Is Gaming The New Social Networking?
Gaming is now more than just a personal recreation. It is no longer a niche market that serves only a particular aged customer base and segmented audience. Video games have evolved over the years and marked the dawn of a new age of gaming. The concept of SOCIAL seeped into the gaming and turned it into a community and network building entity. The advent of social media and its quick penetration in the world made this virtual connection among the players possible.
Social Media has been all kinds of things for gamers – to stay connected, to share the experiences, live streaming, etc. One of the key benefits of this is the increase in competitive streak among the players. It allowed gamers to compare their skills and compete directly among themselves. This has changed the overall dynamics of the relationship between social media and gaming. It has evolved from being a personal experience to more of a networking entertainment media.
With the exponential increase transparent-merchant in the number of social media users, it didn’t take much time for the gaming industry giants to notice the impact that merging social media and gaming together can have. And why not, the number of social media users in India stood at 326.1 million in 2018. And the increase is not going to stop any time soon. This has led to the influx of huge amounts of money and the equivalent amount of technology as well. It is because of the fact that gamers are now interested in networking and chatting while they play.
This allows a common database where the results can be shared, compared and discussed. When there are a ton of users and giants competing for it, there should obviously be a huge revenue around it. That revenue here comes through promotions and advertising. The new normal is the synchronization of upcoming games to social media. This allows companies to show their recommendations to users who use that particular game. It also acts as a new way to communicate with potential customers about deals, new launch of games, etc.