The gaming world is evolving at an expanding rate. We take a look at some of the current trends and the way gaming has evolved in the last 5 years.
The Evolution of Gaming over the Last 5 Years
The evolution of some things may be slow and painful, but when it comes to technology it seems like the progressive trend in which it develops is still picking up speed. Computer gaming as such has not been alive for even a single century and the incredible advances made in the area make modern-day games incomparable to their cousins from the early era of gaming.
The last decade has seen the industry change quite a bit, with the internet and mobile technologies really taking things to a new level. Over the last 5 years, the trends of players streaming content over platforms such as Twitch and YouTube has created a whole new community of gamers who are actually making a living from their favorite hobby.
This situation has also impacted the real money gaming industry, with the best online casinos in Nigeria which can be found at online-casinos.com providing an amazing platform for streamers looking for content to post on their channels. All of these and other trends have been alive and well in the gaming industry over the last 5 years, so we take a closer look at what’s been going on and what we can expect in the gaming world in the near future.
Mobile devices are taking over
A couple of decades ago when mobile devices were first becoming popular among the wider audience, they were used to make phone calls, send messages and check the time. Just a short time later, mobile phones have more processing power and memory than the computers of the early 2000s, making them perfectly fit to host games of all types.
In fact, some of the best phones of our era can now run games with sophisticated graphics and extreme detail, making them the perfect substitute for PCs and gaming consoles for people who prefer to take their gaming experience on the road with them.
Mobile technologies have been developing ever faster and the last 5 years have seen new phones and tablets with improved characteristics launched seemingly every few months. At the same time, software developers have been creating more and more complex games, especially those focusing on multiplayer via social networks, allowing players to play with their friends without even having to arrange it. A few clicks is now all it takes to invite your friends to play with you and get the games started.
In the past, mobile phones usually required players to download mobile apps to play, but some of the most modern mobile games offer instant play options in mobile browsers. Mobile casinos are a great example of this as so many of the biggest brands in the industry offer gameplay instantly via their mobile websites to players around the world.
Is virtual reality here to stay?
The concept of virtual reality has been around for a couple of decades now, but until recently it wasn’t really available to casual audience. With devices like the Oculus now commercially available, players can enjoy the primitive virtual reality in the comfort of their own home.
Virtual reality is far from the levels we have seen previously in sci-fi movies where anything can be simulated almost instantly, but VR video games are slowly becoming a reality. With each passing year, the virtual worlds we get access to are more sophisticated and it is only a matter of time before we will be able to play fully fledged complex video games inside such worlds.
The developers are facing many issues when it comes to creating VR games but are slowly solving them one by one. The controls used for VR games are becoming more sophisticated, the actual environments more natural and the promise of a virtual world in which players could do anything they please is on the horizon.
Of course, there are many dilemmas related to the idea of the virtual reality becoming too sophisticated. Whether virtual worlds in which we can do anything we please without any concern or not is a question for the philosophers, but it is certain that the developers will do all in their power to take us there.
Live streaming is the new norm
The last few years have really given birth to the idea of live streaming gaming content over the internet, which was hardly even alive just a decade ago. The internet connections were slow and the social networks were not as sophisticated as they are today, so streaming didn’t make sense.
The launch of Twitch in 2011 was the early start to live streaming as we know it today, but recent years have seen a massive explosion of it. From casual gamers streaming for their friends to professionals who stream their competitive matches to the entertainers who stream to get followers and make ad money, streaming platforms are exploding.
The covid-19 pandemic of 2020 actually gave even more of a wind to the whole streaming idea as millions of people remained more or less confined to their homes and even numerous celebrities forced into isolation. With so many streamers and their viewers sitting at home for most of the day, Twitch, YouTube and other platforms saw their revenues skyrocket.
Casual gaming as a moneymaker
Money may be the reason to play for some streamers, but most other players play casually to have fun and enjoy themselves. However, the gaming market has grown to such a size that even casual gamers can now potentially make some money in games such as World of Warcraft or Fortnite, at least enough to make back the money they pay for various gaming related subscriptions.
World of Warcraft in particular is a game that has seen players make money from gameplay for a long time. While gold and item selling in this game is officially not allowed, millions of dollars are exchanged for in-game items yearly across both American and European realms. Game developer Blizzard has allowed players to exchange in-game gold for time tokens, which allows them to not have to pay for the subscription if they play enough to accumulate the gold, which is a great and sanctioned way for players who may not be able to afford the game to still join the action.
Social gaming is the norm
While online gaming has been the standard for some years, the rise of social media platforms and streaming has opened the doors to even more social gaming opportunities. Games like Fortnite and PUBG which have been so popular the last few years thrive around the concept of players coming together to play through the internet and it has made gaming so much more entertaining and competitive.
Whether you are playing a mobile game for fun or are sitting on your PC playing one of the top quality titles, the concept of single player gaming is slowly dying away. Online gambling operators have taken this a step further by allowing players to play wager real money at their platforms and still play with other players through social casino platforms and live dealer casino games which bring players together and pit them against one another or against the house.
What’s next in gaming?
The gaming industry is a fluid and ever changing one, with new things happening every year. While there is no clear way to know what is going to happen next, the one thing we can know is that gaming will continue to boom in the coming years.
With cheaper technology allowing more and more players worldwide to join the gaming community and the internet connecting players from all corners of the world, gaming is really in its golden era. The continuing progression of computer and internet technology is constantly making the games more sophisticated, faster, smoother and more beautiful to look at and giving players entry to incredibly immersive new worlds.
The virtual and augmented reality trends are the likely next big thing in the gaming world and if current progression is anything to go by we may be looking at entire virtual worlds where players can play together through the internet and in a completely interactive environment well before the first century of the new millennium is over.
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