It’s been almost seven years since the last Silent Hill game, Book of Memories, and it’s about time for fans to get one last hurrah with the creepiest town in the world. Although Konami has some different plans in mind. There’s a new Silent Hill on the way, only catch is that it’s not a game. The new project is for a slot machine, not a video game, a freaking slot machine, and it’s called Silent Hill Escape. The Silent Hill franchise has been pretty dead in the water as of late, so this isn’t that shocking. And since Konami as a company has been pushing gaming machines pretty heavily these last few years, it’s a better fit for them than any other video game publisher at least. At least they didn’t pull an EA with their “surprise mechanics”.
There is one slight good thing here, at least Konami is honest enough to go straight for the gambling crowd with Silent Hill Escape. The last time we saw anything video game related release from this franchise was in the orgy of bad efforts that was 2012. That year saw numerous releases revolving around the horror franchise, like the atrocious Silent Hill HD Collection. That bungle of all bungles really soured many long-time fans, and the last few still hoping for something new have just had their hopes dashed.
As the company described in its announcement, they’re looking to innovate within one of their core market segments, so why not marry a market they have good saturation in with a recognizable franchise. After all, making a gambling cabinet with a bunch of reused assets from Downpour is far cheaper than a full video game. Executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Konami Gaming, Tom Jingoli, had this to say:
“Konami’s aim is empowering operators with exceptional entertainment to reach and engage today’s players and beyond. We are actively leveraging a combination of top technology, talent, design, and development to deliver a host of new products at this year’s event, through the immediate years to come.
This cabinet is a striking combination of sleek entertainment, premium packaging, and player comfort, backed by a rich library of original titles. Everything, including its shape, screens, betting surface, and available merchandising, has been engineered to maximize both player experience and operational results. This latest cabinet is a first glimpse at great things to come from Konami.”
The cabinet itself looks like a pretty barebones effort. The company will no doubt churn more of these out in the future, assuming the reveal and subsequent reception at the upcoming Las Vegas gaming expo goes well. Casino adoption is a crucial metric here, so Konami will definitely be paying attention to the response they get from buyers and planners for casinos. I just cannot imagine gamers giving much of a crap about this though.
