Written by: Glyn
The world has moved on a lot over the last few decades and one prime example of change from days gone by are video games. Just this week the video game market in the UK has been confirmed to be larger than music, TV and film combined and accounting for more than half of the total entertainment market in the UK.
The industry is worth £3.86bn ($4.85bn) – more than double its value in 2007. This is huge news as it shows that even with a dip in physical sales of games in the last year, the video game market is expanding and growing at such a rate that it shows no sign of slowing down. This is down to all the big gaming companies producing triple AAA titles but also in no small part, it’s down to the thousands of developers and companies which produce the smaller and not as big budget games but which still draw in the attention of consumers in the UK and the world over.
Long, long gone are the days of the 12 year old, teenage adolescent male, sat in his room by himself for hours on end playing MS-DOS games on an archaic and frustratingly slow computer. Games and consoles are pretty much in every household now or at least, people will have access to one through family members or friends. Most people are changing their opinions on video games not only because of the huge income and benefits they bring to the country but because they (unwittingly sometimes) find that they’re actually gamers themselves, enjoying Candy Crush or another big name mobile game in the spare five minutes they have to sit down.
It’s great to see this news and that opinion on gaming has and still is changing rapidly. Other forms of entertainment are great so don’t get me wrong, I’m not attacking them in any way, but video gaming is the only form which actually gives you the freedom and options to choose your own path, your own way, your own destiny in a story. It gives everyone that unique opportunity to progress through a story the way they see fit, even if that is totally different to the person sat beside them watching and this is the only form of entertainment medium which gives you that opportunity.
Now there has been some controversy, especially in recent years, regarding certain video game practices such as DLC, expansions, loot boxes and others but actually, what medium has not gone through a teenage, growing up phase to try and discover what works and what doesn’t? Music, TV and film all have and gaming is no different in that respect. One reason these controversies seem so much bigger than what they ever did in other mediums is largely due to the internet, the speed and ease of gaining data and opinions of others, and news spreading faster than it ever has before. Will gaming get through these challenges and controversies? I’m 100% sure it will and the fact that video gaming is growing year on year seems to agree as well.
So in summary, games are growing and there is no sign of them slowing down. Who is this great for? Everyone in a short answer. In a long answer gamers, as we are partaking and enjoying the regular releases, updates and great games from developers (even with their flaws) and non-gamers because the video game market is have a massive positive impact on the country.
With this in mind, keep on gaming! If you haven’t yet joined the growing ranks of gamers, maybe, just maybe, you’ll find now a game which you will enjoy and love because you would never have found the experience you have in the game anywhere else!
The Gaming TechLits 