There’s something different about video games. Granted, they share many similarities with other forms of entertainment like movies, books, and music in that they are all entertaining. They all also draw from and are a representation of the real world or what it could be. However, video games take things a step further by providing something that most other forms of entertainment do not offer: engagement.
The slight similarities that video games have to the real world are enticing on their own. But the opportunity to affect outcomes and create their own world is what really draws people. It’s no wonder that bet9ja among others has chosen to capitalize on this draw, encouraging fans to sign up for bet9ja and bet on a wide range of sports.
With video games, players are not just passive fun seekers, they are actively bringing things into existence and determining their own fate, something that many feel like they cannot do in the real world. And the changes that video games have experienced overtime, thanks to the evolution of technology, have just made video games more engaging.
Virtual and augmented reality have taken things to the next level, allowing players to not just control what goes on in the game, but to actually see themselves in the game. It’s no wonder that more and more people are getting into gaming and the gaming industry is exploding.
As it stands, the gaming industry is the most profitable entertainment industry in the world, bringing in more money than the movie and music industries combined. And considering that the number of gamers, whether casual or serious, is expected to explode beyond 3 billion by 2027, it can only be expected that the industry’s worth would continue to grow.
But more than providing active enjoyment and being the saviors of the economy, video games, interestingly, also foster relationships. Multiplayer games and online gaming communities make it possible for people to meet and connect with people of similar interests. This common ground – added to the fact that players don’t need to see each other’s faces if they don’t want to – makes making friends and developing relationships that bit easier.
However, it also has to be mentioned that many of these online communities have been flagged for being toxic. In some of these communities, people are mocked for being rookies, dragged for having a different opinion, and completely crucified for being the reason a team fails.
But can this negativity be credited to the games or the people that play them? Some games are violent in nature and there are arguments about whether or not those games engender violence in the people that play them.
However, there are games that are nonviolent but still have a toxic community. And some of this toxicity bleeds out of the gaming community into the real world.
Well, as technology continues to evolve and new games are developed, video games will continue to be instrumental in shaping society. We can only hope that the people that play them will allow for more positive than negative changes.
