Is the Gaming Industry Dying?

Rumour once had it that the gaming industry hadn’t reached its peak yet. This was years ago. Now, it seems this haunting statement has turned into a curse.

Years ago, gamers would anticipate the next release of notorious titles – ‘God of War’, ‘Grand Theft Auto’, ‘Call of Duty’, you name it.

PC gamers thrived in this era as it was the biggest platform for gaming at the time. ‘Half Life’, ‘The Sims’, ‘Civilisation’ and even click-and-play games entertained the masses for years. Until Playstation came along.

The little grey box was a staple in every gamer’s home, spawning ‘Rayman’, ‘Tekken’, ‘Crash Bandicoot’ and ‘Gran Turismo’. The widely played console did so well, Sony decided to make three more versions, the Playstation 2, 3 and 4.

Microsoft wasn’t too happy about this, creating the XBox in 2001. Although it was met with skepticism at first, its design and possibilities lured a herd of gamers, thanks to the XBox Live function – a service which allowed gamers to connect with players around the world.

Nintendo’s appeal was its hands-free option, as it wanted players to be on-the-go. It worked for some time, until the Nintendo Wii happened. Nintendo was going virtual in a new and exciting way, and everyone loved it. This was virtual reality. But gamers wanted more.

Just recently, the introduction of augmented reality (AR) spawned a new era in gaming, and this happened once people were moving to their phones. Hence Apple’s collaborations with several gaming developers. Forget consoles – mobiles were the next big thing. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a while.

Now, it is believed that the industry is becoming dormant. “I’d argue we don’t have much of a video gaming industry to begin with. Are people playing less video games? No,” stated Mark Mushiva. His sentiments were echoed by Gabes Nghipandwa. “Video games are just too expensive. A PlayStation 4 will cost you about N$7 000 and a game of Fifa about N$900. Nah, bro. I’d rather download PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on my phone for free.”

The Real Issues

One of the causes of a decline in gaming is the internet. Introducing the gaming walkthrough – a platform where gamers use technology to record their screens as they play. You save tons of money, because games are expensive. However, it takes away the pleasure of dying a million deaths before you succeed to the next level.

Another issue is creating hype, letting it build for a year and making you come back for more. It’s a fact – developers aren’t interested in making games last any more.

This leads to the next point:

Storylines. ‘Call of Duty’, for example, has become more technological and complicated instead of creating an epic story. Also, developers are making their games harder to waste time.

Costs are also rising: The economy doesn’t allow for gaming to be as big as it used to be. Head into a store now and you’ll notice just how costly a game is.

“Games are getting a lot more expensive these days. It can cost a fair chunk of your bank balance to grab a game on its release date. Although we can always blame this on the economy,” Twitter user

@OneAdora said.

Andre van Graan, however, believes that the gaming industry is alive and well. “The act of gaming together under one roof was over when the age of online gaming came to pass. Online means connected and still in your own comfort zone. Sales of games on shelves might be low but it’s just ’cause you can buy games online with a credit card.” He added that statistics say Namibians are also into mobile gaming.

“Perhaps XBox and PlayStation are a new trend in town but getting physical discs from a shop is quite expensive,” Petrus Negonga said. “Most, if not all, purchase their games via online platforms (Steam, PS Network or XBox’s eShop). Whatever is out there.”

Bernadus Uakuramenua added: “Ninety percent of Namibian gamers pirate their games. So if Namibians want to make gaming a serious thing, they should throw away pirated games and buy them so that they can play online and start competing with the rest of the world”.

– Mickey Nekomba on Facebook; @MickeyNekomba on Twitter

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