Asian themed slots are more popular than they’ve ever been. Asia now represents 40% of the world economy and a growing segment of the international online gambling industry. Asian gamblers want more games designed with their sensibilities in mind, while non-Asian players are fascinated with the culture of China, Japan, and other Far Eastern nations. Indian themed slots exist, but are less common than the games inspired by China and Japan.
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This article provides a short list of Asian themed slots, with quick video slot reviews so players have an idea which game they’ll prefer the most. I also discuss slots developers who lead the movement towards Asia-themed video slots. I’ll also provide a list of online casinos each developer supports, so you’ll have a good idea where to find slot machines with Asian graphics and storylines. The list is huge, but Best Online Casino will get you started on your journey through the list.
Japan has an amazing bond with gambling, lasting for more than thirteen centuries. Moving slowly through feudal and imperial times, making way through democracy and advanced technological society, games evolved in accordance with social proclivities and state legislation. Servicing national fascination with trying one’s luck, whether by using cards, dice, fortune-telling papers, the lottery, sports betting, metal balls, or electronic devices; two particular games surpass others by far: pachinko and pachislots.
Brought to the country by westerners at the beginning of the 20th century, following the end of the isolationist policy of Japan, pachinko was an almost instant sensation on par with horse racing. Combining arcade gaming and gambling in a very simple way, the game became a countrywide obsession enjoyed in purpose-made parlors (the first one opened in Nagoya in 1930).
Circumnavigating tremulous post-war years and gambling regulations instituting nationwide bans, in time, pachinko was augmented and modernized by technological advances.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the unique meander formed and merged this game with traditional slot machines, giving birth to pachisuro or pachislots. Delivering the best of both worlds, pachislots deliver a fine mix of Vegas-style reels design and traditional pachinko feeling.
Building on the long-lasting gambling legacy, both games are nowadays indulged by millions in gaming parlors and amusement arcade centers. To put Japanese gambling proclivities into perspective…
…As of 2018, there were 12,910 parlors with 5,125,500 pachislots/pachinko units in the country, which amounts for one unit per 25 residents.
Based on gross players’ wins (all gambling), the pachinko market is worth $19.10 billion whereas pachislots total for $13.85 billion. The cumulative sum of $32.95 billion presents almost 70% of all gross wins in Japan, which ranks 3rd overall in the world in this category; trailing only the US and China with SARs, which is to say, Macao.
In the big picture, pachislots/pachinko games generated a gross gambling turnover of $191.11 billion in 2018.
(All data according to H2 Gambling Capital.)
To say that people in the Land of Rising Sun are nuts — in the best possible and, apparently, quite successful way — about these two games may not do them justice.
Consequentially, in 2018, in an effort to service such inclinations in the iGaming segment too, as well to offer a rare glimpse of this sensation to the rest of the world, Solid Gaming (via their exclusive brand Golden Hero) and Japan Technical Games (JTG) launched Hawaiian Dream, the first online slot version of a traditional pachislot.
The game was an instant hit, achieving the top-call outcome in the Asian market.
To get some idea of the pachislots phenomenon in Japan and enable us to delve into Hawaiian Dream properly, let us take a glancing overview of the context and ensuing gambling framework.
Pachinko is a rather simple game based on the upward board and metallic balls launched into the glass-covered arcade-based field. The primary objective is to collect as many balls as possible, with each one landing in pockets paying different payouts or none whatsoever.
A rather small ball (.43 inches in diameter) is launched by pressing the lever attached to a hammer inside of the machine, resembling classic pinball. In the old days, levers were spring-loaded, enabling the strength of the launch to be adjusted by hand; today, they’re based on electric buttons.
Upon launch, the ball enters the pachinko machine, guided through metal tracks around the edge of the gaming field. Once the ball loses the momentum, it falls downwards into the field made of a large number of brass pins and nails. Bouncing from one to another, the ball eventually ends up in one of cups or catchers — purpose-made pockets offering variable payouts — or simply pass them all, ending up in a hole at the bottom of the pachinko device.
Depending on the catcher, payouts award players with additional balls while the best catcher, named start chucker, triggers the jackpot.
To improve the overall experience, some pins have expandable flippers which open randomly or following automated pattern. By enlarging the width of a catcher, these “tulip” catchers increase players’ chances and give skillful players an extra hand in beating the luck and machine (for instance, some patrons align the launch of a ball with tulips’ openings).
During the 1980s, as machines became electric, additional game-in-games and bonus-games were devised, usually played on LCD screens embedded into pachinko boards, offering extra bonuses and making the whole arcade gaming and gambling even more enjoyable (making players prone to addiction challenges, as well).
Regardless of the game theme and difficulty, at the end of the pachinko session, balls are collected and gains can be evaluated.
However…
Balls cannot be exchanged for the money since the land-based gambling in Japan is strictly prohibited — excluding the lottery, horse racing, and bicycle (Keirin), motorboat (Kyotei), and motorbike racing and betting.
Instead of money, players either receive prizes at pachinko parlors (to be kept), or they get a printed coupon with their winnings. In the case of latter, players visit a separate venue, in no way related to a pachinko parlor, to collect the cash.
By creating and allowing for such amazing bypass of gambling ban, Japan balances and walk the fine line of gambling popularity and significant state tax revenues.
To Reels and Paylines
Meanwhile, as Japan’s precise industry grew and global popularity of one-armed bandits increased, noisy and frenzy pachinko parlors started featuring pachislots, operated by coins inserted into the machine instead of balls, with rather unique features.
