With the next technical advances, computer games improved more and more graphically, and with Ultima Online in 1997, the first online role-playing game was created in which several thousand players could be online at the same time. In the console world, Sony’s Playstation first hit the market, followed by Microsoft’s Xbox in 2002. Meanwhile, Nintendo released the Wii, which now also supports puzzles, Sudoku, music, tennis or boxing.
The rapidly growing market for smartphones and tablets in the mid-2000s soon created a huge new submarket for game developers. Gaming trends also spread quickly across the Internet: the virtual constructor “Minecraft,” for example, gained a huge number of fans. There are now online games with tens of thousands of players interacting, mostly distributed over several servers. Free downloadable games are also becoming increasingly popular, and since 2016, VR glasses have provided the first opportunities to play in augmented and virtual reality.
So what’s so exciting about digital games?
Just playing: Digital games are especially popular because of easy access. While gamers still buy a lot of video games, most online gamers typically download a new, often free game with a single click – whether it’s on a PC, console, tablet or smartphone. With paid games, there’s usually the option of a free trial period, after which you can decide whether or not you want to eventually buy the game.
And now you can play digitally anytime, anywhere: on the way to work, at school or university, during recess, or at home on the couch. Some downloadable games don’t even require an Internet connection. This makes digital games an uncomplicated means of quick distraction that does not require much effort or special time planning. Games have even been proven to relieve stress and distraction after a long and tiring day at work. The exciting gameplay also gives players an adrenaline rush. And also experience small successes within the game, such as when they reach a new level or overcome an obstacle.