When Facebook first emerged in 2005, few could have imagined that it would have grown to develop such a diverse range of features. Its emergence as a pivotal business marketing tool is particularly surprising, even when you consider its reach and the influence that it has on consumers from around the world. Perhaps even more puzzling is the success of social gaming, which has grown from a niche market into a lucrative entity that is expected to dominate the remote gaming industry in 2018.
So why has social gaming developed into such a popular and lucrative concept? One of the main reasons is its accessibility, as the business model that underpins social gaming is diametrically opposed to the traditional console alternative. While console gamers are forced to play significant amounts of money to procure a platform and individual titles, social gaming offers free to access experiences and affords players the flexibility to spend how and when they choose. Given the way in which technology has helped to inflate consumer expectations and create a more demanding mind-set, social gaming is perfectly placed to thrive.
In addition to this, social gaming has also been empowered by the rise of mobile. Devices such as smartphones and tablets have increased capabilities in the modern world, meaning that they are often used to access the UK’s best online casinos, for an example. The nature of social gaming is ideally suited to this platform, especially in terms of its level of interactivity and engagement. So as the technology behind mobile platforms and operating systems such as Android or iOS continues to improve, social gaming will become increasingly diverse and also cater to a wider demographic.
In terms of 2017 and the immediate future, we can expect the boundaries between social and mobile gaming to become increasingly blurred. This will see a number of games similar to Texas Hold ‘em poker emerge on sites such as Facebook, as developers focus on the level of interaction associated with gambling experiences rather than the pursuit of monetary gains.
In the longer term, the influence of three-dimensional and virtual reality technology will also impact on social gaming. More specifically, it will enable players to enjoy an incredibly interactive and free to access gaming experience, and arguably render console platforms increasingly obsolete over the course of the next decade.
