If someone from the 1970s traveled into the future and took
a look into how technology evolved over time, they'd simply be amazed. That's
when video games started with a simple game that was similar to tennis “ two
bars on each side of the screen passing a ball back and forth with points for
getting it past the opposing bar.
Now people can play Slots Paradise online casino games instead of doing things in a built-up building. The way people
consume video games has changed, all due to technology evolving. Here's a look
back at how people have gathered over gaming, how technology has changed video
games, and how people consume this form of entertainment.
LAN games
Back in the day, video games were a gathering point for
friends at someone's house. Early on, it was a sign of money and social status.
Of course, that has drastically changed from the early days of Pong, the video
mentioned earlier.
From there, video games moved to the bigger machines that
people will now play at arcades. Whether that was playing Pacman or other games
in an arcade, video games brought people together in a singular space. Playing
the games often took a quarter or a token, but those days have changed. While
there are nostalgic arcade bars that appeal to older generations of gamers,
things moved to in-home devices.
That includes the birth of Atari and SEGA Genesis consoles.
Still, those were meant to be played in a home among people. Among Atari's
popular games were Blasteroids, Marble Madness, and Tetris, which could also be
played on computers in the 1990s.SEGA was famous for its Sonic the Hedgehog
series.
LAN parties are known for being in-house. That changed with
the development of the internet, which really changed the entire future of
video games.
Growth of internet
Gaming went competitive as the internet grew. Faster speeds
have allowed people to connect on a local level and go international. It's
something that has led to the competitiveness of gaming.
Perhaps the internet benefited the companies making consoles
more than anyone else. The internet allowed anybody who wanted a console to
play with their friends and compete. It also allowed for user creation in
games. Specifically for sports games, users could create their own rosters to
accurately reflect the names and appearances of players accurately. That was
particularly for offline game modes.
Into the early and mid-2000s, video games were able to be
played online. Those creating video games spent extra care for channeling the
competitive spirit of others. But it was a way for friends to connect and
play together, and it wasn't the toxic environment that eventually grew out of
online video games.
Friends no longer had to gather in one place as they could
communicate with headsets and connect that way.
Leaning into competitiveness
Shooter series such as Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield
brought out the competitiveness in others. It pits users in a first-person
setting, roaming maps in a search for other opponents. From there, sports games
were the next to evolve with online gaming, but it didn't accelerate until the
2010s with creative game modes that allowed for mixing and matching sports
cards to create super teams and super players.
Then there were basketball games that created a park
setting, such as that of the days when people would gather on outdoor courts or
in a recreation center. Building up an individual character, whether true to
who the gamer was or a fantasy character, is what drove some gamers.
That's especially true with the ability to compete and build
the best player possible.
Streaming has elevated competitiveness in that same era.
People playing video games and broadcasting them on Twitch, YouTube and
Facebook allow people to build communities and a following. While they make
their communities and follow, sometimes becoming a full-time content creator
for a job creates a grouping of people who will follow.
As such, video game companies, whether game developers or
consoles, have found ways to profit from that competitiveness through
microtransactions and game development.
