Aristocrat Australian Pokies Australian slots Australian slots online Australian Casino News Down Under slots Media Man Australia

Aristocrat

Profile

HISTORY OF ARISTOCRAT

Almost a stone’s throw from Aristocrat’s original manufacturing plant in Sydney, Australia, there is a small and somewhat dilapidated red brick building of which very few Aristocrat staff are aware.

There, more than fifty years ago, Aristocrat’s first gaming machine was designed and built, and is the site where Aristocrat first established its reputation as one of the most innovative and successful gaming machine manufacturers in the world.

OUR MISSION

Aristocrat aims to become the leading provider of gaming solutions

To provide players around the world with exciting and rewarding games of chance in a responsible manner

To be viewed by operators as a trusted commercial partner providing profitable gaming solutions

To cooperate with industry and government bodies in order to meet responsibilities to the communities within which the company operates

To provide a vibrant and enriching work environment that attracts and professionally develops talented individuals

To create value for each stakeholder

With over 50 years industry experience and over 2000 staff globally, Aristocrat has built on its Australian market leadership and reputation to become a premium supplier of groundbreaking technologies and services to the international gaming industry.

Aristocrat enjoys a well-earned reputation for outstanding performance and strong brand equity in more than 200 jurisdictions around the world. The diverse product line-up extends from electronic gaming machines to complete gaming solutions, including systems, services, electronic tables, and ancillary equipment.

Aristocrat offices are located in Australia, the USA, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Russia, Argentina, Japan, and Macau. Each staff member is focused on fulfilling the needs of customers at all levels, while the global management structure drives innovation in business areas. Aristocrat’s core values of integrity and respect for the individual and the communities within which the company operates, underpin relationships with all stakeholders. Aristocrat is committed to working in partnership with industry, governments, and regulators to ensure it meets all responsibilities. (Credit: Aristocrat)

HERE COMES VIDEO…THE 1980s

The 1980s saw Aristocrat acquire leading market share in Australia and gain momentum further afield, an example of which was the success of the Aristocrat Elite in Nevada.

The first platform for the decade, the Aristocrat Elan, was released in 1983 and was the first machine equipped with a coin carousel drastically reducing the need for refills. Hot on its heels came the “world’s largest” gaming machine, the Aristocrat Matilda. This machine of mammoth proportions was handmade and extremely popular in NSW clubs.

The Aristocrat Microstar machines were brought to market in 1984, and although not identified as such at the time, they were in fact the first versions of the current series of Aristocrat’s gaming machines – MKI.

Nineteen eighty-seven proved to be a significant year for the company, with the introduction of the first spinning reel video machine, the Aristocrat Microstar II machine (the MK II), and the Goldstar spinning reel video series, to market.

The first Aristocrat spinning reel video machines (MK IIs) were installed in Sydney, and had been designed to reflect the look and feel of two of Aristocrat’s most popular mechanical spinning reel games, Two Up and Inca Chief. They were extraordinarily successful. Performances on the machines virtually doubled as soon as they were installed, marking the birth of a new era of video gaming in which Aristocrat was to play a leading role.

GOING PUBLIC…THE 1990s

The 1990s was a decade of lightning-quick technology during which Aristocrat launched three separate product platforms, beginning in 1991 with MK2.5 upon the 500 series machines that featured a multi-line multiplier. Come 1993, the company put out the 540 series, the first nine-line video game which, in many ways, represents Australian gaming as it is recognised today.

Shortly thereafter, the Mark IV platform was unveiled, a graphically enhanced version of the 540 series that propelled the category’s success to even greater heights. In August 1995, the Mark V platform was delivered, bearing a signature Aristocrat gaming concept, Hyperlink™, an advanced jackpot system. The debut Hyperlink™ theme, Born to be Wild, was placed in Queensland, Australia, and has since spread in popularity to the rest of the world.

Perhaps the most significant turning point for Aristocrat came on 9 July 1996, when the privately owned business floated to the Australian stock exchange. Shares worth AUS$39.27 million were offered to the public at $2.90 each, and Aristocrat Leisure Limited was born.

The nineties was a decade of pivotal international growth for the company, with South African operations commencing shortly after the public float, and in 1998, approval granted for a full membership of the Japan Association of Electronic Amusement Machine Manufacturers. Aristocrat could now participate in two emerging and culturally specific jurisdictions of considerable opportunity. Trade in these markets would signal a departure from the company norm, and the cultural diversification of Aristocrat’s product portfolio.

A VERY NEW MILLENNIUM…2000+

On 24 August 2000, the Nevada Gaming Control Commission approved Aristocrat’s application for a license to manufacture, distribute, and operate gaming machines. Also granted the same year was Aristocrat’s license to trade in Japan.

Two thousand and one was the year the MKVI platform was launched to NSW within Aristocrat’s new Xcite cabinet, an adventurous streamlined design complete with a moulded acrylic top box and door.

This same year, Japanese players were met with the very first Aristocrat Pachislot game, Triple Shooter, just as Aristocrat was completing a strategic acquisition of US systems company Casino Data Systems (CDS). CDS provided Aristocrat with a ready-made systems business including infrastructure, staff, and the leading installed base of casino management systems. The extensive placement of their primary product, OASIS™, is to this day responsible for the company’s international systems business having the highest numbers of Class III casino customers of all manufacturers.

By 2002, Aristocrat’s American head office had relocated from Reno to the hotbed of the American gaming industry – Las Vegas, Nevada - one year before MKVI was approved for distribution in the US.

In 2003, the one-time family operative celebrated 50 years of trade, simultaneously enjoying landmark success in Australia with the first of their 50 Line products, 50 Lions™. Japan went on to record a bumper year of financial results, effectively doubling their previous regional profit.

By 2004, the Australian market had become relatively mature, causing the organisation to shift expectations of growth offshore. The Americas subsequently recorded their best results to date from strong sales of MKVI product, in particular, Millioni$er™, the continent’s first penny progressive slot machine with US$1m top jackpot. A little closer to home, Aristocrat’s floor share in the Sands Casino Macau doubled to almost 50% from the strength of standalone and link products.

Back in Australia, products had developed quickly in sophistication in an effort to drive value for customers in its mature markets. Zorro™, Aristocrat’s original Double Standalone Progressive, a then highly advanced gaming concept, multiplied across NSW and stands as one of the company’s most successful products of all time.

In 2005, offices opened in both Macau and Russia to better cater to the industry’s newest emerging regions. Aristocrat set foot into the increasingly popular multi-station gaming product category by acquiring 50% of Slovenian company, Elektroncek, and partial acquisition of PokerTek Inc, an American manufacturer of the PokerPro™ electronic poker table. Aristocrat's European subsidiary also established an exclusive distribution partnership with company, Aurora, an entity of a Russian market leader, SmartGames, for the Federation of Russia.

From the 1950s to the new millennium and beyond, Aristocrat has come a long way, yet maintains the spirit of adventure than it was founded upon more than half a century ago. Aristocrat currently supplies a wide portfolio of gaming products and services to more than 200 worldwide jurisdictions, and has multiple offices in six different countries. The company continues to be propelled by a momentum generated by unique gaming concepts met with creative talent and sharp business acumen. Whichever direction the industry may take, Aristocrat is committed to delivering profitable gaming solutions for venues across the world.

Media Man Australia does not represent Aristocrat

Australian Pokies

Cleopatra MegaJackpots Cleopatra Cleopatra II Da Vinci Diamonds