Can the Gaming Industry Truly Transform “How” We Play?

If you take any given year in the Internet Age, it’s almost certain that you can find authoritative articles talking about the disruption of the gaming industry. The means of disruption – VR/AR, blockchains, NFTs, AI – may change, but the promises are always about tomorrow. And, by and large, they remain perpetually stuck in “tomorrow”. Gaming has, of course, changed dramatically, with sweeping transformations provided by the consoles of the 1980s and 1990s, the mobiles of the 2000s and 2010s, and the cloud platform of the later 2010s and today. And, of course, the mainstreaming of Gamer Girls like Megan Thee Stallion.

But for all intents and purposes, gaming is still something you do by moving your fingers and looking at a screen. Some of the talk now, however, says that they might no longer be the case. With AR/VR, in particular, there is the possibility that gaming may become more sensory, something that you see and touch rather than do with your fingers. Rather than be on a screen, it could be all around you. It’s a bold ambition, but that does not mean it will work.

The mechanics of gaming remain similar

In the long history of gaming, it’s actually interesting to note how little has changed in terms of the mechanics of experience. Consider the history of the slot machine, for instance, from the days of the old Liberty Bell in the 1890s to modern online games today. Yes, the latter is much more sophisticated and, arguably, exciting, but the theory – matching symbols on a line – remains broadly the same. The same structures are found in video games that pre-date the internet era to the modern games of today.

The point, as such, is to ask the question if we are ready for such a shift away from screens and controllers. When Facebook (now Meta) talked of pivoting toward the metaverse, which is generally a way of saying immersive VR gaming and entertainment, most asked whether it was possible rather than whether it would be popular. Meta’s Metaverse is a long way off from completion, but the early iteration, Horizon Worlds, has about 200-300K active users. That might seem like a large figure, but consider that something like Fortnite has 400 million registered players, including pro gamer Bronny James.

Apple sees an AR/VR future for entertainment

Meta is not alone in pushing the idea of a VR gaming experience and moving the sector away from screen and controller. Sony PlayStation has perhaps made the biggest push with its VR headsets, but sales have largely been disappointing. The next step is perhaps Apple, which has been honing its AR headset for years ahead of a big launch in 2024. While Apple’s Reality Pro is not specifically aimed at gamers, the marketing suggests that gaming will play a significant role in its future. One should not make assumptions that gamers will jump at the chance to embrace it.

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There is, among these tech giants, an assumption that more immersion is always superior. And that’s where they may be wrong. As we said earlier, there have been rules that have defined gaming mechanics for decades, and there has never been a clamor to change them. If we compare it to something like cinema, which nobody is attempting to transform in terms of experience, then why would the assumption be that gaming should be more immersive?

Gaming has gone from a relatively niche activity for kids and ‘big kids’ in the 1980s and 1990s to a multi-billion dollar global industry today. About 3.2 billion people play games regularly. That growth came about not because of the promises of diving into the metaverse tomorrow but because the games of today can be compelling. The story work and design in titles like Elden Ring, The Witcher, God of War, and Cyberpunk: 2077 make it an art form.

One would be foolish to dismiss the possibility that we will all be playing immersive games in the metaverse ten years from now. But it is also myopic to suggest that we certainly will. There is a concerted effort to transform gaming into something mechanically unrecognizable from the games we play today. But it’s not certain that we will embrace such change.