Will 2020 Be An Exciting Year For Gamers?
It’s amazing seeing where we started when it came to video games. From Pong to Super Mario, Mortal Kombat, and Goldeneye, the advancement of gaming seems endless and exponential. Technology itself is going in some wild directions that many didn’t see coming. Now, as we fast approach the year 2020, gaming is reaching new heights. Who would have predicted the rise of Fortnight and Twitch? These multi-billion dollar revenue monsters are reshaping what we previously thought was possible in terms of reach and pure play. But even with those two, the future has yet to show us the full potential of games. This next year is going to be an amazing year for gamers. Companies have some aces up their sleeves, even the most up-to-date of us couldn’t have anticipated. Here are a few reasons why we should all be very, very excited.
Augmented Reality
When Pokemon GO hit the scene, it made international headlines. Everyone, for an entire summer, was going around looking for Pokemon. But in the coming year, there’s going to be new players in town. Advancement in augmented reality (AR) has taken a back seat to giant tournaments, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in any way gone. Google has repurposed their AR glasses for the engineering and industrial sector. But recently they and other companies have gone back to the drawing board with AR games. Imagine having the same effect of Pokemon Go, but without having to take out your phone.
Online and Cloud-based Gaming
2020 is going to be the year of online and cloud-based games. We already see its massive success with apps, especially among older adults. But online games have the potential to completely do away with the disc and increase global connectivity within a platform. When it comes to potential, Kerching is a brilliant example of where gaming is going. You have everything from blackjack to puzzles all on an interconnected platform. The best part about online games is that you don’t need secondary devices. You don’t have to go out and get a brand new expensive console, or even a PC for that matter.
Open-Source Games
In true internet fashion, the shift away from giant studio games is imminent. Already, independent creators are making their own open-source games and letting them loose them online. It’s the democratization of fun that drives them. Every single day there is a new software being released that make creating your own games even easier. On top of that, programs and schools are popping up, teaching the new generation how to carve their own way in this massively complex and politically driven industry.
Handheld
Lastly, nostalgia has been a powerful driver in the past decade. For some reason or another, people are looking at their past and deriving design and even gaming ideas– holding together a unique experience that only comes with a generation that grew up along with technology. Much like open-source is shifting people away from giant studios, the demand for handheld devices is on the rise. The Nintendo Switch showed us what kind of success a powerful handheld can yield. And, more likely than not, there will be some sort of response from the other big players like Sony and Microsoft.
So needless to say, 2020 is going to be an awesome year for video games. Even with predictions above, who really knows what will come out? So many of these companies are secretive with everything. There could be a new mind-blowing wave that hits the market. But like most things in tech, the surprise is half the fun.
