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Which Gaming Trends Started in America & Are Flourishing Elsewhere?

Which Gaming Trends Started in America & Are Flourishing Elsewhere? - Ultimate Guide

By
Ambar Jimenez
2021-05-21 07:21:04




The US isn’t the Motherland of gaming, but it has always been a significant player in the game, from Microsoft and PC titles to the Atari releases that kickstarted the console wars of the 80s and 90s. So, it’s not wrong to say that America, along with Japan, has innovated and pushed the envelope when it comes to the industry. 

While the country is still perceived as a gaming giant, there’s no denying that other nations are catching up and carving out a lane for themselves in the sector. However, are they doing it by taking concepts that originated in the states and improving them? 

From Beano to Bingo 


Probably the best example of an American game that is widely popular outside of its borders is bingo. Many people don’t know that the man regarded as the creator of the game, Edwin Lowe, stumbled across it in the Midwest while traveling for work. Called Beano, he simplified the process by adding dibber pens and giving it a new title. 
By the mid-1940s, after the Second World War, the concept took off in the United Kingdom after it was introduced by soldiers and immigrants who moved across the Atlantic for various reasons. A decade or so later, bingo had millions of members – rumored to be around 14 million – and cemented its status as a British institution. The demand took a hit in the 90s, but the emergence of the internet meant that bingo became much more accessible as they were available to play remotely, especially as WiFi and mobile networks grew in popularity. Plus, bingo UK platforms emphasized a focus on making offerings bold and ambitious to add extra enjoyment for players, something the likes of bingo slot machines and scratch cards do regularly as they perfectly intertwine with traditional editions of the game. For example, users can play the slots or scratch cards while they wait for a new 90-ball game to begin.

As a result, Britain is at the forefront of the game’s recovery because the majority of the most popular gambling platforms are UK-based, and these providers offer their services throughout Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific. It shouldn’t shock you to learn that bingo is a billion-dollar industry today and the UK has the biggest slice of the pie. 

Free-to-Play 


Gaming’s free-to-play genre is currently one of the largest features of the sector, and League of Legends is the title that kickstarted the revolution. Designed by Riot Games, it was released in 2009 and now commands 115 million global users, with nearly 15% of players hailing from the US. LoL is still incredibly successful, yet it has been challenged in recent years by developers outside of America.
 

Angry Birds and Clash of Clans are two case studies that have managed to match LoL consistently over a similar duration. Supercell’s parent company Tencent, for example, has gaming revenues of $14 billion, making it the second-largest gaming company behind Sony. Incidentally, Tencent is a Chinese-founded and owned business. Supercell and Rovio Entertainment (Angry Birds) are from Finland and are challenging the US regarding the supremacy of the sector’s most lucrative market. 

Indeed, several top-class FtP titles are coming out of Scandinavia right now, from Finland to Norway and Sweden. Chinese businesses, meanwhile, are quietly absorbing profitable brands, highlighting how the US is seemingly falling behind concerning the volume of free-to-play titles and their popularity among gamers. 

These aren’t the only trends that kicked off in America and are skyrocketing in demand elsewhere. The next significant battle will be between VR headset heavyweights Oculus and Sony, with the latter undercutting the first developer of virtual reality software to become the most shipped headset since 2017.  

Although America should be proud of its creative role within the gaming industry, the main brands might want to consider their positions if they want to remain at the head of the table and influence popular culture.







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