After Physicist William Higinbotham created what is believed to be the first video game in 1958, the world was never the same. The gaming industry kept evolving, taking the quantum leap in the early 2000s. What enabled such a rapid growth of the video games market?
As it turns out, millions of people love gaming, but the games were not as available before as they are today. Technology is one thing that drives the growth of this industry. Today, we are going to take a closer look at all technology innovations that have re-shaped gaming.
The Internet
The World Wide Web is probably a factor with the biggest impact on the world of gaming. Before the internet became widely available, the next best thing was LAN gaming. Gamers had to be close to each other to play their favorite multiplayer FPS and strategy games.
The internet revolutionized gaming, no doubt about that. It made games more available and helped gaming become more convenient for people. At the same time, it also changed how game producers think. In the late 90s and early 2000s, we had the chance to see MMORPGs coming into life. Some of the titles from this era are Ultima Online, Lineage, and EverQuest, followed by World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Game producers are always trying to make the best use of the available hardware to deliver the most immersive gaming experience to gamers worldwide. However, until recently, the best thing they could do is to empower great graphics and combine it with high-quality sound. Things have changed rapidly with the virtual and augmented reality tech (VR & AR).
There are several big names in the tech industry working on developing VR headsets. At the same time, game producers are working on delivering a fully immersive gaming experience. AR, on the other hand, delivers an immersive experience in a unique way. They combine virtual components with the real world to engage players.
Online Security Solutions
With online gaming came online security concerns. Gamers, for the most part, like to stay anonymous. Unfortunately, the majority of them are unaware of the cybersecurity risks. Cybercriminals can leverage hacked clients to ruin everyone’s gaming experience, not to mention the DDoS attacks, data leaks, and ransomware attacks.
Online security solutions came to the rescue to re-shape gaming for the better. Hands-free antivirus and firewall tools now help gamers enjoy their favorite games minimizing the risk of getting hacked. Online identity and encryption solutions, such as Atlas VPN, help them stay safe online. A VPN also enables gamers to access games that are not available in their regions by changing location, which is especially convenient during trial-runs of popular games.
Streaming Technologies
Streaming technologies and platforms have also played, or more accurately, are still playing an essential role in re-shaping gaming. Streamers have become these superstars in the world of gamers with the power to affect the community’s opinion and push game producers to introduce changes to the games. There are millions of people streaming and watching streams on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube. So, many fans tune in to watch someone else play their favorite games, which, at first, was something untraditional as well.
Dozens of technological solutions empower streaming, ranging from transcoding systems and IRC protocols to cloud tech and machine learning. Given the current popularity of streamers, it is safe to assume that streaming platforms will continue to affect this huge landscape. Cloud Desktop also has these high-end CPU and GPU specs to bear powerful streaming platforms like OBS Streaming etc.
Cloud Technology
To make games more competitive on the market, game producers are forced to improve game graphics. On the other hand, it makes games more demanding in terms of hardware. Many gamers know the value of gaming and want the best experience possible, but they are often unable to stay up to date with hardware requirements. The race between hardware and software is about to be over (hopefully).
Cloud gaming is a brand-new thing that entered the landscape. Cloud infrastructure can lighten the load. As long as they have a fast internet connection, gamers can enjoy the latest titles on their devices even if they don’t meet minimum hardware requirements.
Mobile Technology
Finally, we have mobile tech as the last innovation to gaming. Today, even the phones in the mid-price range are capable of running cutting-edge 3D games. Smartphones and tables deliver something that gamers craved – gaming on the go.
Some titles on Google Play Store and Apple App Store have tens of millions of downloads. The chances are that the community of mobile gamers will go even bigger in the years to come.
While each of these technological innovations re-shaped gaming, we also have to take into account their synergy. With so many new technologies coming out every day, it is safe to assume that gaming has not yet taken its final form.