Guest article
Video games have stopped being just something that kids use to waste hours on instead of doing their homework, the development of the industry has made these games mean a lot more. There has been a particular massive crop of pay-to-play games with no winning return value to the player but maybe as a learning curve.
Honing skills
Take the classic Football Manager game, for instance, even professional top-flight soccer clubs have admitted that they are using the game’s extensive database for research and scouting purposes and that shows how much work and detail goes into the production of a video game these days.
Meanwhile, video games have become a growing market for betting, the esports market has been growing exponentially over the past few years and it doesn’t seem to be stopping its growth anytime soon.
League of Legends, the most popular esports game at the moment, is one of the most watched games on Twitch, the world’s most popular platform when it comes to live streaming games. When it comes to prize money, Dota 2 is by far the world leader, with over $20m awarded at the International.
The draw to video games
What attracts so many people to these video games? First, there’s the action and the thrill of either playing against other people or the pleasure of watching the world’s best players compete. And if you add the suspense that comes with betting on a particular event, you have a sure-fire recipe for success.
However, it wouldn’t exist without the constant development of the games themselves and the vast improvements in graphics, gameplay and sound.
FIFA, the popular football game and one of the titles that are attracting more and more attention from the esports gambling market, was very different when it first launched as FIFA 94. You had just a few national teams, the player names were not the real ones, and the graphics and sounds were chunky at best.
If you play the latest release, FIFA 17, you will almost feel like you are in a stadium. The graphics are immersive, you can choose from thousands of teams from all over the world and the sounds and commentary are as realistic as it gets.
Televised esports
The game has become so enjoyable not only to play but also to watch, that British telecom and television giant BT Sport has decided to acquire the rights to broadcast four esports tournaments featuring FIFA 17, the EA Ultimate Team Championship Series.
Maybe one day more people will watch a FIFA tournament than a Premier League match. More people would probably place bets on an esports tournament than a classic sports event.
Video games have also influenced the gambling world when it comes to graphics and the ‘bells and whistles’ that make a gambling experience more enjoyable. More and more video slots are featuring impressive graphics and immersive sounds, putting the customer through an experience that goes beyond mere gambling. Even the casino websites are becoming more interactive and game-like, something that can benefit users in the future.
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