NetEnt 3D Sound Technology LogoNetEnt is determined to keep on pushing the boundaries of mobile slots, and in doing so has announced 3D sound technology which is currently being developed.  This all-enveloping sound technique will give the players a totally realistic and immersive audio experience, thus enhancing their overall gaming experience.

Despite celebrating its 20th birthday this year, NetEnt show no signs of stopping or even slowing down when it comes to crafting industry leading titles. In addition to achieving huge profit margin growth last year, NetEnt has taken it upon itself to innovate and lead the industry with new technological game features. One of those is the 3D sound technology that they’ve masterminded, which the software developer presented at the ICE Conference in London last week, so we took time out to investigate.


 

Leaders in the industry

Gonzo Character by NetEntWhen Gonzo’s Quest was released more than five years ago, it introduced 3D and HD graphics, which have since then become an industry standard. So, it comes as little surprise that NetEnt is leading the field once more in terms of mobile slot audio. Gone will be the days when a generic tune that’s one minute long plays in one dreadful loop while you try to play a particular mobile slot. What a crap gaming experience that is!

NetEnt has already been doing a great job in putting in a lot of effort to make sure that its mobile slots have great sound effects, and you never heard us complain. Yet something was still lacking, especially if you like the trend of mobile slots becoming more and more like video games. Making slots as realistic as possible, the background music, sound effects and specialised character sounds will all be done in 3D, allowing you feel as if you’re right there in the middle of the jungle with Gonzo!

 

Is 3D sound new?

3D Sound Effect HeadphonesNot exactly. It appears that 3D sound technology has been around for a some of years. You might own your own surround-sound speakers or a home theatre system, you might have enjoyed great audio set-ups in cinemas or you might even have these innovative 3D sound headphones (image on the left) . All of these  devices claim to do one thing – replicate sounds exactly as the human ear hears them to give you a realistic and entertaining experience, whatever it is you’re doing.

But all of those devices have much more power and scope to provide you with a great audio experience while the humble mobile phone on which you play games doesn’t. Yet, NetEnt is set on changing that, and has been working on 3D sound technology to accompany their mobile slots from this year on. After all, audio effects are a massive part of playing mobile slots, and can either make or break a game.

Sounds like heaven

While cutting-edge it is not, it definitely is a novelty in the industry and we can’t wait for the first mobile slots using 3D sound technology to appear. Until then, we only have this video that NetEnt have handily shared on their Youtube to show you, so that you can get a sense of what it will feel like.

We think that watching this, you’re as mesmerised as we were! Replicating sounds exactly as the human ear hears them isn’t an easy technological feat, but we think NetEnt has done a stellar job. As is true with three dimensional graphics, three dimension sound takes in multiple layers of hearing, allowing you to hear things as if they are far away or nearby, being yelled or being whispered straight into your ear, or coming from whichever direction.

And if you don’t think that’s impressive, we’ll have you know that it could really change the way the industry develops games. Sure, there are great looking games being released all the time, but the formula for success has become quite predictable and stale. That’s why we think NetEnt, which keeps on pushing the technological boundaries of what can be achieved on mobile phones and discovering how mobile slots can be better, will have an even better year than last. Sparks Slot by NetEnt Logo

There is no certainty as to when the first game using 3D sound will be released or if that will even be this year, but there are a few things that we’re sure of. First, given its stellar track record of device compatibility, we believe NetEnt will make its newest technology available on desktops, mobiles, tablets and even headphones of all sorts. This will allow everyone to enjoy the futuristic mobile gaming.

Second, we are sure that it would tremendously enhance the gaming experience if 3D sound technology was applied to ambient slots such as Sparks, Starburst or Glow – we can only hope NetEnt will take the time out to enhance old titles too. And last, we are certain that if the 3D sound technology will be applied to the Jimi Hendrix and/or the Motörhead mobile slots that are coming out this year as part of the NetEnt Rocks Tour 2016, it will be the best year in the recorded history of mobile slots!