The Future of Entertainment. Part 1: Gaming

People have always longed for “bread and circuses”, and have developed numerous ways to pass the time and entertain themselves. From dancing and listening to music, to watching movies and reading books, the variety was as important as the quality. In the 21st century, the avenues for entertainment are astonishing, and the industry for satisfying billions of people is achieving record numbers. For once, American flocked to movies theaters in record numbers in 2016, according to PWC, while Internet and TV advertising once again surpassed expectations. 

However, there is one particular industry that has been widely successful in recent years and one that will undoubtedly continue to do well: the gaming industry. Video games are markedly attracting more populace as the only means of entertainment, as the complexity of the games increased. Gaming is increasingly popular amongst all age groups, as it continues to penetrate more markets. 

In some ways, the rise of gaming industry is expected. After all, there is no comparison between the earliest games and the modern blockbusters. But the growth has been truly incredible. 

Gaming has long been considered a children’s play, a domain for adolescents. And yet, most of the world’s 1.2 billion gamers are adults. Most recently, even the senior citizens have joined the legions of gamers in an effort to combat the downsides of the old age. And herein lies the most important advantage of gaming: flexibility. There many video game genres, there are games that last 200+ hours and there are games that can take up 5 minutes, there are games that action-filled and there are games that raise important social, moral, and philosophical questions. Gaming has provided an outlets to millions of people and the quality of games has risen dramatically since they were first introduced. IN short, the entertainment value of gaming is higher than ever, and it will only continue to rise. 

In 2016, the gaming industry revenue in the US reached 21 billion dollars. Most recently, Activistion, a major game publisher, compared the opening weekend sales of their most popular game, Call of Duty, to movies like “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Wonder Woman”. With $500 million dollars in sales, Call of Duty: WWII’s opening weekend sales surpassed both of those movies’ opening weekends, and this a part of a larger trend in the entertainment industry.

iCTABLE recognizes the value of having a product for the gaming industry, as the majority of our customers are gamers. iCTABLE desks are inherently appealing to gamers, with their robust design, modularity, and a set of features designed to benefit various styles of work and play. Indeed, the release of the GAMING IN 16K??? video by LinusTechTips, where Linus launched games in 16K resolution, was made possible by iCTABLE and attracted millions of gamers around the world. We are working closely with gamers on developing new products and are very much focused on the newest trend within the gaming industry, eSports. iCTABLE is the Nike of eSports and we will continue to dominate the booming eSports market. 

Stay tuned for the part 2 of this series about eSports and its future in the entertainment industry.