It may not exactly be a law of nature, but it’s certainly a fact that technology can only move in one direction – forwards. What’s more, its pace seems to be fixed on an ever-accelerating cycle. This affects many areas but perhaps one that is more acutely attuned to this forward movement than most is the gaming industry. This is only logical. Gamers are at the leading edge of tech, always looking to the future and what it can bring – and keen to adopt the latest and most exciting tech as soon as they possibly can.
In 2020 this is coming in many forms, and 2021 is looking to be even more exciting, as we shall see.
It’s in the cloud
In common with many other areas of computing, the cloud is something that has really started to overshadow gaming from its earliest manifestations in 2019. The principle and business model seems a good one, as well as offering great flexibility. For example, Apple have approached it as a Netflix-style service with their Apple Arcade. For a monthly subscription, gamers get access to over 100 games that, and here’s the rub, they can only play on an Apple device. On the other hand, Google’s Stadia involves both a monthly subscription as well as an initial investment in the special controller and Chromecast tech.
But it’s Microsoft’s xCloud that has aroused the most excitement within the industry and amongst gamers. Unlike its rivals, this is closely linked to console use and we can expect to discover its full potential when the next generation Xbox is launched later this year.
Taking it on the chest
The Holy Grail for game designers has always been to make the playing experience as immersive as possible. The fact that a screen has always divided player and action has, until now, been a barrier to this. But the rising popularity of wearable tech like the haptic vests produced by companies like KOR-Fx is changing all this. More and more gamers are now experiencing every explosion, crash and gunshot in a visceral way like never before.
In fact, wearable tech in general is steadily on the increase with some predicting that it may even spell the beginning of the end for the traditional hand-held controller.
New technology innovations such as wearable tech may lead to the replacement of traditional gaming consoles.
Place your bets
Another sector that has always aimed to make the experience as realistic and immersive as possible has been the online casino industry. Always keen to keep up with the latest trend, their main development has been in perfecting their “live casino” offering. For example, casino sites are now able to offer live games such as blackjack and poker. There is also the option for players to participate in live roulette games on sites such as https://ca.888casino.com/roulette/ via a real-time streaming service.
The next logical step will surely to be to start introducing Virtual Reality casinos too so players can find themselves almost anywhere in the virtual world playing their favorite games.
The inexorable rise in the popularity of mobile play also means that more and more operators have been developing and enhancing their mobile casinos and developing sophisticated apps capable of doing everything demanded of them.
Going mobile
Mobile gaming in general has seen a huge increase in interest and this has seen an increasing number being introduced for play on the platform. The nature of the tech means that these are generally quite simple, but there have also been several successes in bringing PC games into the mobile arena. Big names like Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto lead the way, with many others set to follow.
This will inevitably also link up with the increase in cloud gaming allowing even more complex and memory-sapping games to be played on mobiles – a challenge for the games developers perhaps, but great news for gamers.
Mobile gaming has also grown over the last few years, with developers such as Apple creating new system updates taking gaming into consideration.
Looking ahead
Besides the gradual phasing in of 5G technology which will also transform the speed with which games can be played, there are some other very exciting developments on the horizon. Perhaps in tandem with Apple Arcade, the tech giant now seems to be taking gaming much more seriously than before. When they announced the Autumn launch of iOS14 there was the tantalizing news that it would be compatible with more game controllers than ever before, plus it would include a complete revamp of the Game Center.
This might also come as a reaction to the next round of console wars, also due to break out in the Autumn. Microsoft have gradually been feeding out information about their Xbox X and the PS5 is due to be launched at around the same time.
With 8K capability, the former certainly seems to have a strong element of future-proofing built in but we’ll just have to wait and see what else the big two have up their sleeves to take gaming well into 2021 and beyond.
I'm a published author and proud US Army veteran who happens to be a gamer, so I decided to combine the two and love every minute of it! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments and I'll be sure to get back to you.
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