Video Games Through The Ages: How They Have Changed Over Time

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Video games through the ages

Many of us will remember with nostalgia the iconic arcade games, some of which have survived and are still enjoyed even by younger people. Among the best known, it is impossible not to mention the timeless Pac-Man (the yellow sphere that moves through a maze eating dots), Minefield (later renamed Flower Meadow, whose purpose is to avoid clicking on landmines), and the legendary Tetris (the colorful, interlocking-based game), which have enthralled gamers around the world for decades.

But outside of these rare cases, most video games of the past century are mainly outdated. This is because the gaming industry has evolved exponentially over the past three decades, going hand in hand with the digital revolution and the Internet boom.

The online experience

It is thanks to the Internet that the vast majority of people have rediscovered a new way to entertain themselves and escape reality. Therefore, it is no surprise that since 2000, more and more people have begun to spend more and more time engaging in virtual entertainment activities from PCs and then, more recently, from smartphones.

Online gaming is an experience in its own right, combining playful pleasure with a response to any need, location, or socialization. From movies to video games and learning a new language to online sports, there is something for everyone in the modern age.

The future is online: esports technology and even some betting and casino sites are now so widely used that they are optimized for all kinds of mobile devices so that the online experience is smooth, engaging, and, above all, fun.

Only 20 years ago, it would have been almost impossible to think that one-day competitive electronic games would be accessible to everyone from any platform.

In recent years, esports has evolved even further and has even begun to involve many different players, establishing itself as an international phenomenon through the organization of leagues and tournaments and dramatically increasing the number of fans.

Initially, the competitions were mostly amateur, and the prize money for champions was only a few thousand euros. Today, however, we are talking about a structured industry that generates millions of euros and expects to generate billions in the future.

Consoles

Another significant technological change related to gaming was the introduction of devices dedicated solely to video games, which have been improved over time to offer incredible graphics and extraordinary virtual reality experiences.

For example, in the second half of the 1990s, Sony launched the legendary PlayStation, which changed the gaming world forever. Today we have reached the fifth version of the legendary console, which remains the undisputed leader among video game enthusiasts.

Then in the early 2000s came Microsoft’s Xbox, another industry giant, and the Nintendo Wii, which included revolutionary motion sensors for fun group games such as Wii Sports, Rock Band, and Just Dance.

Today some people still like to buy the old consoles, but for the most part, gamers increasingly prefer to choose new technologies.

Pandemic

As is well known, the digitization of many sectors has been greatly accelerated by the lockdowns imposed due to the Covid pandemic.

It is not surprising that the gaming sector appears among the sectors involved.

Today, there has been a slight decline from 2020; the number of people playing online games has remained decidedly high, a testament to the fact that the passion for video games has never been a fad of the moment but a phenomenon with a stable presence and in all likelihood destined to grow.

The power of the stories

As entertaining as Pac-Man, Tetris, and all the other vintage games were, their purpose was mainly to entertain and pass the time: in fact, we can’t say that they were equipped with an actual plot, or at least not a complex or captivating one.

On the other hand, modern video games offer extremely long, articulate, and richly detailed stories, going so far as to create actual parallel worlds. Part of their appeal lies precisely in the fact that the gaming experience is comparable to entering a fantasy, historical, action, or science fiction film, and playing the game is equivalent to participating as a protagonist, in some cases even influencing the course of the story and resulting in different endings.

These games are so exciting that they create a deep bond with gamers, who go so far as to form real communities and dedicated fan clubs and book new releases of their favorite games well in advance.

Conclusion

The days of using the old Windows 95 or 98, where we could only play Minesweeper or the older version of Pac-man, are long gone.

Over the years, technology has advanced so fast, and the last few decades have seen an evolution of online gaming that has surpassed all expectations, and it shows no signs of slowing down in the slightest. At this rate, one can only imagine video games’ surprises for us in the next thirty or fifty years, never forgetting the past and where we started.