At a ripe old age of 41, video games have always been a prevalent part of my life. I have fond memories of the golden era of gaming and remember certain milestones that have gone on to punctuate the rapidly growing timeline of video game history.

Seeing the world of gaming evolve around me has been an eye-opening experience. With the coming and going of gaming technology being a frequent occurrence throughout my life, there’s never a day where I neglect to look back over the years spent and bask in retrospective splendor as I think of the technological leaps that have brought us to where we are today.

The following is a collection of my thoughts and opinions surrounding both the growth of gaming and the changes in the attitude towards our beloved hobby.

The History of Gaming

The turbulent journey begin in the seventies with the dawning of trend-setting games such as Pong, Pac-Man and Space Invaders, laying the foundations for the soon-to-be booming industry. However, it wasn’t until the nineties when we bore witness to the very first console wars, as upcoming giants such as Nintendo and Sega vied for dominance with their flagship consoles.

While fans of the Mega Drive and the the Super Nintendo were busy arguing about which console was the best, PC gaming was starting to really flourish with titles like Doom and StarCraft capitalizing on the rapidly advancing capabilities of personal computers.

Technological Advances – A Pivotal Part of the Evolution of Gaming

The relentless advancing of technology has proven to be a pivotal part in the evolution of gaming. With the constant improvements to graphical prowess and processing power, games have become increasingly more impressive; both in terms of immersion and player experience.

As the nineties drew to a close, we saw games such as Quake and World of Warcraft transforming gaming from a solitary hobby into a far more social experience.

It was far later, with the invention of the smart phone, that games like Angry Birds, Clash of Clans and Candy Crush brought gaming to a much broader audience.

The Cultural Impact of Gaming

Since those days of yore, the gaming industry has exploded. Games have found themselves to be the influence of movies, TV shows and even music, cooking up a rich broth of cross-media promotion.

We now even have eSports, that turns competitive gaming into a very real and professional sport that pulls in vast audiences, lucrative sponsorship deals and prize tournaments. We have also seen celebrities like Elon Musk embracing the power of gaming which, in turn, has helped vastly in making our hobby a staple of modern-day entertainment.

The Gaming Economy

It’s staggering to think that the gaming industry pulls in more revenue than the combined efforts of both the music and the movie counterparts, but it’s a fact nonetheless. The rapid growth of the world of gaming has seen the creation of more jobs on the market in marketing, development and streaming.

The Dark Side of Gaming

Despite the many hidden benefits of the gaming industry, it still faces its own set of challenges. Concerns are so often raised about addiction and excessive screen-time, particularly among the younger gamers and certain monetization techniques such as loot boxes and microtransactions have sparked controversy in how the industry is preying on these additions.

Summary

In a proverbial nutshell, video games have fast evolved from a niche hobby to a very mainstream form of entertainment that’s embraced by a diverse audience from all around the world. As we continue to see these advancements in both technology and cultural acceptance, we will see further improvements, making the future of gaming very promising indeed.