Supplier News
UK – Aristocrat’s Helix to head to parts of Europe
By Phil - 27 November 2014
Aristocrat Technologies Europe has advanced the launch of its new, premium range of Helix cabinets, with the first installations taking place on European gaming floors across December.
Following on from highly acclaimed launches at recent trade shows in Sydney, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires and Macau, the global games developer is now giving European operators in non-approval markets the opportunity to present players with a raft of new games on Helix cabinets, ahead of its major showcasing at February’s ICE Show in London.
“European customers attending G2E were blown away by Helix and the portfolio of new games it hosts,” explained Donal Maguire, Sales & Marketing Director – Europe. “So we have spent the last two months accelerating the commercialisation process to meet the high demand for a quicker delivery to this region.”
“‘Bringing the game forward’ and making it the hero of every cabinet is the fundamental premise behind the whole development concept of Helix,” continued Mr. Maguire. “Its raison d’être is to deliver the ultimate gaming experience and, in providing a base of new inherent technological enhancements, Helix allows our developers to cross new frontiers of game design in audio-visual experience and multi-dimensional engagement.”
A key feature of the new hardware is the use of larger, infinity-edged, frameless, HD displays that appear to float in front of the machine, projecting content towards the player and occupying a greater proportion of the field of view. This is just one of many ergonomic aspects considered in the construction of Helix, where the end goal of optimal player comfort and interaction has resulted in more leg room and a height-adjusted, extended button deck and padded wrist bolster.
Aesthetics play a huge part in the appeal of these cabinets, whose champagne nickel finish is designed not only for anti-stain resilience and durability, but also to capture the immersive, rear surface, ambient LED lighting. This, together with the screen-edge LED pinstripe lighting, is programmed to react to in-game play in both colour and intensity, creating further mood effect according to the type of game, bonus, feature and tempo.
The cabinet finish is designed to complement the hosted game content, portrayed on larger, full HD, 23-inch screens in true 16:9 widescreen aspect, brought together to create one large playing field, the player tracking module enclosure being moved down to the mid trim, where it sits more comfortably alongside cash, ticket and card entry slots and the button deck. The visuals are accompanied by operator-adjustable, reverberating audio, driven through a quad sound speaker system with ported, enclosed subwoofer.
An integrated LCD button panel now comes as standard on all Helix models, further increasing the level of player interactivity, whilst an optional 19.5-inch LED/LCD topper is capable of carrying mainboard-driven attract animation sequences.
Components inside the machine have also been upgraded with vastly increased processing power, bigger storage and faster memory, graphics and communication devices all combining to provide the infrastructure for current and future games involving richer and more complex sequences, sound and video entertainment.
Helix has been created not only with the player in mind, but also with more operator-friendly features including a greater range of sound and light programmable features and easier access to all internal serviceable components.
Fresh with the new Helix hardware comes Aristocrat’s next generation software platform, Gen8, capable of delivering more intense gaming experiences, whilst at the same time being backwards compatible with key, proven titles from the Gen7 games library.
“Cabinet options for European gaming floors are very straight-forward,” continued Mr Maguire. “In addition to the standard Helix Upright (casino top) model, we are offering a compelling Slant variant, the captivating Super Screen™ Slant, which features a 32-inch HD top screen for truly stunning play appeal and stand-out attract effects. There is also a Low Boy format for dedicated centrepieces within our licensed gaming operations portfolio such as the upcoming Wonder Wheels games Batman Classic TV Series and Tarzan of the Apes linked jackpot game.”
The arrival of Helix coincides with the introduction of two new game categories designed, according to Mr Maguire, to ‘entertain players to their very core’.
“Our games designers have been working tirelessly, pushing the boundaries to enhance our game genres for both current and new generations of players,” he stated.
“Having introduced the hugely successful entertainment-style E*Series phenomenon, Aristocrat has taken the best elements of its mind-blowing maths, amazing animations and stunning sound effects and built them into brand new breeds of J-Series jackpot games and C-Series core games.”
Examples of these new genres, available for both Helix and existing Viridian WS cabinets, include two Jackpot Streak and two Quick Fire Jackpots games in the J-Series and Mega Reel Power games The Fabulous Fifties and The Swinging Sixties, as well as two Super Feature games, Fortunes of Atlantis and Sunset King, in the C-Series.
Helix also launches with two of Aristocrat’s popular multigames, Player’s Choice Diamond Edition and Player’s Choice Deluxe, as well as a back catalogue of eight proven titles plus four newly released games in the E*Series – two Pearl Warriors themes and two Magic Flower themes.
Mr. Maguire concluded: “This ground-breaking combination of new hardware, platform, genres and games represents a monumental leap forward in Aristocrat’s determined effort to create with world’s greatest gaming experience. It fulfills a commitment to take gaming to the next level, adding greater appeal across a wider range of play styles and delivering even more choice for operators.”
