Remember getting your first gaming console presented to you? Whether it was a Nintendo console, a PlayStation or an Xbox, I guess that almost all of us have ever owned such a gaming console or played on one. Back in those days, everyone used to play offline games at home with friends or family. Nowadays, because of the internet and the continuously changing technology, people rather stay at home and play with friends online over the internet. But what will the future behold for the gaming industry?
The case with the traditional game consoles or even gaming on the pc or via mobile apps, is that as soon something new comes on the market, the prior generation consoles disappear, with people wanting new and different ways to satisfy their gaming love (Smith, 2017). The latest trends to conflict with the gaming industry are games based on Virtual Reality and on Augmented Reality such as Pokemon Go. Concerning Virtual Reality games, VR entertainment face the chicken and egg problem: content content creators will not see enough returns unless enough VR headsets are sold, while consumers are reluctant to buy these relative expensive VR headsets (Brown, 2016). Also, Pokemon Go seemed to be very much of a hype as the number of Pokemon Go players still logging in every day has plummeted by over 80% in 2017 (Arif, 2017).
Another gaming hype that seems to be happening is the comeback of video game arcades. Just recently, the largest arcade hall in the Benelux region opened in Utrecht, while there are more on the come (Emerce, 2017). This seems to be a hype just relying on nostalgia amongst people, but I think that there is more to this. The potential of combining arcades with a VR environment is what will thrive in future. Playing video games will be more about a shared space of collaboration than solitary play, as seemed to be with Pokemon Go (Webber, 2016). Instead of sitting at home playing on your PlayStation for instance, people will want to visit arcades to pull to nostalgia as well as to play the most innovative form of gaming. Start-ups from all over the world have already invested in this and the industry is expected to have a $45 billion industry potential (Stone, 2017).
Combining VR and arcades will provide the gaming experience every gamer wants. This experience includes gaming with friends in a shared space of collaboration and it comes without the costs of setting it up VR technology in your home. I think that it’s only a matter of time before VR arcades will disrupt the gaming industry and I do think that me and my friends will give it a visit more than once.
References:
Arif, S. (2017). The number of Pokemon Go players still logging in every day has plummeted by over 80%. Retrieved from: https://www.vg247.com/2017/04/03/the-number-of-pokemon-go-players-still-logging-in-every-day-has-plummeted-by-over-80/
Brown, E. (2016). Virtual reality won’t disrupt gaming and Entertainment (at least not in the way everyone thinks). Retrieved from: http://blumbergcapital.com/news_insights/why-virtual-reality-wont-disrupt-gaming-and-entertainment-at-least-not-in-the-way-everyone-thinks/
Emerce. (2017). Gamestate opent grootste arcade van de Benelux in Utrecht. Retrieved from: https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/gamestate-opent-grootste-arcade-benelux-utrecht
Smith, J. (2017). Why Video Game Arcades are making a comeback. Retrieved from:
http://armchairarcade.com/perspectives/2017/04/13/video-game-arcades-making-comeback/
Stone, Z. (2017). The business of Virtual Reality Arcades, a future $45 billion industry. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/08/02/the-business-of-virtual-reality-arcades-a-future-45-billion-industry/#520cea1e7fc6
Webber, J. (2016). 11 Video game trends that will change the future of the industry. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/21/11-video-game-trends-that-will-change-the-future-of-the-industry
VR arcades are indeed interesting as it combines the social aspect of doing something with friends with the thrill of certain types of games. In a way, it would be possible to replace laser-tag type of games with virtual reality games played together with friends. The only question i have is to whether VR will ever be able to address the issue of movement. A game is more enjoyable when you can physically move around in it, or feel like you are at least. Based on gaming trends, its likely that the gaming industry will develop first in Asia, and then move in popularity to the western world.
Whether VR will ever be able to address movement is indeed interesting. In case it ever addresses movement, one surely needs space! Whether it’s within an arcade hall or anywhere else, I think dat the space needed will be an issue forever. There is no movement without any space to move in. However, technically building such VR device looks possible. In the following link you’ll see an interview with the head of Oculus, who shows examples of how they are already trying to integrate movement in their VR headsets.
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-quest-to-solve-vrs-biggest-problem-walking-around/