The World of Gaming online
Take a closer look at online gaming with our guide to this global phenomenon
Gaming online has seen a massive increase in popularity over the last few years, largely down to the way that mobile phone technology has developed. The numbers of people who play online games has risen massively. Almost everyone you know, including people over the age of 40 who are not necessarily the first people who spring to mind when you mention online computer games, will have played some form of online game in the last few weeks.
This has been partly due to social media, of course, which provides accessible platforms where almost anyone can find games to play that suit their lifestyle and interests. Sports games have become very popular, while we have all heard about games like Candy Crush.
Other types of online computer games remain very popular with younger people who like to play online games. Massive multi-player online games, often referred to as ‘MMOs’, remain hugely popular. World of Warcraft, for example, has become a cultural phenomenon that extends far beyond people’s computer screens or gaming mobile phones and has spawned books, a movie and other cultural products.
Here, we will take a closer look at the world of gaming online and at some of the gaming trends associated with it.
What is gaming online and how do you get started?
Even if you have no interest at all in the digital world or technology, the chances are pretty high that you will have heard of online gaming. It is, of course the act of playing games on the internet. There is tremendous variety in the number and types of games that you can play online nowadays, though. From retro arcade games, to intellectual puzzles, to role playing games, to traditional board games like Scrabble, you really can play almost anything you want online these days.
According to Juniper Research’s published white paper, the numbers of people who now play online games regularly is huge. The Newzoo 2018 Global Games Market Forecast stated that mobile gaming and mobile games has been raising online casino revenue. The proportion rose from 18% in 2012 to 51% by 2018. The Newzoo report also predicted that this trend will continue, and it expected gaming online to contribute up to 59% by 2021.
There are also significant geographical trends in the world of online gaming. In November 2018, China made up almost 28% of global mobile gaming revenue, according to tech website iWeb. Japan is another country which makes a massive contribution to the wealth generated by gaming online. A big role in this is played by the way that gamers in Asia have moved away from their computer screens in recent years and started to use gaming mobile phones.
Online gaming and esports betting
It is possible now to pick up skins during online gaming which can be used to bet on esports. Skins are items that improve the cosmetic appearance of your character in some online games. They do not usually have any effect on the actual gaming performance of the character. They are a particular feature of games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Defense of the Ancients 2.
Gamers soon found another use for these skins as competitive esports grew in popularity over the last decade. As esports became more popular, increasing numbers of people wanted to bet on the matches and events for games like CS:GO, Dota2 and the International tournament.
While the betting companies were lagging behind demand, many gamers started betting using the skins that they had collected from their own gaming activities. This allowed gamers to use their skins as a kind of cryptocurrency for betting.
It is also possible to sell skins for real money, something that means successful esports skins bettors can actually make some genuine profit from their betting. It will be interesting to see how the concept of skin betting develops in the online computer games world in the years to come.
Highlights
While we have not been able to cover the entire vast breadth of the topic of gaming online in this article, you now have a snapshot picture of this vast phenomenon. As 5G technology develops and becomes more widespread, we are sure to see more new and exciting developments in the world of online gaming. More powerful, faster gaming mobile phones are sure to arrive on the market too.
As the number of games to play increases new gaming trends are sure to emerge in the years to come, especially with the advent of 5G. Concepts such as virtual reality are sure to have an impact too, especially on the world of esports and esports betting. It is an interesting time to be alive for all fans of online gaming across the world!
Gaming
-
CES 2023: New sensory tech allows users to touch, smell virtual environment
Multiple companies and startups unveiled augmented reality glasses and sensory technologies at the tech event CES in Las Vegas last week. Company representatives said these technologies would allow users to feel and smell a virtual environment. One of these companies was the High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC) from Taiwan, which showcased a high-end VR headset that offers its users the aforementioned sensory function. Another [...]
-
Moutai metaverse criticized for poor user experience after release
Moutai metaverse users have complained about the poor user experience of the newly released app. Many of them cited “excruciating” wait times for customer verification, login issues and subpar customer service. On New Year, renowned Chinese liquor distiller Kweichow Moutai and tech firm WangYi launched their metaverse — called Xunfeng World — on the Apple App Store. The metaverse developers designed the Web3 experience based o [...]
-
Phygital: Physical NFTs might be difficult for holders, experts say
With the rising popularity of phygitals — NFTs that are attached to physical products — experts said it would be difficult for NFT holders to redeem them. Buyers usually only need to provide their digital wallet addresses to purchase NFTs. In the phygital case, this buying method makes it difficult for sellers to collect the necessary personal information required for shipping the physical products. Vinsent CEO Jacob Ner-David [...]
-
H&M partners with Dubit to create metaverse Loooptopia
Stockholm-based fast-fashion retailer H&M Group has reportedly partnered with metaverse studio Dubit to provide an immersive 3D environment H&M Loooptopia Experience for customers. Launched on the virtual gaming platform Roblox, Loooptopia is a metaverse environment where people can create various digital products — garments and outfits — and play games. The environment features a city square and several play sessions spread a [...]
-
NFT sales volume in 2022 almost similar to 2021 despite market decline
According to DappRadar data, overall NFT sales volume in 2022 almost matched the 2021 volume — which was the peak year for the NFT market — despite the falling prices and declining sales volume in some of the months. Last year, the NFT market reached $24.7 billion in organic trading volume in multiple platforms and marketplaces. In 2021, the organic trading volume reached $25.1 billion due to the surge of interest in tokenized [...]
-
Web3 gaming app Glip records over 1M crypto wallets in Q4 2022
Indian Web3 gaming discovery platform Glip created more than a million unique crypto wallets in the last quarter of 2022. Real-game players created these wallets because they wanted to explore the mechanics of the gaming economy on Web3, particularly the play-to-earn system. Data also showed that more than 100,000 real gamers accessed novel Web3 gaming options via the Glip platform within the same period. Nearly half of these [...]
-
PUBG Studios, Banger Games to launch Alpha NFT test
PUBG Studios — known for its battle royale game PUBG: Battlegrounds — has announced its latest collaboration with Web3 gaming platform Banger Games to launch an Alpha NFT test in 2023. Banger provides a sophisticated gaming hub that enables players to have ownership and generate income while gaming. Popular games can integrate NFTs into their respective platforms via Banger’s gaming hub. At the end of December 2022, Banger ann [...]
-
Web3 sector collectively raises $7.1B in funding in 2022
According to the Metaverse Post’s year-end report, it has revealed that the Web3 sector raised $7.1 billion collectively in funding throughout 2022. Despite the extended crypto winter, the total funding in 2022 was $4.8 billion higher than in 2021. The three sub-sectors receiving the highest support in 2022 were gaming, metaverse and social network. Gaming received $4.49 billion in funding, which accounted for 62.5 percent of [...]
-
Aptos to launch first Web3 game, Gran Saga: Unlimited in 2023
This year, Layer 1 blockchain Aptos will reportedly launch its first Web3 game called Gran Saga: Unlimited in collaboration with South Korean game developer NPIXEL. The game will have a public global release in the second quarter of this year. However, the developer will conduct alpha testing for Gran Saga: Unlimited in the first quarter. In the coming months, the developer will perform several playtests with recruited players [...]
-
Payday 3 to launch in 2023, new Steam page established
Following the announcement of Payday 3’s release on New Year’s Eve, a Steam page for the cooperative heist-failure simulation game has been established. The Steam’s page announcement read, “PAYDAY 3 is the much anticipated sequel to one of the most popular co-op shooters ever. “Since its release, PAYDAY-players have been reveling in the thrill of a perfectly planned and executed heist. That’s what makes PAYDAY a high-oct [...]
