Konami Slot Games Online
Konami is a widely recognized brand among video game enthusiasts and gamblers alike. Established in 1969, the company started manufacturing gambling devices in the 1980s and began making slots for the U.S. market in the 2000s.
In addition to manufacturing arcade game cabinets and developing a stable of online slots games, Konami is also a big name in the world of trading cards, having created the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card game, which is still popular to this day. But the leisure industry never stops growing, and Konami has expanded further to take advantage of that fact. Konami slots started popping up at online casinos in 2014, and they’ve already begun to establish themselves as a growing force in the virtual casino business.
Konami Online Slots A few hundred online and land-based slots are available from Konami. They have produced tons of games and come up with more than a dozen new titles each year, and this definitely helps the quantity side of the equation. The thrill of winning in Vegas is in the palm of your hand! Join millions of Slots Players and start winning at My KONAMI Slots! Install now to get a 2,000,000 free chips welcome bonus! Play top casino games at my KONAMI Slots anytime you feel the need for a little casino fun or a quick escape. My KONAMI features some of the favorite slot machines straight off the Las Vegas casino floor, like. Top free slot machine games made by Konami Gaming, including Lotus Land, Heart of Romance, Fortune Stacks, China Shores, Wings of the Phoenix and China Mystery. Play them for free, here.
Konami slots aren’t very innovative, and their online versions won’t impress you with their special effects; however, there’s no denying that over the years, the Japanese developers became the masters of fast-paced games revolving around symbol stacks and free spins.
The best Konami slot games
Slot name | RTP | Paylines | Reels | Theme |
---|---|---|---|---|
China Mystery | 96.1% | 30 | 5 | Cultural, Chinese |
Chili Chili Fire | 96.09% | 30 | 5 | Cultural, Mexican |
Lion Festival Boosted Celebration | 96.08% | 30 | 5 | Cultural, Chinese |
Jumpin' Jalapenos | 96.04% | 30 | 5 | Mexican |
Rawhide | 96.03% | 30 | 5 | Wild West |
Solstice Celebration | 96.03% | 30 | 5 | Spiritual, Seasonal |
Great Moai | 96.01% | 30 | 5 | Pacific, Polynesian |
Gypsy Fire | 96% | 30 | 5 | Mystical |
Dragon's Law | 96% | 30 | 5 | Asian, Oriental |
Sparkling Roses | 95.92% | 30 | 5 | Beauty, Luxury |
China Shores | 94.09% | 30 | 5 | Cultural, Chinese |
African Diamond | 94.01% | 30 | 5 | Cultural, African |
Konami slots are formulaic because the company tends to build them around stacked symbols and re-triggerable free spins. However, these mechanics work really well together, especially with a high return-to-player (RTP) percentage, so many players consider this to be an advantage rather than a flaw.
Konami prioritizes smooth, fast-paced gameplay over eye candy, so their games don’t include many disruptive animations. Their visual appeal relies mostly on the symbol and reel designs, which are aesthetically pleasing. This style of slots won’t appeal to everyone. If you aren’t a graphics hound, you should definitely give Konami games a try.
Konami slots: game spotlights
Konami games may be similar to one another, but fans tend to have their favorites. Below you’ll find a short overview of three modern Konami slots that are hot in internet casinos in 2019:
- China Shores – five reels, 30 paylines. The game is based around the action-stacked symbols mechanic, which can fill any reel with stacks of any symbol aside from the wild. The game has a mini-jackpot of sorts, since landing five yin-yang symbols on an active payline results in a 100x payout. In addition, hitting three or more yin-yang symbols will trigger up to 15 free spins with a 2x payout multiplier. If you retrigger this bonus and get to 20 free spins, you’ll get an option to activate the “Balance of Fortune” feature and trade your free games for a random cash reward.
- Chili Chili Fire – five reels, 30 paylines. Chili Chili Fire also utilizes action-stacked symbols. It also has a fade away feature, which replaces low-paying card symbols with random high-paying picture symbols upon counting all the line wins. This makes the smiling wild symbol all the more useful, even though it doesn’t ever appear on the first reel. If three or more chili scatter symbols appear on the screen, you’ll be awarded with an additional payout and up to 25 free spins. During the bonus, the frequency of the fade away feature is greatly increased.
- China Mystery – five reels, 30 paylines. From a mechanical standpoint, this game is very similar to China Shores. It includes action-stacked symbols and a mysterious woman scatter symbol that can award you with eight, ten, or 15 free spins. Just like in China Shores, you can trade your free games for a random payout by using the “Balance of Fortune” option, which becomes available once you retrigger the bonus enough times to get to 20 free spins.
