Focusing on trends in gaming is something we do quite a bit, especially if you were to check out how computer games have evolved it is very interesting to see how this evolution has contributed to how trends in the gaming community change. So the new trend that we are noticing a steep rise in is Gaming Community Sites with related apps. This is a very large and diverse topic that you should be interested in because a few years down the road everyone will be on some form of network.
The Traditional Gaming Community Sites
Steam, Xbox Live and PSN are just three big names in the traditional sites. They are that big that the likes of Xbox Live has grown drastically over the years, with millions of players logging onto the network each month, (more information here). This doesn’t come as much of a surprise though, as you obviously have to get on them for some features. What is worth noticing is the effort they are all putting in to get gamers talking to and playing with each other. For example, a lot of these platforms are wanting player interaction in order to raise the Wow player count (World of Warcraft), or whatever game is popular at the time. After all, having large numbers of people playing the game is all creators want. Most of us on these just want to play our games but each of these sites and companies is pushing for more engagement. From offers on live to special promotions where you need to connect to people for badges they’re all pushing very hard for gamers to connect with each other. Down the road we will see more and more of this. This was a big reason why Steam changed their entire UI and setup to a more Facebook-style approach.
Gaming Community Sites with Apps
This style is on the rise in a big way as well. Let us take the company Garena as an example. They not only have a site but a combination friends list along with a virtual LAN. What we’re going to see here is more sites like this and WEWANA: Play that work with mobile devices. With the expansion of mobile gaming this market is set to greatly expand. This does not even include the myriad programs for playing together such as Hamachi.
Traditional Gaming Community Sites
Pretty much every big name on the scene now has some forum, Steam group or other way to connect with people. If you don’t have some way to do this then you are dead in the water. As the industry grows we will also be seeing this grow more and more. This could become true not only for online gamers, but also online gamblers, as we see a rise in online casinos and slot machines. These increasingly popular casino sites could call for their own gaming communities and forums in 2021 and beyond, with players wanting to have platforms for discussions, somewhat like an actual casino.
A Final Note on Gaming Community Sites
What you really need to take note of is how this changes gaming as a whole. While there are still meetups and tournaments we are seeing a world where most people do not game in vicinity to each other. This has both some good and bad aspects to it and you should figure out for yourself whether this is good or bad for gaming.
