In the grand list detailing, all of the industries that the world has ever seen, gaming as we know it now remains a fairly recent addition.
While that may be a strange idea to wrap your head around – after all, when was the last time you thought of gaming as a “new” interest in your life? – one need only consider the fact that gaming (or, at least, modern gaming) only really began to take the world by storm in the 1970s.
Still, that would make the gaming industry around fifty years old. Half a century, while relatively young in terms of, say, agriculture or textiles, surely makes the gaming industry more than a mere fledgling – particularly when we take into account the fact that it has, in that time, snowballed into something worth more than $90 billion by the end of 2020.
Over the past couple of years, however, something new has been brewing. Just as it was beginning to feel as though the gaming industry had found a happy, comfortable equilibrium – a certain amount of predictability – the entire thing, in brief, was turned on its head.
We are, of course, referring to the arrival of the next generation of gaming – one which was being ushered in by the introduction of a massively advanced line-up of hardware from Sony and Microsoft, a new collecting of subscription-based gaming services (like Netflix, but for games, so they said), and a few other pivotal advancements in the tech available to developers and gamers alike.
Thus, in a relatively new industry, we have turned a corner and are now, as of 2021, beginning to enter into a brand-new landscape for those on both sides of the coin. But where does the online casino, something so firmly established within the gaming industry pre-2021, stand? Read more below.
The online casino is no stranger to competition
It is no secret that the online casino industry is more or less defined by the competition, which rages on between its key players. From the very early days, when the world wide web was still (for the most part) a somewhat mysterious entity, lurking on the periphery of our lives, to this very moment, operators have been working tirelessly to develop their sites according to the high standards set by their players.
As a result, players grew more discerning still. In this article on the online slots with the best payouts, for instance, the writers provide detailed analysis of leading sites and titles in this arena and, with it, clear insight into the minds of the modern online casino players, and quite how judicious they are about which sites they invest their time into.
Thus, a healthy (and, inarguably, highly beneficial) sense of competition has always existed between operators, which means that any new giants, which may arise during the ongoing evolution of the gaming industry as-a-whole, will not catch the industry unawares and will, in all likelihood, spur it onto bigger and better things.
Cloud gaming will reinvigorate PC-based gameplay further
For many years now, the online casino has represented one of the biggest draws for PC gaming – particularly a more casual, spontaneous approach to this medium.
Yes, PC gamers exist in their droves – but those games are, the majority of the time, defined by a much more intentional approach to PC gaming. In order to run the high spec titles enjoyed on consoles, PC gamers need to make a considerable investment into building bespoke gaming rigs capable of offering the level of performance their habits require.
It is, in essence, a big commitment – and stands at the opposite end of the spectrum to those who prefer to dip in and out of fun and engaging titles as and when they find the time and motivation to do so.
Cloud gaming offers an alternative. By shouldering the “burden” of running these games within immense, off-shore servers, gaming companies can offer players a high-quality experience without them needing to invest hundreds (if not thousands) into building a suitable PC, first.
Thus, more of the world’s gamers will spend an increasing amount of time exploring the world of gaming on the PC, and no doubt devote more time to the unique benefits offered on this platform – one of which is, of course, the online casino.
So, can online casinos retain their place?
While the simple answer to this question will no doubt be a resounding yes, the online casino’s performance within the wider world of gaming (and the online casino) has historically proven far better than mere retention.
In other words, the online casino can – and, for some operators, will – remain more or less the same, even as the gaming industry changes and reshapes itself. There will, however, be those sites and operators – and, of course, developers – who prove themselves capable of realizing a new significance for the genre.
The online casino needn’t be considered an insular phenomenon, and advancement needn’t be something that occurs beyond the scope of this historic and highly influential genre. On the contrary, those who have always been working tirelessly to drive innovation and novelty within this genre will no doubt continue to do so – and, as a direct result, bring the online casino forward into the hotly anticipated and highly influential new generation of gaming.
Whether this means adopting technologies that continue to stand at the forefront for gamers and developers – technologies like virtual reality, for instance – or continuing to hone their vast digital gaming libraries to ensure better variety and choice for players, has yet to be seen. We can rest assured, however, that change will continue to come – and that it will continue to be for the benefit of fans of online casinos around the world.
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