Few activities are more exciting than picking up a controller or portable console and playing your favorite game. Video games have become intertwined with modern culture, going as far as helping create a video gaming-centric culture that people want to be a part of. Here are a few things to know about the insane evolution of video games.
Reputation
Video gaming had a horrible reputation throughout its first few decades. Gamers were in love with the technology and entertainment opportunities. Still, people outside this ecosystem often viewed gaming as a social vice stealing quality time and opportunities from “impressionable” young people. In some places, being called a gamer was akin to a slur, but true gamers understood that ignorance was the cause of archaic thinking amongst many older and more conservative people. Imagine the gaming ecosystem going from this to hosting massive video game tournaments in 20,000-capacity arenas. It still feels like a dream, but the new world of immersive experiences is changing how we live and play.
Another industry that has had a similar change in reputation (albeit to a lesser extent) is casino gaming and gambling. Gamblers can head to services like casino Ice and place a few spare bucks on their game of choice while making their experience more exciting and scintillating. Gambling opportunities are now more available in many US states and jurisdictions, and so far, there hasn’t been a significant change in gambling-related social vices. Legalization made it straightforward for existing gamers and players to safely and securely do what they’ve done over the years.
Owning to Freemium
A significant and unmistakable change in the gaming space over the last few decades is the evolution of the industry’s ecosystem. Studios went from selling games as one-off purchases to offering these products for free or a discount, and players pay for most things while they go against other players online. The concept of making our favorite titles fully online made sense to many industry buffs. Rather than enjoying the gift of online entertainment alone, you can now have experiences with the people you care about the most.
Unfortunately, an innovation that could have significantly made online entertainment more immersive and accessible made it more expensive and less permanent. Gone are the days when people used to have libraries for their gaming CDs; now, it’s all about playing the new exciting game while it’s trending before moving to the next overhyped studio product. Studios did not realize how much money they could make by implementing addictive micro transactions. Some people spend incredible sums monthly to buy the best gun or upgrade their stakeboards in games. The shift from 8-bit games to 4K games wasn’t as impactful as the business model shift.
Infrequent Releases
During the days of game CDs being the most significant chunk of income for studios, they were more incentivized and motivated to work on new games to drive income. Over time, some of these titles were edited, improved, or repackaged as a new installment to the title. The last few years involved studios making more than they could imagine from releasing new projects, and the consequences have been extreme and threaten the industry if nothing is done to change the course soon.
The wait time for new games has increased considerably in recent years, and anticipating new games has become a meme within the community. There’s no motivation for studios to try to strive for excellence because they are not interested in investing in new projects, so we’re all stuck with “old games” sprinkled with new features to make them look modern or cutting-edge.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane by remembering what we used to have in the gaming community:
- Arcades were massive before the internet became a thing. Arcades continued to prosper for years after, but as time went on, communal gaming spaces closed down because of rising costs, unimpressive customer numbers, and a belief that time was running out on the industry;
- Swapping cartridges and consoles was something kids and young adults did widely during the so-called “golden era” of gaming. You could lend your friends a Game Boy while they give you their Nintendo. This allowed many to indulge in titles exclusive to one company or console;
- No money was involved in gaming, no fame, and little notoriety. Every avid gamer during those times did what they had to do for the love of the sport, and that’s something that’s missing in the present day.
Time to Save Our Games
Gamers have always been known for being stubborn and contrarian, and it might be time to imbibe this culture in the new generation of gamers so we can begin making decisions with our wallets. The time has come to stop financing unscrupulous game studios and industry “gatekeepers.”