Special slots features
Konami slots’ action-stacked symbols mechanic makes them very popular among all kinds of gamblers. This mechanic can fill the reels with multiple copies of the same symbol, although this usually doesn’t apply to all symbols.
Konami also offers an easily recognizable take on free spins bonuses. The number of scatter symbols typically determines the number of awarded spins, the bonus can be retriggered for more free games, and all payouts are doubled. This formula is very satisfying and is sometimes copied by other slot manufacturers.
Online slots and land-based machines
Konami slots may be more about gameplay than graphics, but that doesn’t mean they don’t include any special effects. The land-based games tend to play a satisfying animation if you line up several high-paying symbol stacks to score a big payout.
Unfortunately, these animations are either toned down or missing in their online counterparts. Symbol animations in the online games are simplified, too. For example, the mysterious woman symbol in the land-based version of China Mystery is fully animated, but in the online slot, it is completely static.
Obviously, this isn’t done out of laziness. After all, modern computers and mobile devices are more than capable of handling even the most sophisticated 2D animations. The problem lies in the bandwidth, as browser-based slot games are expected to work well even on slow internet connections. Simply put, Konami is still forced to cram games with 100+ megabytes (MB) into a three- to five-MB package.
Select games and payback percentages
The RTP for Konami games can range from 92% to 96.1%. In general, the 30+ payline slots with the action-stacked symbols mechanic tend to offer better returns and higher volatility. Examples:
- China Shores– 96.1% RTP
- China Mystery – 96.1%
- Chili Chili Fire– 96.1% RTP
- Lion Festival – 92.48%
Konami slots history
Name | Konami Holdings Corporation |
Founded | 1969 |
Top slot | China Shores |
Special slot feature | Action Stacked Symbols |
Land-based games | Yes |
Online games | Yes |
Early years
Kagemasa Kozuki, Konami’s current chairman, founded the company in 1969 as a jukebox repair business. In the second half of the 1970s, Kozuki noticed the potential in the fledgling video game industry and transformed his company into a manufacturer of video arcade machines.
The first Konami coin-operated video game was ready in 1978. The company’s first breakthrough hit came in 1981 with the release of Frogger, which was followed by Scramble and Super Cobra.
The 1980s
Throughout the 1980s, the company established many of its franchises, including Metal Gear, Contra, Castlevania, Gradius, and Twin Bee. It also expanded to the United States and Europe and was listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange. By the end of the decade, Konami’s capital increased to 8.095 billion yen.
The 1990s
In 1992, Konami expanded into the pachislot and pachinko industry and began creating liquid-crystal display (LCD) games for the Japanese pachinko market. In 1997, it began developing Western-style gambling machines for the Australian slot market. On the video games front, the company released many smash hits for Sony PlayStation, including Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill.
The 2000s
In 2000, Konami became the first Japanese company to enter the slot machines market in the United States. By 2002, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Konami continued developing games for next-generation consoles but also expanded to the sports industry, which was facilitated by the purchase of People Co., Ltd. (currently Konami Sports Club).
Konami’s capital has almost quadrupled since the 1990s. In 2005, the company opened a new office and production facility for gaming machines in Las Vegas, Nevada. Konami also signed a licensing agreement with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to produce soccer video games.
From 2010 to the present
In 2012, Takuya Kozuki replaced Kagemasa as the head of the company. As a result, Konami began to move away from developing high-quality games for home computers and consoles. Instead, they focused on mobile gaming, pachinko, and slot machines.
This led to a conflict between Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear series, and Konami’s corporate leadership, which ultimately resulted in Kojima Productions being closed in 2015. When Kojima left the company, Konami delisted itself from New York Stock Exchange and stopped producing AAA games, focusing on mobile gaming and low-budget console titles instead.
On the casino side, Konami developers came up with a very engaging slot formula involving stacked symbols and re-triggerable free spins, which is used to this day. The success of this formula allowed the company to open a new slot machine manufacturing facility in Nevada. This second facility became operational in 2015.
Konami investors
Konami Holdings Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO: 9766).
As of September 2018, the principal shareholders in Konami included The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (17.30% stake), Kozuki Foundation (12.50%), Kozuki Holding (11.61%), Japan Trustee Services Bank Ltd. (Trust Account, 7.39%), Kozuki Capital Corporation (5.21%), Trust & Custody Services Bank Ltd. (2.01%), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (1.49%), and Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. (Trust Account 5, 1.16%).
Konami management and corporate structure
Konami is headed by its board of directors, which are elected by the shareholders. The current president of the company is Takuya Kozuki. He is the son of Kagemasa Kozuki, who is now the chairman of the company. Both the president and the chairman are also acting as representative directors.
