The games inspired by 80s nostalgia
Reboots and spin-offs: the sure-fire way to keep a franchise going, decade after decade. It’s perhaps no surprise that so many people continue to enjoy 80s nostalgia, given that many quintessential 80s classics have been resurrected by contemporary directors and actors. For instance, just recently, Top Gun (starring action hero Tom Cruise) was released to acclaim from critics and fans alike. Though there have been countless action movies and heroes in the time since the first Top Gun movie was released, the demand for more Cruise was never quite satiated and fans pushed for another instalment.
Fans Demand More
1980s action films and TV shows have remained at the forefront of public consciousness thanks to the consistent efforts across the entertainment sector to keep notable characters and franchises alive. For example, online casinos have capitalised on the widespread popularity of certain movies and TV shows by using their likeness in casino games.
Some popular online slots titles include the likes of: Cursed Knight Rider, Top Gun, Terminator and RoboCop. With elements of the film’s narratives, iconic characters (and their catchphrases) as well as excerpts from their distinctly recognisable soundtracks, these titles have consistently remained among the ‘most viewed’ and ‘most played’ games online, despite the relentless barrage of new games constantly emerging.
Basically, casinos are cashing in on 80s nostalgia by creating slot games based on action films and TV shows from the decade that brought about seismic change across the world. The slot games are immortalising popular action heroes such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Hasselhoff and Tom Cruise. Film studios, like the online gambling industry, have recognised the popularity of the 1980s as an attractive commercial proposition. The decade is really in vogue right now, so let’s take a look at other popular 1980s films and TV shows that have inspired online casino slot games.
Top Gun
The original Top Gun, which starred Cruise, alongside Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer, was a box office success, and the officially branded slot gives fans of the film the opportunity to relive the 1980s in this game through Maverick’s F-14 Tomcat.
RoboCop
The 1987 film RoboCop has largely been forgotten, and while there are rumours of a new version of the movie, online casinos have long recognised the popularity of the action concept and harnessed the storyline and state of the art technology to immortalise RoboCop in a slot game.
Knight Rider
The original Knight Rider series, which starred Hasselhoff as Michael Knight and featured his car KITT, ran from 1982 to 1986 and was followed by the film Knight Rider 2000 in 1991. There have been various reboots in the form of TV shows and films, but they have been unable to recreate the popularity of the original series. The slot game Cursed Knight Rider has no such issues as it features Hasselhoff in all his 1980s glory sporting a mullet and fashionable (at the time!) outfit ensembles.
A classic Schwarzenegger slot
Another 80s action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger, also seems tailor-made for slot games. There is a Terminator slot based on the popular franchise and there are many other 80s action films starring the Austrian-born actor which would be popular slot games such as Commando, Predator and The Running Man.
The Running Man was released in 1987 and the film is set in a 2019 dystopian America where prisoners take part in a TV programme known as The Running Man to avoid death, and this would certainly make an entertaining slot game.
Renewed interest in the 1980s allows online casinos to capitalise on nostalgia by bringing back popular TV shows and films such as Knight Rider, Top Gun, Terminator and RoboCop. This is further helped by the box office success of reboots such as Top Gun: Maverick. There is no shortage of other action films from the 1980s which could be made into slots and the games are sure to be popular amongst fans of the originals.