Gamethink

In the beginning... gaming took mostly place in the arcade, then early systems, such as the Atari 2600, tried to bring the arcade excitement home with short, simple, repetitive yet difficult games.

The crash of ’82 redefined the game industry. The surviving consoles were now facing the competition of more sophisticated games on computers.

In 1990-94, the influence of the arcade started to lessen. Game makers took advantage of the different formats of home games (consoles, handhelds, computers) to deliver something unique. It was also a time of great experimentation, as new technical capabilities allowed the emergence of new game genres.

Around 1995, two major events happened: the launch of the Playstation, which greatly expanded the console market, and that of Windows 95, which democratized the use of the internet.

The 2000-2005 period was marked by the maturity of the casual gamer concept, which influenced the way all games were created. Other important facts of the era were the rule of the PS2, internet strategies from all console makers, and the weight of the FPS, RTS and MMO game genres on the PCs

Last year, the direction in which the industry was heading seemed uncertain. What has changed since then?

The future of gaming looks very uncertain. Who will win the next battle?

Over the last 30 years, the price of creating the various game assets has increased at a mind-boggling rate. Except one: story. Still, considering how much impact a good story has on a game, game developers are not spending enough on this essential component.

Multi-player has always been an important aspect of gaming - from day 1. Over the decades it has evolved and matured in a variety of forms. Does it mean that the future of game is necessarily online?