IGT’s social casino subsidiary DoubleDown Interactive has added a new slot based on the popular daytime TV gameshow Wheel of Fortune to its DoubleDown Casino app. Available on desktop and for mobile devices, Wheel of Fortune Extra Spin features a special Wheel Bonus feature, which changes all spin symbols into the letters W,H,E,E and L.
Each letter reveals a number of extra spins, or awards of 10 to 250 times the player’s initial bet. The game also features a second bonus, the Vault Bonus, which changes all Vault symbols on the centre reels into pickers to give users the chance to win payouts from 5 to 25 times their original stake.
“We put a huge amount of focus and talent into Wheel of Fortune Extra Spin,” DoubleDown Interactive vice president of games Jim Veevaert said. “We thrive on the pressure of taking this legendary brand and increasing the ‘wow’ factor of the world’s most popular slot machine.
“It’s a fun challenge to turn a great slot machine into a mobile game,” he continued. “With Wheel of Fortune Extra Spin, we struck the ideal balance of art, math and audio that recreate the authentic casino experience.”
The game is based on a 3×5 reel spinner with a 20-line configuration, and features a Scatter award that pays out virtual currency. Its Wild symbol acts as a 2x multiplier to offer players larger, more frequent wins.
Extra Spin becomes the third Wheel of Fortune-themed slot to be added to DoubleDown Casino, after Wheel of Fortune Double Diamond, which launched in September last year, with Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme Spin following in November.
More titles based around the show are in development as part of IGT’s agreement with Wheel of Fortune rights holder Sony Pictures Consumer Products. The supplier signed a new agreement in March 2014, which lasts until 2024.
Since launching a land-based Wheel of Fortune slot in 1996, the brand has proved wildly successful for IGT, paying out $3bn in jackpots since its launch. The supplier has created more than 200 variants of the game, which are live in more than 20 countries worldwide.
source : www.gamingintelligence.com
