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Victor Marquez
The stigma around gaming has long been shed. It is no longer a hobby stereotyped to nerds and geeks.
Today, it is an industry with a value of over $100 billion.
Schools have started to use games as a teaching medium, esports events are being conducted, and professional gamers are now celebrities.
However, if you’re a beginner, here’s everything you need to know about gaming.
In this post, we will go over:
…and much more.
So, without further ado, let’s get started.
If you’ve ever wondered how the gaming industry works, let us break it down for you.
It is responsible for the development, marketing, and monetization of video games.
Today, the gaming industry is one of the most innovative sectors in tech. It has made a huge dent in the entertainment industry as well as social networking.
This can be understood by the fact that the entertainment industry no longer only applies to Hollywood or the film industry but also to gaming.
It is now providing the most immersive and stunning experiences in the form of entertainment to people around the world.
Truth be told, we did not imagine the gaming industry to bloom into something this big when we were playing Pac-Man or Pong in our basements.
These simple games such as Sonic the Hedgehog have evolved to be the foundation of the gaming industry today.
Today, gaming is a tight-knit community with a value of $200 billion that is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology and entertainment.
Not only does it promise you a continuous supply of new consoles and devices, but you also have the chance to enjoy the best gamers competing online on websites like Twitter and Stream.
In fact, esports events now have a larger prize pool than traditional sports.
Before we move on to the more technical stuff, let’s look at the brief history of gaming. The history of video games is quite phenomenal.
So, if you’re someone like us, you might be asking, what was the first video game ever?
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that it was Pong. It is often cited as one of the most popular games released for Atari.
But, the actual first video game was created by William Higinbotham in the 1950s. It was called Tennis for Two. This started the engine for the video game industry. Soon after, another game called Space Wars was developed by Steve Russell.
Now we’re all familiar with Xbox and Playstation, but what was the first video game console?
The honor belongs to Magnavox Odyssey. It was created by Ralph Baer.
At that time, the idea of enjoying a video game was revolutionary since people had to travel all the way to an arcade to play a game. A concept unimaginable in this era.
Speaking of arcades, let’s talk about some of its early games.
Space Invaders and Pac-Man were the first international hits.
However, soon after, the arcade games experienced a bit of a downfall. This was because the market was saturated, making sales and development suffer. There was also a rise in PC games.
Fortunately, the invention of consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), gave the market a big boost. Some of the first releases of NES were Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, and Popeye.
The next console that was released was PlayStation by Sony. It introduced games such as Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII, and Silent Hill.
Finally, in 2000, Microsoft blew everyone away with their console, the Xbox. It came out with blockbuster hits such as Halo that broke sales records.
Today, the gaming industry shows no signs of stopping. Microsoft has created a whole empire through the Xbox Game Studios and VR continues to challenge the boundaries of technology.
Console gaming is one of the most well-known types of gaming since this is how it all started. Therefore, if you are new to gaming, this is a good place to start.
Back in the day, Nintendo and Sega dominated the competition for video game consoles. But, now Xbox by Microsoft and PlayStation by Sony have taken over.
These consoles evolved from simple joysticks that only had enough capacity to run simple games in Pong. Now, consoles have technologically advanced microchips that process images and power as efficiently as possible.
Moreover, consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox 360 are constantly pushing the boundaries of technology by offering stunning visuals and high processing powers.
More than 1.2 billion people are using PC computers as their gaming console of choice.
As a beginner, you might find it difficult to get into PC gaming due to its complicated hardware specs, wide range of storefronts, and hundreds of games to choose from.
But, it’s still a good choice since gaming computers are all about efficiency. They have their own RAM space, GPUs, and cooling systems to run games in real time.
They are also equipped to handle graphically demanding games such as Fortnite and Minecraft.
So, if you’re a streamer who needs a reliable system to manage high-level games, this would be a good choice.
This is one of the newest game technologies to make the news. Think of it as Netflix but for games.
It allows you to scroll through a library of games, choose the one you like, and start playing.
You can find games such as:
What’s most impressive is that there are no discs or no load times so it will take you seconds to play a new game.
An example of a cloud-based gaming platform is Google Stadia. It makes your gaming experience easy and seamless so you can play from anywhere, at any time.
Moreover, you can use it to play on your mobile, iPad, or console. There are no restrictions.
Augmented reality and virtual reality will put you right in the middle of the action.
Unlike traditional gaming where you play from a third-person view, VR creates computer-generated environments so you feel as if you’re in the game.
You can do everything from kicking around footballs to having an epic gun battle with aliens.
