Online connectivity has revolutionized the world of entertainment, though sometimes these changes can serve to disconnect us. On-demand systems can do great things in bringing us what we want when we want it, but too often this leads to doing things alone. Rather than developing events or parties as an excuse to hang out with others, we can get caught up in instant gratification, but this doesn’t need to be the way.
Today, modern systems can provide opportunities for users to explore a new standard of playing together. Leveraging technology everyone already has, there are many different ways to engage, and with the coming generations, there’s a lot left to explore too.
New Tech Opportunities
Some of the best illustrations of how easy it’s become to team up with digital entertainment come from the casino industry, which has exploded onto the online frontier. This starts with welcome features, like the casino offers UK players can claim for deposit matches, free spins, and seasonal promotions. Bonus systems like these open the doors, after which games like blackjack, poker, and live titles give users a way to share in the same gameplay as their friends. Formerly, this type of play would require players to dress up specially and visit casinos, but with new tech, it can be accomplished practically anywhere thanks to mobile phones and laptops.
The Mobile Component
Mobile phones play the biggest part in delivering the new generation of play to friends, thanks to their ubiquity. As of 2023, smartphone users make up roughly 86% of the world’s population, and this proportion is only growing by the year. Thanks to even a humble modern mobile being faster than many of the PCs some of our older readers (and writers) grew up with, the software in new smartphones is immensely flexible. Flexibility is then aided by how well mobiles can now hook into wireless systems like 4G or our own home internet networks. Thanks to games like online casino titles having very lower data and processing requirements, nobody has to miss out.
Industry Changes
When online gaming first became a hit, everyone wanted their titles to be played over the net. Playing this way is great, but it also forgoes one of the best parts of interactive entertainment – playing in person with friends. The forward-thinking industries noticed that this human element has diminished, so they reinvested in making playing with friends easier. In online casinos, this has been demonstrated through the popularity of shared rooms for games like blackjack, craps, and especially live titles. Playing games in the same room might require sending data across the world, but it’s easier to do right next to each other than ever.
The next generation of playing together will likely leverage VR and AR to create systems that are better at faking real proximity at a distance. VR meeting projects have already laid the groundwork here, where integration of online games like blackjack and poker could be a perfect fit. Such an approach would further blur the lines between real and virtual, making playing with friends at a distance more like doing it in person.
“Daydream View VR Headseet Made By Google” (CC BY 2.0) by Maurizio Pesce
Playing together is one of the best parts of interactive entertainment, and it’s a place where the digital world holds untold untapped potential. Whether pushing online casino titles to new heights or exploring new ideas completely, the 2020s are gearing up to be a decade of exploration and expansion. It’s an exciting time to be a part of, so let’s just be sure we don’t take it for granted.
