Video games have been a part of the everyday lives of most teenagers since the late 80s and 90s. From Super Mario to Contra the list of classic arcade games which entertained an entire generation is endless.
Since then video game development has progressed continuously and with the recent boom in the internet connectivity across the world, there has been a major shift towards community and online gaming. There are multiple reasons for this:
- Easy Accessibility: Most of the video games based on consoles and PCs require a large investment for the current games to be played. Most online games do not require demanding systems, allowing more number of people to enjoy the experience.
- Shift to mobile platform: With the increase in smartphone use, a large number of online games based on android or iOS platform has arrived, allowing users to enjoy the experience of playing against one another on the go, something which conventional video games do not allow.
The first major impact in the Online gaming sector was made by the pioneering social networking site Facebook in 2009, which incorporated a number of online simulation games for its users.Farmville and Cityville were huge successes, gathering millions of regular players.
At its peak, Farmville had 83.76 million monthly users on Facebook. Farmville then launched a sequel, Farmville 2 in 2014 for Android and iOS, which went on to be equally successful.
Now, there are many different type of games being played online. Among them online money making games such as slot machine, lucky draw and online casino games have opened a whole new way to earn while having fun. To know how to play better check out the online casino guide for South Africans.
The revolutionary idea about online games was that it allowed the user the freedom of choosing their own method of progression, allowing them to play for free or paying to obtain “points” or credits or other game currencies which allowed them to level up faster.
Since then, there has been a sustained shift towards the subscription based online gaming, both in the fields of computer as well as mobile games.Most PC and console video games have focused on online multiplayer components with increasing regularity in recent years. This is partly due to the fact that it is a more stable and continuous source of revenue than purely game sales.
Online Multiplayer components of a video game also attracts increasing number of users from around the world, increasing the reach as well as the sales of the game.
However, the biggest contributor to the online gaming industry has been mobile games. In the last 5 years mobile gaming titles such as Clash of Clans, 8 ball Pool and Mini Militia have revolutionized the concept of online gaming.
Clash of Clans is a turn based, real time strategy game developed by Supercell. The game revolves around a user building his own base, training his army, joining a clan and going to war with other clans. The highly addictive game garnered massive amounts of users and surged to the top of the Android Play store as well as the Apple iOS store list for top games. On 10th march 2016, Supercell announced Clash of clans had reached 100 million daily users. The game was so successful, a spin off turn based card game, known as Clash Royale was released in 2016.
Mini Militia is a 2D action shooter game, developed by Appsomniacs LLC. It was first released on the Apple iOS store in 2011. It was subsequently released on the Android Playstore in 2015. The game involves multiple players fighting in selected arenas with their choice of weapons, which are upgradeable. The users are allowed to customise their own avatar and its appearance. The in game coins can be used to buy new customization options for the avatar or buy upgrades for various weapons.
The game made it to the top of Android Playstore games list in 2017.
8 ball pool is a turn based billiard game available for both Android and Apple iOS.
It was developed and currently maintained by Miniclip games. The games has 18 million active users.
It is free to play with available in-app purchases for upgrades to cues and abilities. It is flash based and can be accessed from the Miniclip website as well as the dedicated mobile app.
It was listed as number one on Miniclip’stop 100 list of games.Based on the success of these titles in recent years, many major PC and console video game franchises have developed dedicated mobile version of their games, based on online gameplay.
EA sports which publishes FIFA, the most popular football game in the world, for consoles and Personal Computers, have forayed into the field of mobile gaming with FIFA mobile.The game brings the core footballing experience of FIFA to the mobile platform, allowing for an on the go experience for its users.
Similarly, NBA, a hugely successful franchise based on the NBA basketball league in the USA, has released its own mobile version, NBA live.
Both the games follow similar patterns of allowing free to play as well as keeping in app purchase options. This allows to user to decide on his own strategy to progress in the game, allowing more freedom.
Perhaps, the most exciting aspect of online gaming is its potential for expansion across multi-platforms, thereby reaching a vast number of users, which any single platform is unlikely to do.
Player Unknown’s Battleground or PUBG is a prime example of this. This hugely popular title, allows cross-platform players from console and mobile to compete together, bringing in an ever-increasing number of players.
The very first arcade games were developed simply to allow the average gamer the experience of competing against friends and family. With the advent of Personal consoles and computers, developers concentrated on single player, streamlined games which didn’t much afford the chance of community playing.
With the outburst of Internet connectivity, the gaming Industry has now come full circle. Developers are now pushing for competitive and personalized gameplay for users throughout the world. With the simultaneous rise of online gaming leagues and e-sports, the future of the Online gaming industry looks a bright one. The shift to online gaming is here to expand!
