In today’s digital age, technology has become so pervasive that we no longer need to think about where our data comes from. You’ll have to stay abreast of new technologies to keep up with what’s happening. This includes knowing about emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and more. These technologies are changing how we live our daily lives, work, play, and communicate. They also have the potential to transform the way businesses operate by making them more efficient, effective, and profitable. More and more people engage in technology management courses to gain a competitive advantage to help look for various technology solutions across organizations.
Things move fast when it comes to technology these days, and entertainment has been dramatically affected by the possibilities opened up by online developments. Let’s take a look at some of the technologies that embraced these trends and expanded their growth opportunities.
Virtual Reality
It had been something kids had fantasized about for a long time, and VR always seemed just a few years away, but the last decade has seen VR become a small but significant part of the gaming landscape. It’s still very much in the shadow of playing on a screen, with various competitors vying to win market share, but more and more online video games can now be played with a VR headset for the ultimate immersion.
There are also other potential uses of VR, including casino gaming, where it may (soon) pair perfectly with live dealer table games. Aside from gaming, VR has already been piloted in sports, with one football match (between Koln and AC Milan) showcasing the technology via player cameras. And kids can even dive into the Encyclopaedia Britannica and other educational content via VR.
VIVE is a Canadian VR Technology Company that created its own VIVERSE space that has big potential to enter the future Metaverse. Canadians are very keen when it comes to the latest tech trends and immersive game titles. Apart from being a host to the most exceptional iGaming platforms, they are known for appreciating quality gaming content and providers.
Online Gaming
The internet has proven a game changer in both the figurative and literal sense, with online games (particularly but not exclusively multiplayer) becoming increasingly popular in recent years. Nowhere has this proven truer than in the world of battle royales, which surged in popularity with PUBG before being taken to the next level with Fortnite. In addition to these two giants, and some others, myriad copycat games were spawned seeking to benefit from the multiplayer zeitgeist that pitted dozens of people from around the world against one another in a way that had not been technologically feasible a few years earlier.
This also applies to the realm of casino gaming, which has become ever easier in countries worldwide (including Canada). Mixing together the latest in slots with classic favorites from blackjack and poker to roulette, Canada’s best casinos offer the finest new and old gaming distractions online. In addition to this, many casinos now offer table games in a live dealer format, which further enhances the experience by having players engage in live games against other players with real dealers. This live-streaming technology has changed the game for online casinos and other forms of online entertainment too.
Live Streaming
One of the biggest general changes to online entertainment has been the increasing degree of interactivity and the rise of independent content creators. Thanks to the likes of Patreon and SubscribeStar, online viewers can easily and directly support a small group or individual who put together entertainment, whether that’s photography or music, comedy, or something gaming-related.
Live streaming is particularly popular and combines the best parts of watching TV/video and interactivity. Primarily through Twitch and Youtube, viewers can comment and have live conversations with their chosen entertainers, donate money via bits or super chats, and sometimes even steer how a video game might play out. Either by voting for player decisions or by spending bits to spawn specific enemies, items, or effects (such things are possible with a small number of games, including Skyrim and 7 Days to Die). In addition to this, multiplayer, both competitive and co-op, narrows the gap between entertainers and the audience even more. Some content creators have multiplayer privileges within a certain tier of Patreon support.
Esports
Playing video games for a living was a dream for generations of school kids. Still, now it’s a reality and one that occurs primarily online (although there are also real-world tournaments such as the inaugural Fortnite World Cup). The online connection made this genre of sporting contest far more resilient in the face of 2020 lockdown restrictions than traditional sports and has not yet reached anywhere near its full potential, with audiences and prize funds growing ever larger.
An interesting feature of eSports is that the big games tend to hang around long in a sector noted for its rapid technological development. The biggest games, CS:GO, Dota 2, and League of Legends, have all been around for years now. While tournaments can occur in real life, without the online dimension, eSports would either not exist or be a shadow of what they are today (let alone in the future, as even more growth is hotly anticipated).
Full Circle – Television Again
Television might seem very old hat compared to other forms of entertainment in this article. But TV has been re-energized recently by creating streamed content accessible on-demand, as opposed to the inflexible TV schedule of yesteryear. Not only that, TV now, especially from big new creators like Amazon and Netflix, can be accessed online from PCs, mobile phones, and even gaming consoles, rendering the TV itself entirely optional.
This has had a mixed impact, as the proliferation of providers means telly addicts have a large number of subscriptions and the fragmentation of good shows makes it more of a pain to watch everything (hence friends sharing accounts to cut down on costs).
Whether this broad market will continue as economic headwinds hit the public’s disposable income remains to be seen, but it’s certainly shaken up the TV world in recent years. Lately, providers such as Netflix have indicated they intend to crack down on password sharing.
The online world has utterly rewritten how entertainment works recently, and the last decade has seen new forms of entertainment created and developed rapidly. The same will almost certainly be true in the next decade.
