole MG operation needs a serious shakedown.

[iGamingWriter]

You...shall not... Play!

Well done - that genuinely had me laughing!

[iGamingWriter]

someone on casinomeister rumored a batman slot to replace it but isn't there already one on a different network?

Cryptologic already have a batman slots game, but that's no barrier. Both Playtech and Cryptologic have Fantastic 4 and King Kong slots games,

[iGamingWriter]

Playtech having taken over Hills, Bet365, Paddy Power, Betfred, the new Gala (and the new Coral in a few months)

Don't forget both Boyle and Paddy Power. Personally i don't have much of an issue with it - Playtech software's always been a lot better than Microgaming. The graphics and interface are simply sleeker. That said i wouldn't want to see any one brand gain too much of a market share.

[TheBoyMitchell]

Don't forget both Boyle and Paddy Power. Personally i don't have much of an issue with it - Playtech software's always been a lot better than Microgaming. The graphics and interface are simply sleeker. That said i wouldn't want to see any one brand gain too much of a market share.

I didnt forget Paddy Power

I think Playtech already have a massive market share over MG. Its gonna hurt. Whats even more interesting is that when PT go into a casino to pitch they offer the Mexos tracking system (a la AffUtd) for free. Now, I dont know about you, but those guys arent in it for the altruistic side of the business.

So why give away your tracking software free? Its not like it would collect all the details of every affiliate that signed up and every player that signed up so that they could.....

*ahem*

[casinobonusguy]

I love Playtech games but as an affiliate they are so difficult to convert.

[bonuscenter]

I love Playtech games but as an affiliate they are so difficult to convert.

I agree. I have a better results with MG.
Moreover, although I like Playtech games, LOTR is one of my favorite games of all software providers.

[universal4]

I have always been able to convert playtech better than Microgaming....even years ago.

In fact I foolishly swapped out a lot of PT links for Micro's years ago since everyone kept bashing me about the head and torso saying how much more money I would make if I did so....

...this is just one of those things that my traffic (as an overall average) just happens to like PT better.....


Rick
Universal4

[baldidiot]

I've never really had much luck at all with playtech so it's nice to hear that it's at least possible!