In the 80s and 90s, the minds of teenagers and young adults were filled with experiences at dimly-lit arcade gaming halls. Most people in that age bracket looked forward to gaming sessions in one of these establishments every weekend. Parties such as birthdays and anniversaries were incomplete if they didn’t involve arcades.
The arcade provided a unique experience as people could compete with strangers while winning unique prizes as they enjoyed games that they couldn’t afford at home. However, all of that has changed. Online gaming is now the modern day arcade. How did this happen?
Cheaper and more powerful consoles
Back in the day when arcade halls were still attractive, individuals visited because they simply couldn’t afford games. Today, the gaming consoles in the market are more powerful and come at fairly affordable prices. The Sony PS4 for example costs around $350. However, it is powerful enough to get people thinking of ways to convert it into a personal computer. The increased power of the console means individuals can now play HD and ultra-realistic games from the comfort of their sofa.
Rise of the internet
The internet has grown in leaps in bounds over the last two decades. In the 80s and 90s, dial-up was the main form of connectivity for individuals. Today, speeds of 10-50mb/s, which would have been unimaginable 30 years ago, are now common place. This increase in high speed connectivity led to the rise of online gaming. Instead of going to arcade halls to compete with others, the competition happens entirely online.
New bingo sites like luckycowbingo.com take care of the casino side of things. Communities like the PlayStation Network allow gamers to challenge the best players from all around the globe in games like car racing, football, fighting, shooter games etc. all online. They can talk over headphones or exchange texts while playing games. Some of these games, like Fallout 4 and Tales From the Borderlands feature amazing graphics that cannot be matched by standard arcade machines.
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Affordable high speed internet is expected to more than double over the next decade. Online gaming communities are bound to continue to grow in strength.
More powerful mobile devices
In the early 2000s, phones with 128mb RAM like the Sony Ericsson P800 were meant for high net worth individuals. You can imagine how poor mobile phones were before that period. This meant there was little to no mobile gaming to keep individuals away from arcade halls. Today, mobile phones with 4GB RAM and high definition screens are common place. Most people can enjoy high tech online gaming on their phones with ease.
These factors ensure that online gaming is now the new arcade and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
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