Pachislots are exclusively based on three reels and five paylines. Contrary to slot machines in other countries, each pachislot reel must be stopped manually by the player while spin speed (80 RPM) and stop time (within 0.19 seconds) is compulsory.
As the symbols on the reels revolve around number 7, pronounced shichi, considered good and lucky number denoting togetherness, and other symbols based on devices’ themes, the mechanical peculiarities of pachislots significantly increase skills involved on players’ part.
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Furthermore…
There is a sort of payout guarantee (Tenjo), presenting the exact number of games during which the winnings will happen; for instance, if Tenjo is 2,000 and no payout (or bonus) has been awarded in the previous 1,900 spins, it has to happen in the next hundred.
Then, there is a pachislots’ feature named Stock, providing for missed bonuses to be collected and added to later ones, creating a cumulative effect of progressive mapping at classic slot machines. Stock, on the other hand, enables Renchan, a feature enabling several bonuses to be played consecutively.
Tenjo, Stock, and Renchan make pachislots not only quite enjoyable to play but offer a real possibility of winning, which explains financial data.
On the cons side, these features also create certain social problems.
Some players lurk for Renchan by counting Tenjos and waiting for non-paying machines to become primed before starting their play. Also, considering the isolated nature of parlors that often make players lose track of time, gamblers can develop an addiction problem.
The enormous popularity of pachislots machines inevitably led to expansion into the iGaming domain.
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While online gambling is also strictly prohibited in Japan — short of internet wagering on public sports and lottery — resident players are allowed to access websites of foreign operators.
To illustrate the dose of impunity exercised by Japanese punters…
Land of the Rising Sun ranks 2nd in the world based on gross players online wins, amounting for $4.89 billion in 2018, or 10.1% of total global wins. Only the UK players fare better in this category. (All data according to H2 Gambling Capital.)
Thus…
With Golden Hero and Japan Technicals Games (JTG) launch of Hawaiian Dream, a medium volatility online pachislot with an RTP of 97%, it’s understandable why the game was such a hit on the Asian market (traditionally inclining toward gambling at large).
Delivering all features and kicks of pachislots in the form of online slot, while integrating oriental outlook into the calming sense of Hawaiian oceanside in an appealing way, this game is indeed fun to play.
The clean and simple user interface welcomes players and provides for all relevant information.
Three reels are neatly positioned at the center; the control strip is right below, and beloved tulips (remember them?) resides above, in the header. Animated ocean at the beach, with blue water and skies, provides for an unobtrusive background.
Discreet hula music in the intro resembles the best of Hawaii atmosphere, giving way to more dynamic sounds as the game progresses and moves through different feature settings.
General controls include spin, auto spin, speed settings, and bet size — providing for ‘shortcuts type’ of buttons — as well as general settings.
The most interesting is speed variation (considering fixed land-based pachislots reels 80 RPMs limit), with three options (turtle, rabbit, and rocket) and a built-in possibility to manually stop each reel in separate notion (as is the case with devices in parlors).
So, if you have lightning reflexes and an eagle eye, you actually might use this option to your benefit.
Bet sizes vary, with eleven options to choose from, ranging from $0.20 to high-rolling $100.
Auto spin control puts you fully in charge of all conceivable options, not only by defining the number of spins (from 10 up to 250) but also set of actions that will be triggered when feature occurs. Additionally, auto spin mode enables the player to set the losing limit, which is a considerable contribution to players’ protection and self-governing.
A general settings button will take you into a submenu, with a background of the Hawaiian sunset and starry night. Therein, all further fine-tunings can be made, in effect offering tailor-made conditions for executing good slot strategy.
The most important, of course, is the general information section explaining the game rules, feature games, paylines, paytable, and RTP, which puts the whole game concept into perspective though you might need some time to grasp the context.
In a nutshell, Hawaiian Dream has several gaming features (rushes) which make you feel like you’re always in the middle of some kind of action. Symbols on reels consist of 10 different traditional coins, 8 samurai masks, and inescapable number 7, all paying whenever three adjacent symbols stop on five paylines.
Furthermore, there are 4 additional betting modes — ranging from Respin with automatic 0.2x bet, to Super Rush and Ultimate Rush, going up to 5x bet — and two bonuses.
The latter is particularly funny considering Stock and Renchan pachisuro features. Also, when the Super Bonus occurs, the outcome is defined by the roulette-vise feature.
As you progress through various feature games, tulips in the header change colors, as Tenjo becomes more likely. Inconspicuous visual effects give a nice sense of every win, while any rush feature is presented noticeably, particularly bonuses.
The overall impression is that Solid Gaming (Golden Hero) and JTG have what it takes when it comes to offering a glimpse of pachisuro at its best. The Hawaiian Dream vibe is cheerful, positive, and quite interactive; outlook is entertaining, exciting, and may be rewarding (as snapshots of our testing can show).
To that end…
As a couple of our testers evaluated Hawaiian Dream, it was difficult not to see how attracted and engaged they become, resembling devoted and noisy Japanese players at pachinko and pachisuro parlors. Measured by that stick, it’s easy to realize wherein lays national fascination with these games.
Speaking of which, and fittingly to circumambulate the whole picture of the gambling industry in Japan, it will be interesting to observe further growth of this market considering recently passed legislation allowing for three integrated land-based casino resorts to be developed across the country.
With pachisuro and pachislots firmly in place, as international operators and gambling developers explore tradition, passion, and technology, Hawaiian Dream might be, therefore, looked upon as the harbinger of things to come.