One of the fastest growing markets within gaming can be found within the rise of VR, or virtual reality. But there are some barriers to this, there is initially the hardware requirement for VR to run smoothly – our computers and mobile devices are well geared to handle the increased demand, but there is still the headset and handheld component to consider – these are still relatively expensive as some of the complete sets can cost hundreds of dollars but as the technology continues to develop the cost here will certainly decrease.
The next hurdle to overcome is within connectivity – our mobile devices are set to become the perfect devices to handle VR but running the connection may require a fast and reliable connection, fortunately this is where 5G will shine – the connection that is already here for many is not only ten times faster than our current mobile connection of 4G, but it is also shaping up to be much faster than the home connection may of us have. 5G will clock in at a theoretical 10 Gbps – although that as a maximum speed may not be possible in an everyday real world situation, it is certainly impressive and a huge improvement that will secure the ability to run something as data intensive as a streamed VR game over a longer period of time.
(Image from mobilelikeme.com)
Amongst the VR category, some of the fastest growing games on the mobile platform are within VR casinos – some casinos aren’t on gamstop and as such have open access outside of the UK, but the rise of these casinos has led to an increase in social gambling once again. The VR platform can construct a realistic feeling casino environment, players will be able to see and interact with other players around the table regardless of where they are in the world and also provide the sense of physically playing the game rather than just pressing a few buttons – as it becomes more widely available and the technology advances, it is expected the growth will continue to be just as quick.
As mentioned, 5G is going to be a big part in why a change may happen here within gaming – the increased speed and capacity provides a larger number of opportunities for the gaming operators to expand into newer markets but also for the players themselves to try out the newest forms of gaming that were previously limited to just either PC or console.
Mobile gaming is now the fastest growing gaming market in the world expected to reach a value of up to $165 billion in 2020 alone, a faster and stronger connection in 5G will only bolster this growth – we’re also seeing movements being made in other areas of mobile gaming such as screens with a faster refresh rate, higher fidelity displays and longer battery life – mobile is shaping up to be the future for gaming around the world to which we now have a faster and stronger connection than ever before.
