As gaming platforms, esports and immersive gaming technologies continue to explode in popularity across the world, they present a plethora of opportunities for brands, marketing and retail. While headlines continue to abound about Silicon Valleywood—Hollywood’s merging with Silicon Valley—and the explosion of branded podcasts and audio content, from Audible to original Spotify shows, another expanding key entertainment channel has been relatively underexposed: the giant, global world of gaming. This, however, is all set to change, as Google, Apple and Microsoft announce major moves into the industry.
The future of gaming
The Gaming Universe report explores what’s now and next in the gaming space, and what it means to brands. As gaming technology can now be seen everywhere, with platforms and games embraced globally by consumers en masse, gaming mechanics are being wrapped into mainstream entertainment, luxury retail and more.
Esports—the rise of a global phenomenon
Esports has risen from a latent trend in the 1990s to nothing short of its own entertainment industry, complete with much-followed celebrities and surrounding brand ecosystem.
Gaming platforms: the ultimate marketing channel
The battle for the title of the foremost esports and gaming streaming platform boils down to two main players: Amazon subsidiary Twitch and YouTube. Over the last few years, the former has been increasingly pulling ahead of the latter.
Virtual reality, mixed reality, holograms and more: the future of retail immersion
Myriad applications have continued to experiment with and refine VR—the experience of a fully simulated world through a headset and, in some cases, other sensory devices—and mixed reality (MR)—the blending and pairing of virtual elements with real-life objects that can be manipulated and interacted with. These range from gaming and entertainment to industrial applications, architecture and design, and customer service and retail.
Mobile gaming empires
The future of mobile gaming is the future of gaming. In the last 20 years, mobile gaming has gone from the blinking pixels of Snake to massive online battles played simultaneously by thousands across the globe, transforming mobile gaming companies into billion-dollar enterprises in the process.
Women and gaming
Though the presence of women in gaming, as audience or content creators, is becoming more noticeable, it warrants more attention than it usually receives.
Full analysis and more topics are featured in The Gaming Universe report. Download here.
Main image: Illustration by Kouzou Sakai for the Innovation Group
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