On the latest episode of iGaming Daily, Joe Streeter, Editor of CasinoBeats, was joined by Danny Lee, Senior Journalist for SlotBeats, and SBC’s Senior Media Manager, Craig Davies, to discuss the rising popularity of crash games and fish shooting games.

Although the trio agree that traditional slots “are still king”, they concede that more niche segments such as crash games could gain significant traction, especially in newer markets.

Craig said: “I think one of the overwhelming messages now, as you get much more granular data and the data becomes more reliable, it’s overwhelming what these studios and operators have at the palm of their hands. 

“Slots are still king, and they always will be, but on a market-by-market basis that’s where you might start seeing more of these more niche segments making a much bigger splash than you will elsewhere. In legacy markets such as the UK, for example, slots are going to dominate forever and elsewhere you may see other segments coming in a big way.”

Despite the growing popularity of crash games, it has been suggested that due to the simplistic nature of the game mechanics there is a danger of the segment stagnating.

“I would say the crash games market is maybe not stagnating, but sort of getting a bit saturated,” explained Danny.

“There’s only so many things you can have flying in the sky and then crash out of it. There’s not much else that can be brought to the table in terms of mechanics and features. We are seeing some studios bring new social elements or try to make it a bit more of a multiplayer feel.

“And then we’ve also seen branded versions of crash games as well so there’s definitely a bit of a need for innovation in the space to make it a bit less of each game being the same. I think it’s still on the rise but maybe [crash games] could be at risk of stagnating if we don’t see a bit more introduced to the game itself.”

Another game type that is also growing in popularity are fish shooting games, especially in Asian markets. 

Craig recently spoke to Sharon Chung, Marketing Manager of JDB Gaming, about fish shooting games and he recalled what he learnt about the popularity of the segment and how it can widen its penetration globally.

He said: “The overwhelming theme I get from them on what appeals to players is it’s a bit more freedom rather than just spinning a reel or watching a plane go in the sky and clicking before you think it’s going to explode. You have more freedom to control your own narrative within the game with regards to the shooting aspect. 

“The one difficulty, and it comes down to something we’ve been saying throughout this entire podcast, is it’s limited if you talk about fish shooting games. You’re very much limited to one theme there. I think the challenge now is to open that up and introduce new themes because that is, in my opinion, how you expand into new markets.

“You can’t just have this one limited idea and think we’re going to conquer the world. You need to appeal to different player types.”