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It might seem to an outsider that there is a big divide between the people who play video games and the people who make them. After all, most games are created by teams of people often measuring in the hundreds, if not thousands, with significant technological skill. Unless a gamer is willing to strike out and learn some skills, it’s hard to see what he or she will have in common with developers. But things aren’t quite as straightforward as they might first appear. The truth is that the gamer community has had a lot of impact on the video game industry in recent years. Here are some of the reasons why that is.
Feedback
One of the many ways in which video game players are having an impact on the video game industry comes in the form of feedback. To put things simply, the internet has given gamers across the globe the opportunity to have their say and, quite often, developers have listened to them. Direct channels of communication, whether it’s on social media or through gaming forums, have seen players report bugs that get fixed, or even suggest features that get added in updates. You’ll find this sort of thing anywhere that people play digital games. For instance, looking at the online casinos vetted by Cardplayer experts, there are several games recommended by these aficionados, which help to guide players. In a way, this is feedback from expert players and pros, directed at newbies and non-experts.
Supply And Demand
When it comes to how gamers help the gaming industry grow, the process of supply and demand is absolutely crucial. Basically, developers will have to make games that people want to play. If there is a call for it, there’ll be someone making it. This can have the effect of an entire genre reaching saturation point – think of platformers in the 80s and 90s, FPS games in the 2000s or the current spate of battle royale games – but it can also give a useful snapshot of what gamers are into at any one time. There’s also the way that big studios can use sales figures and so on to create sequels. After all, it is highly unlikely that there would be quite so many Assassin’s Creed games were it not for the fact that people buy, play, and enjoy them.
The Growth Of Communities
A long, long time ago, video games were something of a, if not solitary, then certainly an activity of close-knit groups. People would play games with their friends in person, but that was about it. Any sense of community came through reading video game magazine letters pages and realising that there were people out there who liked the same games as you did, but since you were never going to have anything to do with them, that would be that. The internet changed all this. Now there are online multiplayer games that become instant communities, as the success of battle royale games such as Fortnite and PUBG shows. It is also pretty easy to find a forum or social media page dedicated to fans of your favourite games, too. This all flows back to developers. Since it is easy to find people talking about games, it is easier to see what people want. And that’s not even without mentioning the many modding communities out there that give players new options without the original creators even getting involved.
New Tech
Another way that gamers influence the games industry comes in the form of technological demand and adoption. Players want their games to operate smoothly, which, in most cases, means that they want to get hold of the best and most powerful hardware. Because there is this demand, manufacturers have a motivation to innovate, leading to better chips and cards. This, in turn, leads to better graphics, performance, and audio. With online software enabling people to stream music and movies online, gaming got in on the action and has made a lot of money as a result, with the total online gaming market worth just under $28 billion in 2024. Indeed, you could argue that gamers’ desire for innovation has led to most new developments in gaming over the last decade or two.
When it comes to developing both video games themselves and the machines that people play them on, the video games industry has no choice but to listen to its customers. Gamers can be notoriously spiky and, with the business being as big as it is, there is plenty of choice for disgruntled punters. The relationship between gamers and the industry can be fond and it can be fraught, but it looks like it isn’t going to go away any time soon.