There was a time when if you wanted to play video games there was considerable investment needed, both in terms of buying a console and then the games themselves. While this is still true it’s unbelievable how far we’ve also come with online gaming, especially in online gaming that you play using a tablet or smartphone.
In fact, official figures show that last year mobile gaming overtook console gaming in terms of revenue generated for the first time ever – but that’s not to say it’s time for console gaming to disappear altogether as this is also projected to rise, but not as rapidly as its mobile version.
Like most things these days it’s technology that has been driving this surge in popularity. Ever since the advent of the smartphone the gradual development of graphics quality and increasing processor speed have enabled developers to devise more and more sophisticated games which are far removed from the days when Snake was about as much fun as you could expect to have with your phone.
The fact that many of these games are free to download has also had an obvious impact on their popularity and has also introduced a whole new business model in which you can choose to buy extras to enhance your enjoyment of the game.
So it’s not just video gaming companies that have been quick to exploit the technology to improve the player experience. For example leading online gaming sites, such as 888poker, now offer a truly exciting and immersive playing experience that can be enjoyed anywhere and at any time, day or night. Poker has always been a popular game but the number of people playing has soared with the recent advancements in technology and the ease of access for players worldwide.
Another factor that has led to the popularity of online gaming is its social aspect with companies like Facebook also helping to boost the phenomenon with its community-based games like Cityville and its rural cousin Farmville. By making games easy to play and share with friends on social media numbers of players can rise exponentially to reach the levels of popularity we’re seeing today.
On a global scale, this has contributed to creating the e-sports phenomenon that has well and truly taken video gaming and turned it into a multi-million dollar spectator sport that reaches across the globe.
Technology always feeds on itself so we can expect to see many more exciting developments in the near future and many are predicting that it will be virtual reality that will fuel it. At long last, the hardware has become affordable for many and developers are putting all their efforts into games that exploit this exciting new medium to the full.
So while we’ve come an incredibly long way in a relatively short space of time it could very well be a case of “you ain’t seen nothing yet!”