On the other hand, Augmented reality adds digital influence to real life. The best example of this is Pokemon Go.
Mobile gaming makes up 45% of the market share of the gaming industry. Furthermore, one-third of the entire world population has played a game on a mobile app in 2019.
It has also taken over television as a preferred choice of entertainment. People spend 6.5 hours a week on mobile games.
But what makes mobile gaming so popular?
Well, it’s easy, accessible, and has a huge variety of games for all types of gamers.
It lets you enjoy games wherever you are without putting on a headset or popping in a disc into a console.
The first thing you need to decide is how much you spend on this new hobby because playing games costs money.
As a new gamer, it doesn’t have to cost a lot, but this depends on where you want to start at. We suggest you begin with something small and spend more money in the future to upgrade your setup.
Your budget will also influence what games to play and what to play them on.
After you’ve established a realistic budget, you can move to this part.
There is a huge variety of games on the market. Even if you know the exact title of the game, you’re off to a good start.
But, if you don’t, it’s a good idea to go through a list on a popular gaming website to decide your game of choice.
You can also read the video game metadata, which includes descriptors of the game.
This gives you not only general information like the developer’s name, publisher’s name, and release date but also a description so you know exactly what the game entails.
It’s a good way to understand what the game has to offer without actually buying it.
This entirely depends on your budget and your game of choice.
If we talk about the price, mobile gaming is the cheapest, whereas PC gaming lies on the more expensive side. Console gaming sits somewhere in the middle.
Let us explain this to you in detail.
Since most people already own a mobile, this removes the initial cost of setting everything up.
You can also find a plethora of cheap and free games on mobile devices. These games range from puzzles such as Candy Crush or more advanced titles such as Fortnite.
Depending on the model of your phone or tablet, some games will run better than others.
On the other hand, PC gaming is the broadest way to play video games. Similarly, the costs also vary from affordable to extremely overpriced.
Even though PC games are pricier, they also perform and look better. So, if you have the budget these games are definitely worth it.
It’s also possible that you already have a personal computer or a laptop such as Microsoft Windows or macOS. This is a great way to try out some games without an expensive setup.
Moreover, if you stick to less demanding or older versions of games, you won’t need a new setup.
If you’re looking for a console your primary choices would be the PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch (or their older iterations).
They’re all similar in terms of price. However, they all have their pros and cons. So the decision comes down to your personal preference.
Research is key here especially since this will be a big financial commitment and influence your gaming experience.
When it comes to consumer electronics like laptops, you won’t have much of a choice regarding specs. You’ll have to get whatever the manufacturers give you in your price range.
But, if you want to upgrade your laptop on a budget, we suggest you look for Ryzen 4000 and Intel Xe laptops.
Now, when it comes to gaming desktops there are a lot of nitty-gritty things to consider. But, to make it easier for you to understand, we will keep things straightforward.
The main things you need to be concerned with when it comes to specs are:
If you’re planning to play more complicated games, the GPU and CPU will work as a team. The former will be in charge of the visuals, and the latter handling everything else.
Now, you might be thinking it’s worth spending more money on a good CPU while getting an average graphics card. But, this is not the case.
You want to be fairly balanced.
Let’s talk about specific brands.
AMD provides the best performance when it comes to processors. Intel is a close second, but it’s not quite there yet in terms of gaming.
For GPUs, NVIDIA is our go-to because the company pioneers a lot of tech and the cards work well with modern AAA games. AMD also provides excellent graphics cards. So, you really can’t go wrong with either.
There’s also no harm in mixing and matching the brand. For example, you can get yourself an AMD processor and an NVIDIA graphics card.
Now, comes storage.
Speed is your best friend. It will not only affect how fast the online game loads but how quickly they’re able to collect data in-game as well.
Modern games are quite heavy since they have a lot of textures and assets they need to load as you’re playing the game. So, if your PC is not strong enough, it will negatively affect your game experience.
This is why you should get a decent-sized SSD (solid-state drive).
We recommend getting something with at least one terabyte from Samsung or Western Digital. If you want extra storage, a hard disk drive (HDD) should work well as secondary storage.
Lastly, you need enough RAM for your PC.
Mostly, this will be in the form of DDR4 RAM, but some motherboards still require DDR3. You can confirm your motherboard’s manual to check which one you require.
16 GB RAM should be enough for a gaming PC. This is also how much we recommend to new gamers. But, if you’d like, you can also go higher.
For your gaming PC, you can get things like a keyboard, mouse, Bluetooth headphones, etc.