The remaining members of the board of directors are Osamu Nakano, Kimihiko Higashio, Satoshi Sakamoto, Yoshihiro Matsuura, Akira Gemma, Kaori Yamaguchi, and Kimito Kubo. The shareholders also elect the audit and supervisory board, which currently consists of Shinichi Furukawa, Minoru Maruoka, Nobuaki Usui, Setsuo Tanaka, and Hisamitsu Arai.
Operating divisions are headed by corporate officers:
- Osamu Nakano (Executive Vice President, Corporate Management)
- Kimihiko Higashio (Executive Vice President, Administration)
- Satoshi Sakamoto (Senior Executive, Gaming & Systems Business)
- Hideki Hayakawa (Corporate Officer, Digital Entertainment Business)
- Katsunori Okita (Corporate Officer, Amusement Business)
- Akira Ochiai (Corporate Officer, Sports Business)
- Kazuhiko Uehara (Corporate Officer, General Manager, Public Relations & Advertising)
- Junichi Motobayashi (Corporate Officer, Finance)
- Shinichiro Yoneyama (Corporate Officer, General Manager, General Affairs Department)
If you’ve ever come across a slot game that seems to pack a bit extra in the presentation department, chances are that it’s a Konami slot machine. Konami is a top producer of slot titles around the world, and its games are denoted by a vibrant color palette and display.
However, to label Konami as merely a producer of pretty slot games would be to sell the international game powerhouse extremely short. Konami has a decades-long history of excellence in both the gambling and video game markets.
Nearly everyone across the US, including in Michigan, can dive into the world of Konami either at an online casino site or by visiting a local casino.
Read on for how to play, where to find Konami titles, and what makes this stalwart of the industry tick. Casinos offering Konami slots include BetMGM casino in Michigan, DraftKings and PokerStars.
Michigan casinos with Konami slots online
Most popular Konami slot machine games
Unless you are a die-hard fan, you may not be able to name any Konami games off the top of your head. With so many slot titles available right now, they can blend if you’re not looking for them.
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However, Konami slots tend to have a signature look, and you can usually guess which games are products from the game producer once you know what to consider. Konami games are identifiable mostly by the following traits:
- Game themes involve delightfully cartoonish characters in bright, vibrant themes
- Game operation is silky smooth, with reels turning more like a video slot than a mechanical slot
- Enhancements to standard gameplay can result in huge payouts, rather than the player necessarily needing to trigger a bonus game to generate outsized wins
Those traits are on full display in the list of top Konami slot games below. You can find these titles as standalone cabinets in live casinos and soon to be Michigan online casinos. You can also find them in Konami’s free-to-play social app.
1. China Shores
The China Shores slot machine is quite possibly Konami’s signature game in the slot title world. The Asian-themed title is both popular and instantly recognizable because of its benevolent panda motif.
However, China Shores is not just about peace and beautiful colors. Its idyllic setting is underwritten by the opportunity to win huge prizes, both through the game’s 30 paylines and its panda-inspired bonus games.
2. Lion Festival: Boosted Celebration
Lion Festival: Boosted Celebration is another great slot title deeply rooted in its traditional Asian theme. The five-reel game invites players to perform their version of the Lion Dance, a ceremonial movement for good luck, and frighten away evil spirits.
Like China Shores, players on this game can win a heavy dose of free games if the reels roll their way. In a similar mechanic, you can choose either to spin out the balance of your free spins or win a randomly-determined prize amount at the Balance of Fortune scales.
3. Solstice Celebration
The Solstice Celebration slot transports players to a sun-kissed meadow to seek their fortunes. Like other games on the Konami roster, Solstice Celebration presents an enchanting and calming mix of colors and sounds.
As you play, you will want to watch out for the game’s Sparkle feature when it pops up across the reels. It can mean extra wins, stacked reels, and even bonus spins for you to win big.
4. Chili Chili Fire
Where many of Konami’s games hearken to the developer’s roots in eastern Asia, Chili Chili Fire takes a decidedly different approach. Any subtlety is cast aside in favor of the fiery colors and flavors associated with Mexico’s cultural past.
The Chili Chili Fire slot machine is one of Konami’s newest online casino releases, and its newness shines through in terms of its vibrant presentation. The splashes of color, the animations of its various reel characters, and its exciting stacked bonus game make it worth a stop for any serious player.
5. Castlevania
Konami is not simply a slot title producer. One of Konami’s signature titles in its video game library is the Castlevania slot machine series, which depicts a vampire hunter seeking to shift the balance away from the bloodsucking monsters.
The Castlevania slot gives you five reels and 30 paylines to continue the fight begun by the series’ Belmont family. Should you make it to Dracula’s castle, you can choose your enemy, a skeleton, a wyvern, or Dracula, as the vector for huge payouts.
