Gaming Industry Overview

The gaming industry is arguably one of the most important and innovative sectors in tech today. Its importance to culture, social networking and entertainment cannot be understated. The term “entertainment industry” is no longer reserved for Hollywood and the movie industry because gaming is now providing one of the most immersive and awe-inspiring forms of entertainment to more than two billion people around the globe.

Nobody could imagine what the gaming industry would blossom into when they were messing around with Pong joysticks in their basements and competing against their friends for the highest Pac-Man scores in the 1970s and ‘80s. These simple games would turn out to be the bedrock of today’s gaming industry and instant cultural phenomena. The gaming industry of today is a $200 billion behemoth that is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology and entertainment. Not only do we have the continuous advent of new consoles, PCs and devices that are putting us right into the game, but we also have the opportunity to watch some of the best gamers in the world compete in the e-sports arena and online through streaming platforms like Twitch and Mixer.

The gaming wars of today are just heating up. The battle over console gaming is being waged by Microsoft (Xbox), Sony (Playstation) and Nintendo, with Google acting as a new competitor with their cloud-based gaming platform, Stadia. These consoles are pushing the absolute boundaries of technology by offering gamers state-of-the-art graphics, speeds and processing powers. Traditional console makers, like Microsoft, will start to compete with Stadia and Amazon’s super-secret cloud gaming platform to make their games available to those anywhere with any decent internet connection. Additionally, PC gaming has opened up a world of opportunities for gamers who are looking for extra ease-of-use and dexterity when casually playing (or competing) their favorite games.

Picture your favorite sport. All sports, whether it’s soccer, basketball or baseball, have many things in common: passionate fans, sold-out stadiums, engaging commentators and world-class athletes. The same thing is true in the world of e-sports. E-sports athletes are essentially the Lebron James’s of their profession, but instead of dunking on opponents on a court, they’re outwitting, outmaneuvering and outplaying their opponents in virtual worlds. Thousands of screaming fans pack the arena to root on their teams who are sitting on stage clicking away for a chance at a title, while millions more watch online around the world.

By 2020, e-sports is projected to have a viewership of more than 70 million people for a final. That’s more viewers than the NBA finals, NHL Stanley Cup finals or the World Series. With a growing fanbase that will rival any professional sport on earth, it’s no wonder that cultural icons and savvy investors, like basketball legend Michael Jordan, rapper Drake and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, all own at least partial stakes in e-sports teams.

Streaming has also been a massive success for the gaming industry and gamers alike. Platforms, like Twitch and Youtube Gaming give individual gamers the opportunity to livestream their in-game play to subscribers all over the world. This invention has allowed millions of streamers to gain a fanbase, interact with one another and monetize their gaming skills. Streaming has become uber-popular to the point where the top four platforms (Twitch, Youtube Gaming, Mixer and Facebook Gaming) garnered a combined 13 billion hours watched in 2019. Breakout successes in the streaming industry, like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, have been able to make upwards of $10 million a year just through the fans and endorsement deals that come with running a popular streaming profile.

The meteoric rise of the gaming industry is just getting started. Born from humble beginnings, today’s gaming sector is ready to take on any other in tech for the title of the most innovative industry. What makes gaming so special is that it’s not only immersive and entertaining, but it’s inclusive and expansive as well. There is a game and a way to play for almost every human, which makes gaming one of the most beloved industries in the world.

TYPES OF GAMING

Console Gaming

Console gaming is the original (and probably most well-known) form of digital gaming. In the early days, Nintendo and Sega dominated the market for consoles. Today, Xbox and Playstation have become the two most popular consoles, offering millions of players the ability to experience the latest in gaming technology. Consoles have been a good indicator of the tech market as a whole. In the beginning, consoles were simple joysticks just technologically-ept enough to run simple games like Pong. Now, consoles, like the new Xbox Series X, have specially designed microchips that process images and power as efficiently as possible, all the while, being designed for 8K television screens. Gaming consoles are truly pushing the limits of consumer entertainment technology.

PC Gaming

PCs have had a meteoric rise in gameplay with more than 1.2 billion people using computers as their gaming tool of choice. Gaming computers are all about efficiency. Gaming PCs have their own dedicated RAM space, GPUs and cooling systems that help to efficiently run games in real-time. These bulked-up computers can handle graphically demanding games and can even make it easier for streamers who need a reliable system to manage gaming at a high level and livestreaming their gameplay at the same time. Games like Fortnite, League of Legends and Minecraft have made gaming one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world today.

Quantum computing is a sector to look out for when it comes to gaming. Still in its infancy, quantum computing has the ability to completely upend the gaming industry (and world) as we know it. These computers dwarf anything that computers can do now, and this technology is primed to make an impact in the gaming industry. Because quantum computers have unfathomable amounts of power and information storage, they’re able to render the best graphics imaginable in real time. These computers also fix a huge problem currently plaguing the gaming industry; predictability. Who wants to play a game where they know exactly what happens? A quantum computer’s massive storage of algorithms could actually make gaming unpredictable and unique for each gamer.

Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming is the newest type of video game technology making headlines. Imagine Netflix, but for gaming. You scroll through a library of games, choose which game you want and automatically start playing the game. No discs and no load times. Play on your phone, iPad or console. Cloud-based gaming platforms, like Google Stadia, are making the whole gaming experience seamless and easy to play from anywhere at any time. Cloud gaming is such a threat to traditional console gaming that Microsoft’s head of gaming, Phil Spencer, said that Xbox is no longer concerned about competition from Nintendo or Playstation. Rather, they’re more focused on competing with the ultra-fast cloud platforms being built by Google and Amazon.

VR/AR Gaming

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are meant to put you right in the middle of the action. Instead of playing from a third person point-of-view, VR drops people into computer-generated environments to make them feel like they’re actually part of the game. VR offers gamers the ability to step into magical worlds and do everything from kick around a soccer ball to fight off hordes of monsters (like in the video above).

Augmented reality, on-the-other-hand, adds digital influences to real life. The best example of AR in gaming is “Pokemon Go.” Using a smartphone, Pokemon seekers are able to find and capture virtual Pokemon throughout their everyday lives in the real world. Gamers might come across a Pikachu in the park or even find a Wartorle on their walk to work.

Whether our reality is augmented or virtual, it’s clear to see that technology is ushering in a completely new way to participate in, and enjoy, video games.

Mobile Gaming

Mobile gaming makes up about 45% of the total market share of the gaming industry with almost one-third of the entire global population having played a gaming app in 2019. Why is mobile gaming so popular? It’s easily accessible and has games for every type of gamer. Instead of having to strap on a headset or pop a disc into a console, mobile gaming allows us to play wherever we go and whenever we want. It’s recently taken over television as the preferred choice of leisure activity with people spending more than 6.5 hours per week on mobile games. The mobile gaming industry is poised for continual growth as investments in mobile gaming startups have skyrocketed, and creativity opens up avenues for more gamers to enjoy different types of exciting games.