However, such computer hardware is not important. It’s only a nice touch if you can afford it. Otherwise, it won’t do a lot to change your life.
Generally, a gaming mouse and keyboard offer the same kind of benefit. They are both accurate in registering inputs, and you can reprogram them to do whatever you want.
If you desire to play games like races and third-person shooters, we suggest you also get a controller or a gamepad.
For monitors, check the refresh rate. This is important as it will allow you to get the full benefit of your PC, and the game will look better.
Then comes the matter of resolution. You need to ask yourself, do you want a 1080p, 1440p, or even 4K display?
The higher you want your resolution, the more taxing it will be on your GPU.
Finally, you need a gaming headset. This is a great idea if you want to play an online game that requires talking to your teammates.
Now that you know everything you need for your setup let’s talk about the digital stuff.
There are plenty of stores on the internet that you can purchase games from such as:
You can also use video game subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass if you’re an Android user.
We like Steam the most. This is because it is the most reliable due to its frequent sales, easy-to-organize games library, and modding technical support. It also has voice chat and instant messaging.
GOG is similar to Steam. The exception is that once you download the games on GOG, you’ll be able to open them independently, regardless if you have a wi-fi connection or not. This is definitely a plus.
Moreover, you can search for any type of game on these websites. They have all genres, including zombies, fantasy, and more.
Some of the games we tried were:
An open-world game lets you explore and approach objects freely as compared to linear gameplay.
For example, games like Skyrim let you travel from one side of the world to another without a single loading screen.
Whereas semi-open world games such as The Witcher lets you access different regions through a loading screen.
Role-playing video games allow players to advance through a story with different quests and side quests. These quests help your player score more experience and improve other qualities.
Our top five RPGs are:
There are plenty of games that you can play free of cost. Some companies, such as Capcom, also release demo games that you can play for free.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to subscribe to their newsletter. You can do this by dropping your email on their official web page.
Companies also offer student discounts and allowances as a form of promotion marketing that you can get.
Here are some games that you can play for free:
If you’re interested in game creation, Javascript is an excellent language for game development. We suggest you use it for web-based games and mobile games.
Here are some of the best games that use JavaScript:
Video game software is used to create user-interactive games for learning and entertainment purposes.
Here are our 7 must-have software:
Yes, you can play games on Microsoft Edge.
What we like about it is that it is the personalization of our interests on the web portal. This makes it a perfect way to stay connected to all the content you like, such as live streams, game highlights, new releases, and more.
You can also log in to your Xbox account to get access to the Xbox Cloud Gaming Library.
Moreover, if you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, you can launch and play games right in the browser.
If you’re unfamiliar with Gearbox, it’s an American video game development company.
Over the years it has come out with many popular video games.
Some of them are:
When shopping for a gaming CPU, you need to consider performance and features. If you search on the internet, you will find everything from low-end CPUs to super expensive ones.
So, you need to find a balance between the price and the performance.
For us, Intel Core i5 12600K is the best choice. It is both affordable and delivers amazing performance.
Windows 11 is the best Windows OS for gaming. It now provides support for Android apps and games.
You can access games either through the Amazon Appstore or Google Play Games.
Unfortunately, the Amazon app store only has a handful of games. You’ll also have to enroll on a Beta or Dev channel to access it.
For Steam, you’ll have to check if each game you want to get is compatible with Windows 11. This is because each game has its own system requirements.
Not everyone has access to supercomputers to play video games on. That’s why indie developers started to create games that can be played without expensive graphics cards and setups.
You can run these games on any PC, and they’re cheap to buy on Steam.
Here are some of our favorite games suitable for low-end PC:
It can be hard to engage your audience for a longer time as your game on Facebook Live. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to think outside the box and keep changing up your games.
A good way to do this is to play live quiz games. This way, you can go live, share your screen and even ask your audience members questions.
You can also play riddle games.
However, to ensure an entertaining life you’ll need to:
Another classic game you can take online is Scrabble. You can share your screen with your audience members and have a go at it. Whoever comes with the most words in a limited time wins.
It’s not easy to start a gaming channel from scratch. Millions of people are trying to make it into the industry, so the competition is tough.
We’ve gathered some tips to help you grow and improve your gaming channel:
This is everything you need to know about gaming and how to get into it.
It may look intimidating, but it gets easier as you get used to it.
At the end of the day, it is meant to be something that you enjoy. Not only that, but it’s also a passion fueled by adrenaline and fun shared by many around the globe.
So, rest assured, no matter what console you choose, what accessories you buy, or what games you decide to play, you’re going to have a blast regardless.
