As of 2019, gaming has become the world’s most lucrative entertainment industry, valued at a colossal $4.85 billion. The industry had steadily been creeping up on the music and film industry for a while as Triple-A games began to meet the budgets of Hollywood films and the revenue of those blockbusters and also album sales. This might be due to the sheer interactivity the medium possesses or perhaps the replayability it offers. Regardless of what makes the industry so profitable, it is clear that it is growing at a steady rate.
How technology is advancing is likely the best reason as to why the gaming industry is changing. The oldest form of a game in recorded history, the board game, can still be seen today in classics such as Scrabble and Monopoly. Despite this, the gaming industry never really got going until the advent of the first computer game in 1962, which set the course for the next half-century. As new, more powerful technology has been developed, computer games have also become more complex as a result. This means that the form has steadily moved from arcade-like, mechanic-oriented ventures such as Space Invaders and Pong! to more interactive and narrative-driven examples that can have meaningful effects on the people that play them.
Most notably, the creation of virtual reality has ushered in a new era for the video game industry, where the lines between the computer world and the virtual world have become blurred. With any new technological advancement, this has exciting prospects, as well as frightening ones. Families that live countries apart may be able to talk and see each other no more than a couple of metres in front of them. Some may become fixated on the experience and forego responsibilities in the real world. Nevertheless, it is clear that the improvement of technology has changed the gaming industry forever.
The development of online gaming has also allowed many to maintain and forge new relationships over the shared social activity of playing a game. This is undoubtedly useful if location separates two individuals – or circumstance. The recent pandemic has shown that relationships are vitally important to maintain a good quality of life, and through the creation of online gaming, players across the world were able to keep in touch with their friends and family.
The progression of technology also allowed games to be able to be enjoyed irrespective of location. No longer would people be confined to their homes to play computer games; the sale of handheld consoles and more importantly smartphones gave a new kind of freedom and convenience to gaming enthusiasts. The benefits of advancing technology are not just limited to computer games however – gambling applications have been able to add in new features such as cash out and the ability to deposit money using cryptocurrency. A list of such sites can be found here.
It is clear that as technology evolves, new and innovative ways of enjoying games will arise. Whether this is a good or bad thing is yet to be decided but there is no doubt that the industry should strive for this type of progress to have access to the most creative developments.