James Bond 007 – License To Scratch!
Scientific Games Corporation has announced it will be launching twenty-two new licensed games to coincide with the global release of the new James Bond movie, No Time To Die.
Scientific Games is the world leader in providing instant scratch games, lotteries and slots. If you’d like to find out more about these types of casino games try the reviewers at vegasslots.co.uk. In 1974 Scientific Games created the world’s first instant lottery game. In 2004 they launched their first internet-based game. Since then, they have continued to develop new technologies and innovations in the gaming industry. In 2017 the corporation signed an omni-channel license agreement for the JAMES BOND franchise.
On the 7th of February 2020, Scientific Games stated via a press release that the corporation would be unveiling the new 007 games in the U.S, Israel and Switzerland. In America, 11 state lotteries are set to participate in Scientific Games’ James Bond Lottery Challenge linked game. Players will have the chance to scoop a jackpot worth $1 million. Internationally, six lotteries will launch separate JAMES BOND 007 games, and five lotteries will start ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ themed games.
Licence To Scratch
It’s not the first time that Scientific Games has teamed up with the fictional British secret agent. In September 2019 they launched a Bond-themed game with the Massachusetts State Lottery. The linked scratchcard proved extremely popular with players. In 19 weeks, the game achieved $43 million in retail sales. No doubt the success of this game convinced Scientific Games to take advantage of the hype surrounding the latest Bond movie.
Ed Farley, Chief Marketing Officer for the Massachusetts Lottery, said, “The Mass Lottery is very selective with licensed games, but JAMES BOND 007 tested strongly in focus groups across a wide range of our players.
“We were confident that Scientific Games’ elegant design of the ticket, the $1 million top instant prize, and the added thrill of the second-chance experience in Las Vegas, would collectively make this a very appealing and successful game.”
My Name Is Bond – James, Bond
It’s not difficult to understand why Scientific Games wanted James Bond to front their range of games. The British agent has been at the centre of modern culture ever since he hit the big screen back in 1963.
However, Bond was already well known by the public due to the numerous books written by Ian Flemming, the creator of the fictional British spy. The first book featuring Bond was ‘Casino Royale’ published in 1953. The story of a sophisticated spy with an eye for the ladies was an instant hit with readers. Flemming went on to write a new Bond story every year from 1953 until his death in 1964.
Flemming based Bond on several people he met while working for British Naval Intelligence during World War II. When interviewed, he said, “Bond was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war”. Fleming also modelled aspects of Bond on the legendary British Secret Intelligence Officer Conrad O’Brien-ffrench, an accomplished linguist, mountaineer and skier.
Since the first Bond adventure was published, over 100 million books have been sold worldwide. Nevertheless, it was on the big screen that Bond became a global sensation. The first time audiences saw the iconic spy was in the 1962 movie Dr No. It starred Sean Connery as Bond and Ursula Andress as ‘Honey Ryder’. The film went on to earn $59 million in box office sales.
The second outing as Bond came for Connery in 1964. From Russia With Love proved even more successful than the first movie, making $78 million in ticket sales for a modest $2 million budget. In the modern era, film budgets have grown, but so have the takings. The 2012 Bond film ‘Skyfall’ took a staggering $1 billion in box office sales. Admittedly its $200,000,000 budget took a large chunk out of the film’s profitability. However, Bond remains one of the most valuable film franchises of all time.
Part of Bond’s success is down to the actors who have played him over the years. Sean Connery, David Niven, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have all taken on the role. Everyone has their favourite, and mine is Sean Connery although I do think that Daniel Craig has been excellent too.
No Time To Die
Craig has starred in five bond films to date. The most recent film featuring the British actor was scheduled for release in early April 2020. However, the movie ‘No Time To Die’ has seen its premiere pushed back to November due to the Coronavirus outbreak. It’s reported that Craig was paid $25 million to appear as Bond in ‘No Time To Die’. Craig has played the daring MI6 agent for the past 14 years. Before signing on for the latest film, the Chester born actor said he would rather “slash his wrists” than return as Bond.
‘No Time To Die’ will be the 25th Bond film and also the final outing for Daniel Craig. Cary Joji Fukunaga is in the director’s chair for this movie; his credits include ‘Beasts Of No Nation’ and Netflix series ‘The Alienist’. The new film begins with James enjoying his retirement from Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He is approached by a friend to come out of retirement and help search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist.
At the moment we have no reviews of ‘No Time To Die’. However, the film has already scored an early success with its title song. Historically, Bond has had some phenomenal tunes. Classics like ‘Nobody Does It Better’ and ‘Diamonds Are Forever’. Now it’s the turn of teen sensation Billie Eilish to belt out a banging Bond song. The track, also called ‘No Time To Die’, had a monster first week selling 90,000 copies, which is especially remarkable considering how prolific streaming is in 2020. The song has also been streamed 10.6 million times! Smashing previous record held by Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ song.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait until November to watch ‘No Time To Die’. In the meantime, we can play Bond’s themed scratchcard and listen to Billie Eilish and her beautiful Bond song.
