Gambling is a loose concept. For some, gambling is a game in a Las Vegas casino, while for others it is a match won in Call of Duty or Gears of War. All gamers experience gambling and rivalry in one way or another. But how did it all start? How has technology influenced the development of these seemingly different entertainment experiences? Let’s find out!
Fans of online gambling, and gamers as well, will be surprised to learn that long before the first online casinos appeared, gambling was available on home consoles of that time. Back in the distant 80s and early 90s, video games tried to recreate the original atmosphere of the best Las Vegas casinos. One of the first such games which allowed you to play table games was Caesars Palace for the NES, published by Realtime Associates. At the period, the graphics were pretty primitive, but as time went on, technology advanced just as the tastes of the players changed.
The entertainment industry today
Games for the current generation of consoles, Xbox Series X | S, and video games in general, have made huge strides in terms of gameplay and complexity. But gambling has undergone many changes as well. After all, the development of technology affects everything, and the casino industry is no exception.
After all, just five years ago, to play an AAA title, you had to have a high-end PC or Xbox One. But now everything is different. Technology has changed everything. Nowadays, you just need to have a smartphone or tablet and a subscription to the xCloud streaming service, so you can play AAA games on a device that fits in your pocket!
The same is happening in the casino industry. Now, to visit Las Vegas and play one of the gambling games, you don’t even need to leave your house. Everything is broadcast to your smartphone. You just need to follow the link and bam, your smartphone has a library of 5000+ most famous online pokies.
In addition to the technological revolution, there has also been a merger of the two entertainments of gambling and gaming. Nowadays, the trend of the introduction of gambling entertainment (or their interpretation) into video games is very noticeable. What kind of gambling you may ask? – Loot boxes, skins, and other garbage in video games. But many companies have gone further – they have begun to implement entire segments of gambling entertainment in video games, many of which are very successful and interesting.
Why are we seeing more and more gambling-related content in Xbox games today?
As highlighted above, there has been a noticeable intersection of gambling and video games, and in the future, this figure will only grow. Many publishers, such as Forbes, Guardian, and others, emphasize the interest of the audience of gamers in the trend of gambling entertainment in one form or another. After all, today we already have such products for the Xbox as Red Dead Redemption, Fallout New Vegas GTA (in particular, add-ons with robbery and casino business), and many others, in which a huge share of attention is paid to the setting, which is saturated with gambling.
Why companies do something like that?
The answer is simple, companies are nurturing future consumers in the realm of gambling, which can take the form of video games or a completely new type of entertainment with skill-based gambling games.
Final word
Gambling, like gaming, is good in moderation. The main thing is not to replace your entire personal life with these entertainments. Otherwise, trouble awaits you in a long run.
