For many years now, sophisticated casino gaming has been conspicuously absent from
major console systems. It’s one of the most popular gaming genres in the world,
having spawned innumerable apps and online games over the years. And yet, a
combination of factors have kept it away from consoles. More specifically, the
simplicity of the games is simply better suited to apps and websites. Beyond that,
the gambling aspect of a casino game is just about impossible to adapt for consoles
given that casino gambling isn’t legal everywhere.
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Despite all this, however, a full-fledged poker game is finally on its way to Xbox
and Playstation devices
courtesy of VooFoo Studios. There have been a few cartoonish and exceedingly simple attempts at
poker gaming in the form of downloadable games for devices. This new game, Pure
Hold’em, will basically be exploring uncharted territory, so what should we expect?
Well, based on the limited footage of gameplay that’s been released, as well as past
VooFoo games like Pure Pool, one thing we can be certain of is beautiful, appealing
graphics and a smooth style of movement and action. In PushSquare’s review of Pure
Pool, it was written that “as expected from VooFoo, the visuals only further the
immersion. The grunt force of the PS4 has really been put to work with the photo
realism that’s present here.” Indeed, Pure Pool is one of those rare games that
excels not through complexity, but through doing the little things right: gameplay
is at once simple and sophisticated, and the visuals are sharp and inviting. These
are important qualities for a casino game, and more of the same in Pure Hold’em
would be a great start.
The bigger challenge for Pure Hold’em will have less to do with appearance and
functionality, and more to do with providing incentives for players who are used to
high stakes games online. Betfair’s
poker tournaments provide some of the best known models for what keeps online
poker interesting, and it will no doubt have been studied to some extent by the
Britain-based VooFoo team. Yet, those tournaments are just about impossible to mimic
in a console format, given that their variety and appeal stems from varying entry
fees and prize pots. Online players are used to staying engaged with such poker
sites by taking advantage of this variety and playing different games with different
risks, rather than simply repeating a free-to-play poker game over and over.
From what we know at this point, it seems as if VooFoo has a few clever strategies
to deal with the issue of providing incentives. To begin with, the game will feature
full online multiplayer, which provides the other dynamic that tends to keep online
players engaged even if poker itself can be somewhat repetitive. But according to a
blog post at Playstation.com Pure Hold’em will also keep players active by providing a sort of tiered gaming system, essentially creating levels that can be reached via
achievement. The game will include an “atmospheric casino,” where players will play
the bulk of their games in an effort to progress to “prestigious Aces & Masters
table,” and from there to the VIP Penthouse. These stages don’t just represent new
games, but various physical environments included in Pure Hold’em.
All things considered, it’s a very interesting concept with a great deal of
potential. While there are clear reasons why poker and other casino games have been
kept largely out of the console environment, there is also a gigantic worldwide
community of poker players ready and waiting to enjoy the right game. In that sense,
VooFoo may be onto something big.
