For many the future is full of unknowns which makes it hard to prepare for it. Though thanks to the wonders of the internet it has become a lot easier to perceive what the future holds. So today I am going to state 4 trends that will shape the future of gaming.
1. VR Technology
Unless you have just been underneath a rock for the past year you have probably heard of the Oculus Rift. The virtual reality headset that was originally a kick starter then got picked up by Facebook, to many peoples displeasure. The Oculus Rift, and its Sony counterpart Project Morpheus, will be part of the future of gaming because it will be another level of immersion. In all reality these products are just another stepping stone to the real future of entertainment which is hollow decks or their equivalent. We could have had this future earlier with Nintendo’s Virtual Boy but the tech just was not ready at the time. Now for many this future is fairly scary cause it could lead into something from the movie Surrogates. Though, hopefully, humanity gets its shit together to at least mitigate the stupidity that would ensue.
2. No More Consoles
The concept of no consoles I originally obtained from Bruce Greene, one of the host from Inside Gaming on the Machinima YouTube channel. He has stated several times that in the future instead of buying an Xbox or PlayStation one would buy a new TV and it would have gaming functionality. Or everyone would have a Steam Box like device in there house that becomes the all purpose entertainment device, like what the Xbox One is trying to be. Though in this case other hardware companies are making these entertainment boxes. So instead of just the Big 3 other companies like Razor or Nvidia would play a bigger role in the gaming universe.
3. Indies > Triple A
One of the reasons I feel that Indie surpasses Triple A is because they are more willing to take risks. In a world of the generic shoot the non American, Indies at least try concepts no major studios would not attempt. Unfortunately what it really comes down to is money. Major studios like EA make these huge blockbuster games to bring in money to appease their stockholders. When you are an Indie you don’t have stockholders to make happy so you can make the game you want. And with software like Unity3D and UE4 basically anyone with an internet connection can try their hand at making games. Though that does mean a lot shitty games and clones but that is nothing new.
4. Microtransactions
Microtransactions pretty much go hand in hand with free-to-play but are still trying to find a good balance. When done right, microtransactions can be a good thing, game developers have bills too. For example if you are playing a game and you can proceed through the game without ever paying a cent then its really done well. The things you purchases should be more cosmetic and give small boosts that are not overpowered. Though on the flip side if one needs to pay to have a fighting chance or even advance then that’s just a dick move, EA. But as long as free-to-play is used correctly people would be more inclined to play that weird looking gaming to find out that they like it. An in that situation they a would be more than willing to give up their money.
In my opinion all four of these situations are pretty much inevitable, baring unknown variables. I just hope that people don’t go too stupid and turn these viably good trends into something really stupid. Fingers crossed.
