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
