Throughout the last decade, there has been a surge in the popularity of video games. Games range from high-intensity competitive multiplayer to more solitary endeavors like virtual reality worlds. Oras move remember that video games have been around for longer than many think. There was a time when computers were considered to be toys and were very expensive. During this time, they found their way into businesses because they were a great tool for education and management. Video games are booming right now. If you don’t know what’s popular in gaming, I think it’s time you find out.
We now see them as part of our daily lives with “gamification” being used to improve dozens of aspects of personal lives from saving money, marketing personal brands to teaching critical thinking skills. Nonetheless, the changes in the gaming industry are just beginning in many ways and I intend to look at five ways that games have changed in the past decade along with their current and future implications along with their economic impacts on society and industry. I’ll also be exploring some of the common themes that have emerged in recent years, including how games may be able to aid us in combating depression and anxiety as well as exploring how they’re shaping society and how we interact with each other.
Reasons Why Games Are Getting More Popular In The Past Decade :
1. Growing Number of Gamers
The first reason why games are getting more popular in the past decade is that there’s a growing number of gamers. Gaming has spread in popularity across several groups over the past decade. In 2006, around 52 percent of game sales were to males while 48 percent were to females. Today, they’re almost even. Approximately 55 percent of game sales go to women and 45 percent go to men. This is just part of a much bigger trend that started back in 2001 with the advent of online gaming.
Since then there have been many new platforms for gaming such as mobile devices and browsers as well as gaming consoles like Playstation and XBox. Each of these platforms has seen a surge in the number of people who are actually playing games. In addition, the average age for gamers has dropped substantially in recent years . Gaming used to be something that was primarily done by school-aged children, college students and adults. Today, they’re being done by people all over the world regardless of location, gender and age groups.
2. Cheap Gaming Consoles
Back in 2006, gaming consoles like Sega or Nintendo would cost an average gamer up to $200 at a minimum . There were also many difficulties associated with buying games back then as there were not many ways for gamers to purchase them aside from heading over to their local retailer or buying them online. Today, game consoles are much cheaper and many have access to online retailers. This has helped gaming reach a wider audience as the cost of obtaining the hardware has dropped substantially and there is easier access to information regarding the latest games.
3. Online Gaming
Online gaming has also contributed to the rapid growth of gaming across multiple platforms like mobile phones, browsers and game consoles because they take advantage of high-speed internet connections and allow gamers to socialize with their peers while playing instead of sitting alone in front of their televisions or monitors.
Many games today are multiplayer which means that people can play with each other from anywhere in the world. While this is great for players, it’s also great for developers as they can build a following base from all over the world instead of just from one region. The socialization that takes place in games like the popular multiplayer game Overwatch is huge and it makes people want to come back again and again.
4. Virtual Reality Surges In Popularity
Virtual reality gaming has also become much more popular in the past decade as technology has advanced to enable companies such as Samsung, Sony, HTC and Google to create better and more accessible versions of these headsets . When Facebook acquired Oculus VR in 2014, virtual reality gaming became an even bigger deal than it already was. In 2016, it was reported that over 2 billion hours of VR gameplay were played each month. In the first quarter of 2017, gaming revenue from the sales of virtual reality hardware and software accounted for $1.1 billion in quarterly revenues. This means that more people are paying more attention to virtual reality gaming. Without a doubt, this is another way that games have changed with the past decade.
