The ever-evolving digital gaming industry has observed a paradigm shift with new technologies coming into play in PC, mobile, and game consoles to multiplayer online battle arenas. The industry has also been experiencing heavy gains with the emergence of social games, right from Mario featured in 1983 to the very recent League of Legends, being the mammoths of the gaming hub in terms of popularity and sales. These games feed your curiosity about the worlds you are exploring, which agitates the gamers to engage more into these games, thereby profiting the gaming market.
Interestingly, the gaming industry has witnessed a change from mainstream games of bike/car racing and shooters to multi-genre games with strategy, puzzles, quizzes, and storytelling. This subtle change over the years has prompted the audiences in different age groups to pick up games for fun and entertainment. Catering to their interests, the user demographics are changing with more females and working class population getting on board. Say for instance, Candy Crush being the top dog, which was released in 2012, earned over USD 164 million market share.
The virtual reality has finally touched the reality in the gaming industry, replacing a real world with a simulated one. The VR is undertaking rigorous tech experiments for implicating physically collaborative games. In recent years, we all have bookmarked virtual reality in our list of top trends, but the viability of VR games is put to test when marketing and sales become real challenges.
The gaming industry has also been immensely energized by the convergence of augmented reality (AR) with IoT, which has successfully bridged the digital and the physical worlds. This technological combination is poised to revolutionize the future of the gaming industry. The expanding and developing AR technology will exhibit interesting gaming experience to the players in real time. For instance, the Pokémon Go, being the breakthrough of the AR technology in gaming, uses the mobile’s camera, GPS, and gyroscope to enable a location-based augmented reality environment. The rise of the augmented reality technology will help the Augmented reality market to grow at a rate of 80.8% over the period of 2016-2024, as stated in a report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Pokémon Go being an international hit, represents the start of new trend of AR technology in gaming, with gamers waiting to see if they can expect some more interesting developments with the new version of the game. The makers are still interested in the potential of AR games. Moreover, in response to increasing experiments with AR, Microsoft is coming up with one of the most fascinating project: HoloLens. This premium augmented reality headgear is generating strong undercurrents in the gaming hub down the line.
Gaming is growing at an incredible rate and incorporates new platforms and media, expanding its reach. With the rising population on digital marketplaces, PC, game consoles, and mobile gaming platforms are paving its way in the fluctuating market dynamics. These three gaming platforms will co-exist, with each one serving largely distinct needs of the gamers.
Mobile Gaming: The gaming industry has also witnessed exponential growth with the rapid growth of applications in mobile phones, PCs, and laptops. The mobile gaming is the fourth most popular activity after browsing, messaging, and video watching. Along with this, in-game purchase and rising in-game virtual currencies have generated novel and exciting opportunities for developers and publishers. It is predicted that mobile gaming will take up a larger share than the PC, globally. The mobile gaming sector will be taking a lead in the market share, owing to the introduction of new gaming genres coupled with the increasing penetration of smart phones. It was the largest market worth billions in revenue with Clash of Clans and Monster Strike primarily leading the way. Moreover, the nostalgia-driven games from the past three decades’ have made substantial comebacks in today’s gaming world. For instance, fans of Super Mario like it because they have been playing it since childhood, and the feeling of reminiscence that they go through, will thrive the mobile gaming application industry.
PC Gaming: The total PC gaming market, valued at over USD 30 billion, is continuously expanding with the release of free-to-play and premium games. Overwatch, Counter-Strike, and Guild Wars 2 are the top three trending games in terms of revenue, dominating the PC gaming industry. PC games have long dominated the gaming industry from the very beginning of the gaming era, but the inception of consoles and mobile gaming had deflated this market for a while. However, with the increasing use of internet, eager gamers wanting to play on international platforms, and excellent connectivity sans technical issues, online PC gaming has made a comeback in the gaming industry, witnessing considerable rise in fame and fortune.
Game Consoles: Rising consumer demand for a sophisticated gaming experience clubbed with an aspiring middle class population will fuel the gaming console market. The gaming industry has also been massively growing with its digital, potential, and incremental console updates. Introduction of advanced features such as motion sensors, intelligent communication, and multi-screen displays have offered gamers an interactive and engaging experience. Integration of gaming technologies will thrive the 3D gaming console market over the coming years. Moreover, the announcement of the release of PlayStation 4 Pro and the Scorpio, an enhanced version of the Xbox One, will tap the market potential for gaming consoles.
A decade back, Japan led the global gaming industry in terms of geography. Today, the dynamics of the market have considerably changed, with U.S. at the helm of the global gaming industry. The nation is booming with the freedom that companies offer to independent or in-house game-creators developing the gaming world. Asia Pacific is likely to be the next profitable region, with India and China poised to dominate the regional landscape owing to an ever-increasing youth population.
Gaming and the internet vertical go hand-in-hand, as we have observed the online gaming sector develop. The introduction of international gaming championships played by multiple players across the nation has resulted in these games becoming more of a social networking platform. In here, gamers may meet like-minded people, answer questions, or even develop their own character. The increasing popularity of free to play MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) video game has marginally increased the sales, with League of Legends and DOTA 2 dominating the MOBA genre.
The biggies in the gaming hub include PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo, which are tuned to the exponential growth potential of the gaming industry. With a growing consumer base, global game developers will have ample opportunities to innovate and provide fascinating content in the games. The fast-paced growth in the gaming technology has engaged the companies to develop the next-big thing in the gaming zone. Global gaming market is exceeding the expectations of new game release with Apple iOS featuring more than 500 launches per day. The digital gaming market is getting bigger every year as this prosperous industry continues to pick up at a steady pace.