by Gaming is no longer considered to be a children’s activity. The number of young adults who play video games has been increasingly constantly in the last decade. Moreover, it is not uncommon for a person above 30 to play video games, either on their PC, console or mobile phone or tablet. The increased popularity of mobile games saw a rise of the number of female gamers. In fact, a study conducted in 2014 showed that now over 50% of the gamers are girls and women. There are all sorts of game types and branches – first person shooters, strategies, action-strategies, RGPs, MMORPGs, arcade games, simulation games, tycoons and several more, but we’d like to draw your attention to a specific kind of games – casino games.
With hundreds of available online casino websites, mobile apps, and hundreds of popular online casino games, developed by leading casino software developers, the online casino industry caters millions of active players from all over the world. PureMicrogaming.com presents and ranks casinos that features games developed by one of the most renowned casino game developers – Microgaming. The online casino games surely are developed in a very similar way to conventional video games, but due to the fact that they serve a specific purpose, many have been wondering whether online casino games can be considered video games in the traditional sense.
Differences between Online Casino Games and Conventional Video Games
Let us first look at the things that differentiate online casino games from video games. Casino games can be played for real money, i.e. it is possible to make a profit when playing them. Online casino games usually don’t last two long and they seem to be quite repetitive. Moreover, the player, with many online casino games clicks one or few buttons and can’t really influence the outcome of the game, or so it seems. Almost all casino games follow a similar pattern and there isn’t an open-end casino game. The course of action is pretty much determined.
As opposed to that video games can last for hours. There are even video games with no ending. Video games can be played in multi-player mode and the players don’t make a profit, in most cases. Most video games aren’t repetitive and feature different options and there are different games within the game. The players and their skills and decisions can influence the outcome of the game. It seems that casino games shouldn’t be considered video games.
Still, Online Casino Games Are Video Games
However, if casino games are examined closely, we might reach a somewhat different conclusion. Firstly, many online casino games nowadays, especially slots are based on popular video games and follow their storyline. Hitman is one popular example. Titles of the Hitman series have been published ever since 2000, with the last title released earlier this year. Hitman is also the name of a very popular online casino game, based on the original video game. Tomb Raider is another popular video game which has an online casino counterpart.
The quality of production of modern online casino games is another aspect the blurs the distinction between conventional video games and casino games. Many online casino games feature impeccable graphics and great sound effects. Pre-game animations are also included, much like in many video games. Moreover, casino games, especially slots also come with mini-game features and some have more than one level, just like conventional video games.
With the introduction of interactive features, where the players are allowed to not only press buttons, but also make selections, it seems that the last obstacle that prevents us from calling online casino games ‘video games’ has been overcame. Furthermore, in some video games, players can choose whether they want a game where they win more often but smaller prizes, or whether they want to win higher prizes less frequently.
Moreover, there are skill-based casino games, just like there are conventional video games that don’t require any skills. Casino software developers are becoming more interested in developing skill-based casino games with improved graphics. And it is even possible to make wagers on traditional video games, including e-Sports betting and other forms of wagering.
With the introduction of live casino games, casino players are able to play games lives, compete against other players and communicate with them, just like gamers who play conventional multi-player casino games are able to do so.
All in all, if there have been any doubts in the past, now it is quite clear, online casino games are video games, as there are a lot more things that casino games have in common with other video games, than such that separate them.
