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Technology is advancing at a rate that’s hard to keep up with and has impacted almost every facet of day-to-day life. One area where technology has absolutely changed things is in the gaming world. It isn’t just that gaming devices have become more advanced but also the ways that people game are now more diverse than ever.
Below, we’re going to take a look at how technology has revolutionized our daily gaming habits, starting with arguably the biggest change to the industry in the 21st century – mobile gaming.
Mobile gaming
In the last 15 years, the popularity of smartphones has caused a huge explosion in mobile gaming. Whereas before, you’d need to have a console or PC in order to play games; now anybody with a smartphone can play a huge variety of them.
Games have been a part of mobile phones since the early days, with simple games like Snake being incredibly popular in the 90s when mobile phones first exploded in popularity. It wasn’t until smartphones became widely available though that the mobile gaming industry really took off.
Mobile gaming has evolved a lot over the years and there are now many major franchises that can be played on mobile devices, including games like Fortnite and Apex Legends. A lot of these games are free-to-pay too, so there’s almost no barrier to entry other than having a mobile device that can run them.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality has been big news in the gaming industry for the past few years, with major companies like Sony and Meta developing their own VR headsets in order to provide gamers with a more immersive experience.
What makes VR particularly interesting is that it’s still so new. It’s only in the last 10 years that it’s really taken off and although it’s fair to say that it’s still a somewhat niche area of gaming, it’s only going to get bigger as headsets become more lightweight and affordable.
VR games are already becoming much more common, with major franchises like Horizon having dedicated VR spin offs.
Digital distribution and subscription services
It’s hard to overstate how much digital distribution platforms have changed gaming habits. When Valve first launched Steam in 2003, it was simply as a way to provide instant updates for their games, particularly their upcoming sequel to Half Life. It didn’t take long for it to evolve into a platform for third party titles though and before long, it was the way most people would purchase their PC games, making boxed games obsolete.
A natural evolution of digital distribution being so popular is the introduction of subscription services. Services like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass allow gamers to get access to a huge selection of games for a monthly fee, rather than needing to buy each game individually.
Online gaming
One of the biggest changes to how people play games over the last 20 years has been the massive increase in popularity of online gaming. As broadband internet became the norm in the early 2000s, the popularity of online gaming exploded. Now when you take the popularity of smartphones and tablets into account, it’s not hard to see how online gaming has become as big as it has.
Today some of the most popular games in the world are online. Games like Fortnite, League of Legends and Overwatch 2 are hugely popular thanks to their fun gameplay and free-to-play model. Online gaming has also increased the social aspect of gaming significantly, with professional e-sports teams now a common thing. For gaming fans looking to switch things up between Call of Duty an Overwatch sessions, many play Big Bass Bonanza Slots amongst other slot games.
Advancements in gaming hardware
Another big impact on how we play games is the advancement of gaming hardware. Games have come a long way since the early days of 8-bit consoles and basic PCs that were mostly used for work purposes. With the improvements of graphics cards, processors and increased memory, modern PCs and consoles are now capable of running incredibly complex games with beautiful, expansive worlds and complex AI.
The advancement in gaming hardware is only going to continue too, allowing for better framerates, advanced graphic improvements and larger gaming worlds. It’s also likely that mobile devices will incorporate things like AR and VR even more, so mobile gaming of the future will look very different too.
What the future of gaming holds
As technology continues to improve, there’s no doubt that it will continue to impact how we play games. There are continuous advancements that will make games more immersive, including the improvements in VR and AR technology.
In addition to this, it’s very likely that AI will play a much bigger role in how games are developed. AI has been used in gaming for a long time, mostly in enemy behavior but with the rapid pace at which it’s improving, it’s predicted that AI will also be used in other areas of game development, including concept art, asset development and scriptwriting.
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