How Online Gaming Providers Utilize Developing Technology

Online gaming is experiencing a surge in popularity, both in the United States and across the wider world.

Mobile gaming has become the largest gaming market in the world, with revenues expected to move well beyond the 2020 total of $77.2bn. In the United States, 72.3% of mobile phone owners also play games on their device, and around 72 cents of every dollar spent in App Stores across the country was on games, rather than general apps.

The types of games people play online vary, from puzzle games and first-person shooters to online casino games, slot machines and poker. Whether you play Word With Friends, Call of Duty or visit online slots, you are classed as an online gamer. The image of online games being young people with headsets in darkened rooms is already outdated and inaccurate. You are as likely to encounter an online gamer on the bus, or in the canteen at work, as you are anywhere else.

What keeps the estimated 203 million Americans playing mobile games coming back? Whilst accessibility is one obvious factor, gamers could easily fire up a console or PC at home and play just as conveniently. Mobiles use a smaller screen, and the games are often watered-down versions of big titles, so what technology are developers using to improve their offering to keep the customers coming back?

Graphics and Sound

The obvious draw for mobile gamers is the improvement in graphic and sound capabilities. It’s Nice That explains how mobile gaming started with the Nokia 6110 and a game called Snake, a basic monotone game that looked much like the titles from the early Game Boy.

Once Apple’s iPhone hit the market in 2007, everything changed. That device delivered much better capabilities for gamers, including improved graphics and sound. In 2021, a basic online game needs to leverage good visuals and sound to create an experience that draws gamers in. This might be obvious for complex titles such as Call of Duty, but what of the online casino world?

A slot machine is a basic concept to reproduce in a game, but fans are no longer happy with cherries, lemons and a repetitive soundtrack. They want more, a deeper experience, and those powerful smartphones allow diversification at an unparalleled level. Gala Bingo has titles such as Red Wizard and Norse King of Asgard amongst their offerings, which have extremely specific themes and imagery. Developers can now create those complex backdrops and deliver a tailored gaming experience even if the core concept is a casino game, online slot or the like. That diverse offering of realistic titles certainly keeps players coming back for more.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency has been around for a while now but is experiencing a boom in 2021. Bitcoin has rocketed since the start of the year, and Dogecoin appears to be the next to see a big uplift in value. Cryptocurrency is a safer method of exchange than usual payment methods, and many online gaming providers are now using it as a method of payment. Within the casino sector, it offers anonymity, quicker transactions and a safer method of payment. Within the wider gaming world, developers are using NFTs as a revenue stream and offer crypto rewards for some methods of gaming. Some titles are even solely based around NFTs, such as Cryptokitties, a tradable crypto-asset game. Quite where crypto will take the gaming industry next is unclear, but there is a lot of scope for the technology to attract new gamers.

AR/VR

The next big technological advance expected within the mobile gaming sector is around Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). The former has already had some impact, Pokémon GO became something of a phenomenon when it was released a few years ago, and it used AR as a core concept. AR is where your reality, your surroundings, are brought into a game environment, in this instance finding Pokémon.

Within the wider gaming world, AR and VR could have a significant impact to attract more gamers. Going back to the online casino world, VR could allow you not only to play online poker with friends but to put on a headset and be in the room with them, virtually of course, all through your mobile phone. Similarly, AR could, in theory, place an online slot machine in front of you on your table, through your mobile device, making you feel as though you are in the casino. The technology is in its infancy, but there have already been developments around live casinos and with such significant revenue in this particular sector, more can be expected.

Image Source: Pixabay