Alternate realities
Games that utilise the physical world around them are both incredibly intelligent and potentially highly profitable. We saw more than a glimpse of just how popular these games can be during the Pokemon GO craze.
Lately, however, it appears as though both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have taken a break. It will only be temporary, however. The reason is not the insane amount of money that the games would end up making, although that could certainly be the motivation for developers.
The bigger reason is that consumers are growing an interest in gameplay, as well as the story it’s set around. With alternate realities, they’re getting that in abundance. Any experience that promotes immersion, such as VR, will succeed under these higher standards.
With a new platform to build around, we can also expect a change in how stories are told. As opposed to linear and continuous storylines, we can expect to see some creative license within your favourite games, both in conventional single and multiplayer games, and with alternate reality games.
Untrending trends
Whenever a new trend appears, a previous trend must make way. And there are a number of trends that gamers are only too happy to wave goodbye to. The world is no longer interested in paid DLC and micro transitions.
The reason behind this is that gamers are becoming more in control of the market- one example is the effects of when EA received some extremely poor press after Star Wars Battlefront 11 was released. They lost a hefty $3.1bn in shareholder value, although it didn’t prevent them from continuing the very same practice.
Consumers aren’t sitting there waiting for EA to announce its newest releases. They’ve made their views known, and CD Projekt Red has sat up and listened. CD’s Cyberpunk 2077 ranks among history’s most anticipated games.
They’ve witnessed the mistakes made by EA and have learned from them. They also haven’t been shy in speaking up about its aversion to microtransitions. This positive publicity will help to make the game succeed. They want to give gamers what they want, both in gameplay and in personality.
Conclusion
It can be quite a challenge to predict growing trends until they’ve begun to establish themselves. While certain technologies may impress, it’s only gamer reaction that tells us whether something is a valid trend or not. What we do know is that whatever is deemed a success this year will likely not only be replicated but added to.
As gamers become more in control over the gaming market, it’s likely that we’ll see more focus-driven and organic games released with more advanced plot lines that ask players to make their own decisions. The monolith development companies will still be around but they’ll have to forsake some of the limelight to innovative indie developers, which is how things should be. This year, we’ll see more of what we deserve, and that will only help the gaming market to succeed.
