Sure, Microsoft and Sony are going to be releasing their brand new consoles before the end of the year, but even as plenty of fans are going wild for them, it still doesn’t say much about the real advances that will be coming to the world of video games in the next few years. So brace yourselves!
Games For Absolutely Everyone
Yes, gaming has changed over the last forty years from being products that are designed for teenagers to being products that are designed for people in their early twenties. But we are already in the process of that no longer being the case. Since it is the gaming ‘industry’, that means these massive corporations are following the money, and that means easier, more accessible games for people of all ages and interests. The cell phone is now the most popular ‘console’ out there, and that means Candy Crush or even free sex games are the sort of thing that can make some money for any enterprising developer.
Games For Barely Anyone
Virtual Reality is amazing tech that can give gamers and game developers almost limitless possibilities in telling stories that involve you shooting at aliens or terrorists or alien terrorists, but the equipment certainly isn’t cheap. You might have to act as your own sugar daddy to afford it. But for people who might roll their eyes at how many ‘baby games’ are out there, this might be the line in the sand to show that you are a true hardcore gamer who is willing to shell out the big bucks and enjoy the immersive technology of the future.
Right now, because of tech limitations, most VR games are rail shooters, meaning your perspective is that of a person who can’t walk around much but can turn their head 360 degrees as if they were sitting in a train car going down the tracks (and typically shooting at something trying to attack you). Valve’s ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ was the first big-name title that actually allowed you to move around a lot more, which is a good time to remind you that in addition to being able to afford the equipment, you also need to have an empty room to stumble around in.
The End of Consoles
When video games stopped being something you played in an arcade and were something you did on your couch, the console was a very familiar box that was just underneath your TV set. But even that might be changing when it comes to the future of gaming. With internet connectivity just getting faster and faster and more reliable (ideally, anyway), there is a possibility that you don’t need to have a physical gaming console but instead can just stream the game the same way you stream movies and TV shows on Netflix. Google introduced Stadia, and while it has had a bit of a rocky start because of dropped frame rates and some lagging gameplay, it is certainly going to be an appealing and affordable choice if they get the kinks worked out.
Downloadable Content for the Win
The only thing better than a really good game is getting even more of that really good game, and that is what downloadable content (or DLC) means in the video game sense. Moving forward, it is hard to build massive, sprawling, immersive games that cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, and then barely break even if the game isn’t a massive hit. DLC allows for companies to offer the original game in perhaps a smaller setting than originally planned (meaning cheaper to make), and then offer more of it to people who really enjoyed it and are willing to pay more money for extra content. While some critics will say this will be a rip-off, the real focus should be making a great game that takes 15 hours to finish then offer an additional 5 hours of DLC, rather than spend more time and money to stretch out an okay game to 20 hours that everyone will be tired off.