The Future of Video Gaming

The future of video gaming is all about thinning the line between reality and a virtual world. Game developers are doing many things to make games more interactive by infusing games with a real-life view. The gaming world is headed towards taking the real world and using it as a virtual playground.

Google recently teamed up with the board game maker Hasbro and launched a Google Maps version of Monopoly; Monopoly City Streets.

Players have the ability to buy actual streets and property on this Google powered game. Each player starts the game with 3 million Monopoly dollars to compete with other individuals in the game.

The interactive twist comes with features like rent, paying taxes, and competitors building hazardous buildings on your property so you lose rent. Let me not forget to mention that you’re purchasing actual streets by using Google Maps.

Think about typing in your address and becoming your own landlord as well as the landlord of that pesky neighbor that likes to keep everyone up with loud music at 5 a.m.

The game seems to be a success, minus a few glitches in the system in regards to the site going down several times due to capacity overload.

For some reason, I’m the iron but it’s okay; I’ll just consider myself to be a “hot commodity”, I’m having too much fun earning virtual money to care about being an iron.

Apple has been seeping its way into the portable gaming industry, especially with the release of the new iPod Touch.

Since the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS lack a multi-touch screen, sell expensive games, and have no app store, the iPod Touch is sure to give Sony and Nintendo a run for their money. With the ability to play Assassin’s Creed and Madden ’10 on the iPod Touch portable gaming has a new, touch screen face.

The video gaming industry is keeping in stride with advances in technology as well. We’ve talked about Augmented Reality in our articles and podcasts, but mentioned little on video gaming. Remember how fun it was playing Pac-Man in the arcade? Now you can move that arcade to wherever you are.

Layar allows you to play a 3D version of the game on a street in front of you. Using your phone’s camera, Layar creates a layer of real time metadata on top of the physical images in your view.

This in itself has set a new standard for gaming. With a game that goes as far as you go, imagine the types of games developers will make with this technology.

With many still spending tons of money on games, the future of video gaming seems to be a bright one. New technology and more interactive games are changing the landscape of gaming altogether.

October 6, 2009