For decades, the gaming world has been revolving around consoles. Leading providers like Nintendo, Sony PlayStation, and Xbox from Microsoft have dominated the market and everyone has been looking for the next release. So, gamers saved up to get the next-generation machine so that they would get the next blockbusters when they became available.
During those times, most games were played on the TV, and most users would spend hours in the living room enjoying games. This era is not yet over. However, it is soon being replaced by new realities. The console is losing its undisputed kingship position as new hardware options take over. Let’s explore this shift and what it means for the players.
Portability is the New Norm
Players have forever yearned to move about with their gaming device, long before mobile gaming came to be. The earliest innovations to this end were Nintendo gaming consoles. Nintendo Switch had made the ultimate breakthrough where it blended home and portable play. However, it could not keep up with the graphical demands of the modern games. Technology was catching up, and new kings would soon join the marketplace.
Advent of Mobile Gaming
The single biggest revolution in the world of gaming was to bring games to mobile phones. As mobile phones became more advanced, players had the freedom to move around with games in their pockets. Over time, game producers enhanced the quality of their games while lowering the system requirements to fit mobile phones.
This shift had several advantages at hand. First, mobile devices allowed players to have different types of games in one place. It is now possible to have games from different producers without buying their customized consoles. Second, other types of games like dice, slots and crash games could be played on the same device. You could play Plinko demo game online at Casino.Guide or even download a casino app and play free games.
Third, mobile devices brought in added controls that were hitherto not available on gaming consoles. Players could use controls like tilt, shake, touch, and vibrate to play their games. This made games more interactive and more fun.
New Handheld Gaming PCs
Over time, PCs have become smart, powered by AMD, Intel and Nvidia GPUs and processors. The leaders in the portable gaming PC category include ASUS ROG Ally, Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go. Unlike mobile devices, these are fully functional Linux and Windows PCs that have been shrunk in size so that they can be carried out with ease. So, players can pack a punch when it comes to sheer gaming power but still enjoy portability.
Mobile gaming led to the development of online gaming libraries like Epic Games, Steam and GOG, among tens of others. Players can also have indie games and AAA titles with them at all times, a level of freedom that was unimaginable.
Cloud Gaming: The New Deviceless Front
As hardware technology improved, so did the types of games available. New games demand significant computing power, better graphics processing, and huge storage. Unfortunately, many older devices could not keep up. That is when cloud gaming came into being. Instead of running a game locally on your device, the game runs on a powerful server in a data center. The video is streamed to your screen, and your controller inputs are sent back, all in real time. This technology made hardware irrelevant, as you only need to have a device that can connect to the cloud.
Game Producers Have Caught Up
Services like NVIDIA GeForce NOW, PlayStation Plus, and Xbox Cloud Gaming have brought the same games you find on consoles to the cloud. You can now play high-end, graphically demanding games on virtually any device with a screen and an internet connection. This could be a low-cost smartphone, a smart TV in a hotel room, or a decades-old laptop.
The democratizing power of this model is its greatest strength. It bypasses the need for expensive consoles and gaming PCs, making blockbuster gaming accessible. Most of them run a monthly subscription model to access a large library of games that would have otherwise cost a fortune and advanced hardware.
All-in-One Gaming
Another innovation in the gaming community is the advent of all-in-one gaming. Instead of throwing out mobile devices or consoles, this promise allows you to catch up with your game on whatever platform you have. For example, you could be playing your latest first-person shooter game on a mobile device and seamlessly pick it up on a large monitor at home in the evening. Yet, you could progress with it during your spare time at the office.
All-in-one versatility removes the need for dedicated gaming hardware or a separate gaming console. Players have more convenience and a wide range of options to enjoy their games.
Where Are You Playing Your Next Game?
It is likely that your next game will be played on a mobile device or a PC and not a dedicated console. Consoles are now not the masters of the gaming world. They still hold a significant market share and are regarded as the ultimate goal in gaming. However, most players have moved on to other options and enjoy similar or better performance. At last, we are dropping these iconic gaming units as the only option available to us.
