After announcing last month that it had converted the ‘majority’ of its video slots away from the Flash Player multimedia innovation in favor of the open-standard HTML5 standard and online casino games developer NetEnt AB has now explained some of the reasons behind its move.
In a press release, Stockholm-listed NetEnt AB revealed that the Flash Player technology has suffered from an ‘endless stream of security vulnerabilities’ as the innovation is ‘one of the preferred methods’ exploited by cyber criminals to harm users around the world. The Swedish firm stated that computers utilizing the Linux, Windows, Chrome OS and Macintosh operating systems ‘are more likely to crash’ due to Flash Player and that this can often result in ‘a cyber attack that takes control of the affected system’.
NetEnt AB also detailed that Flash Player ‘consumes more power’ than its HTML5 counterpart with this often resulting in reduced performance for users of mobile and laptop devices that is ‘poor and unstable’.
Last year saw American computer giant Adobe Systems Incorporated declare that it will soon cease offering support for its Flash Player innovation but NetEnt AB explained that its recent transition means that online casino players can continue to enjoy some 70 of its most popular video slots including Jackpot 6000, Dracula, Spellcast and Excalibur via HTML5 with no disruption.
The Swedish firm additionally proclaimed that Apple and Google ‘are slowly but surely doing what they can to eradicate’ the use of Flash Player but that its recent changeover means that it is now ‘prepared for this impending technology shift’.
“Although there is no concrete date yet known for the demise of Flash, it could come at any time and we want you to be prepared,” read a statement from NetEnt AB. “This is why we are upgrading our Flash [Player] content to HTML5.”
NetEnt AB moreover pronounced that it soon intends to premiere an HTML5 version of video poker alongside other games such as baccarat while gradually decommissioning on a quarterly basis any slot titles that have been updated to the newer technology.
“As soon as the HTML5 version of the game is available, NetEnt AB will stop supporting the Flash [Player] version of this game,” read the statement from NetEnt AB. “If any Flash [Player]-related issues occur before the planned quarterly decommissioning, the games will be disabled with immediate effect to avoid further Flash [Player] issues arising.”