Key features on Konami slot machine games
Konami prides itself on infusing both standard and bonus gameplay with many opportunities to win big. As such, there are several features that you will find on Konami slots that are rare for titles from other developers. Some of the more prominent variations include the following features below.
Stacked symbols
Nearly all real money slot games are all about aligning symbols on paylines, of course. One of the more difficult tasks for a slot player is to maximize these alignments with multiple patterns of the same symbol.
Konami helps the player accomplish this task with its stacked symbols feature. The game(s) will randomly choose one reel symbol to encompass an entire section of the display. With any fortune, this stacking leads to multiple opportunities for wins on the same spin.
Dynamic reels
Along with the stacking of symbols, Konami games also feature dynamic reels that do not necessarily remain the value that you achieved during your spin. Instead, you may find that new wild symbols will spontaneously populate your paylines. Or, low-value characters might disappear and be replaced with higher-value symbols that portend larger wins.
Dynamic reels take away one of the biggest disappointments for players who see the outcome of their spins as the final word on their bet. The ability to see reels change for the better after the spin means that every player can remain hopeful that they might salvage a winner, even if the initial reel stoppage says otherwise.
Balance of fortune
The balance of fortune is a feature of some of Konami’s top games. However, it is a functionality that pops up multiple places and can mean a big takedown for the player.
One of the problems with receiving a free spin bonus is that, in theory, one could receive nothing. Even though you’re getting free rotations of the reels, there’s no explicit guarantee that they’ll pan out as a win.
The balance of fortune allows you to exchange your spins for a randomly determined prize. The prize amount can feature a range of outcomes. In some cases, you’d have been better off taking your chances with your spins.
The prize is sometimes as rich or richer than the payout your free spins would have reasonably generated. Couple that possibility with the fact that you’re guaranteed to win something, and it’s easy to see why the balance of fortune is an attractive decision tree feature for Konami to have.
Mirror reels bonus feature
A bonus round is always a good thing. Konami takes things a step further with its mirror reels feature.
Mirror reels cause the rollers on the right and left edges of the field to mirror one another. As a result, it is far easier to get bigger rows of symbols aligned and win big.
Progressive jackpots
Konami’s approach to progressive jackpots is found in their traditional single-machine and community-linked progressive games that you can play.
These jackpots can even extend to machines in different casinos. But, in the last few years, the company has begun experimenting with alternative ways to reward players on linked machines in the same location.
So, for instance, Konami unveiled the Crystal Cyclone, which is a common roulette wheel bonus feature that ties together some of the company’s older machines. Players are rewarded based upon where the bonus balls land, and since all the machines are tied, there is a heavy social element involved with the feature.
Where can I play Konami slot machines?
Hopefully, the descriptions above have you excited to try Konami’s roster of games. Naturally, you may be wondering where you can find these games.
The first place to look is in brick-and-mortar casinos across the US. Whether you’re in Detroit or Las Vegas, you are extremely likely to encounter a Konami game if you are looking for one.
Michigan casinos allow you to play China Shores, Lotus Land, and any of the top Konami slot games from the comfort of your own home.
Both states are home to multiple online casinos, and casino operators are not usually stingy about providing as many options for slot play as they can. So, Konami has quite the representation in both locations, and you can find opportunities to sample the products with a minimum of effort.
Finally, you can access the games themselves through Konami’s free-to-play casino site, MyKonami Games. This free site is available for both major types of mobile devices.
In addition to having great gameplay, MyKonami also allows you to participate in MGM’s MyVegas rewards program. You can earn vouchers for real-world perks and benefits merely for the time that you put into the site.
Of course, your gameplay amounts to a trial run on Konami’s games. So, while you’re enjoying the benefits of your play, you might see games at MGM properties that look quite familiar.
A brief history of Konami
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Konami Holding Corporation began its service in 1969 as a jukebox rental and repair service in Osaka, Japan. The name of the company derives from the first two letters of its founders’ last names.
Over the next three decades, the company evolved into a top producer of video games. Some of its video game franchises, such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Frogger, Contra, and Dance Dance Revolution, are well-known and respected within the video gaming community.
One of the most famous cheat codes/easter eggs in all of gaming originated with the company when developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto installed a button sequence into the 1986 game Gradius, which made it easier for him to acquire a full set of powerups. This code, now commonly known as the KonamiCode, has appeared as an activation key in more than one hundred video games since then. Most hardcore gamers can recite the code like scripture: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start.
Konami began expanding into the gambling industry in 1992. Its first entry involved releases into Japan’s pachinko machine market, and the company built on that success throughout the 1990s by expanding into other Asian countries and Australia.
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Konami’s North American debut occurred in 2000, and the company has been a staple of the American gaming market ever since. With such recognizable properties, there’s no reason to assume that the company is going anywhere but up.