Sequels are made to cash in on the popularity of the original. This is true of Hollywood, where movies like Jaws and Rocky have spawned a number of sequels. This is also true of online slot games.

In Hollywood films the sequels usually have a partly or completely different set of characters in a situation that is different from the original but somehow linked to it. This is one of the routes adopted by the developers of online slots games. The classic example is Secret of the Sword, which is a sequel to Tomb Raider, the Microgaming slot games. Both feature the adventures of Lara Croft, but different adventures as is evident from the symbols on the reels and the bonus game on the second screen. In Tomb Raider the bonus game takes the players to an underground cavern where they select idols to win bonus credits. In the bonus game in Secret of the Sword players have to find hidden sword fragments.

Cryptologic has applied the same philosophy in its Marvel Comics superhero slot games based on Spider-Man. Spider-Man was the original game. Spider-Man Revelations was the sequel that exploited the popularity of Spider-Man but provided a different set of bonus games to keep the interest alive. Cryptologic repeated this with another Marvel Comics superhero through Hulk and Hulk Ultimate Revenge. Rival Gaming has gone one step ahead with two sequels to its i-slot As the Reels Turn. In i-slots the concept of sequels has greater meaning because the slot game narrates a story as well. All the three slot games of As the Reels Turn are set in a casino and depict different episodes.

Another route to creating sequels is to enhance the technical quality of the graphics and the animation. An example of this is Buccaneer’s Bounty from Cryptologic. The original Buccaneer’s Bounty slot game was released in the late 1990s and the sequel bearing the same name was released in 2009. It is easy to imagine the improvement in the technology in the intervening period. Two points of comparison between the original and the sequel versions of Buccaneer’s Bounty need to be made. The older version had flat two dimensional images against a white background as symbols on the reels. The sequel had three dimensional images against the background of sand. The bonus game in the original had players choosing a chest, which was opened by a cannonball firing to reveal bonus credits. In the sequel players have to destroy ships by firing the cannons. They can manipulate the direction of the cannon so as to aim it at moving ships.

Playtech has also released sequels of some of its older popular slots in modern looking and technologically advanced formats. Incidentally one of them has a pirate theme. The other has a diamond mining theme. The original slots are Captain’s Treasure and Diamond Valley. Playtech however gives the suffix Pro to its sequels, which are Captain’s Treasure Pro and Diamond Valley Pro. This not only differentiates the slot games but also indicates that the sequel is technologically advanced. Microgaming has also made a technical makeover of one of its most popular slots, Thunderstruck. The sequel is called Thunderstruck II.