Do you remember Super Mario Brothers, the old Nintendo Gaming console with the chunky game cartridges and the Sega Megadrive that, with the help of Sonic the Hedgehog, we believed was the mutt’s nuts and the future of gaming?
Well, thank heavens for technology! Mario and Sonic certainly kept us entertained; that much is true. But with the gaming and iGaming sectors being such big business and huge innovators, we now get a whole lot more to enjoy.
Developers provide a constant stream of new game formats to try, and with the introduction of virtual reality and AI into the mix, the future of gaming doesn’t just look bright; it looks pretty amazing. So even if you are a health fanatic, you’re sure to love spending some spare time gaming.
With the recently launched PS5 console, the hobby has reached a whole different level. Add to that the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox X and S series, and you can see gaming has gone way beyond the expectations of seasoned gamers.
Tech crosses over into iGaming
The technology in the gaming sector crosses over perfectly into iGaming, which focuses on online casino games, bingo, online poker and so on. You only need to look at the latest power-packed slot games to see that. Plus, the latest hi-tech options at online casinos include live stream dealer studio games – something no player could have dreamed about only 20 years ago.
iGaming still has more to learn from its mainstream gaming big brother. The new breed of multiplayer platforms such as Call of Duty, League of Legends and Fortnite have become global sensations. Multiplayer or co-operative games have come on leaps and bounds over the past few years, and gone are the days of sticky streaming, terrible graphics and an overall bad gaming experience.
Let’s look at Fortnight, for example. Fortnite became something of a cultural phenomenon when it was first released in 2017 by Epic Games. It brought bright colours, use of in-game currency and rather infectious dance emotes to get players hooked from the start. The gameplay certainly had them coming back for more.
The real clincher, though, is the price. Unlike most video games on consoles and PCs, Fortnite is free to download and play. This means players can access all the title’s multiplayer modes and weapons without having to spend any money, which is always a bonus and probably why everyone loves it so much.
With the popularity of video gaming rising steadily for years and with people looking for new ways to stay entertained, the trend has only accelerated. Gaming is now bigger than sports and movies combined.
But what next?
Culturally, the gaming industry will probably only continue to become more mainstream. But with tech innovations already shaping and developing iGaming and video games, how will this new tech influence the future experience?
Virtual reality
The promise of a fully immersive virtual reality experience has teased gamers for decades. As it stands, however, technology has been slow to deliver on that promise. Although virtual reality hasn’t quite lived up to all the hype so far, some tech companies are investing considerable amounts of money and time in developing new VR games and hardware.
Advances in technology show that there are some promising developments on the horizon, but a few hurdles need to be addressed first, the main one being the bulky and expensive headsets.
Augmented reality
In the summer of 2016, streets, parks, shops and schools were swarmed with smartphone-wielding, Pokemon-catching players of Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game for your mobile phone. Colourful critters, better known as Pokémon, overlayed a person’s natural line of vision. With over $5 billion in sales, the game was most people’s first brush with AR and remains the technology’s biggest success story … so far.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has been “expressed” in gaming for years; take a close look at the innocent bystanders in Grand Theft Auto, for example. However, in more recent years, game developers seem to have taken a more sophisticated approach to non-player characters (NPCs). Many are now programmed with “behaviour trees”, which allow them to perform in a more complex, decision-making way.
Take the alien enemies in Halo 2, for example. These NCPs can work together and coordinate their attacks, rather than walking one by one into a stream of gunfire like they’re in a cheesy action movie.
Of course, NCPs can only do what developers have written into their code, and although their behaviour may seem super intelligent, it is still determined in advance by the game’s designers.
It is certain that we will see more advanced AI in future gaming, but not all are convinced it’s coming any time soon.
Cloud gaming
Essentially, cloud gaming offers players the ability to play video games streamed from the faraway servers of tech companies’ much the same way people can stream Netflix movies on their laptops without the need to put a disc in first.
Typically pitched as a subscription service, cloud gaming is moving gamers away from a mentality of owning physical media and toward one of renting their digital content.
The biggest hurdle cloud gaming needs to clear up if it wants to become truly mainstream is to be able to offer a non-lagging smooth gaming experience for users, especially those that have a dodgy WiFi connection.
With so much going on, the future of gaming and iGaming looks bright.
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