It’s easy, in any hobby, to feel as though the way that you do things is going to be met with the same kind of enthusiasm that it gets from you. Sometimes, this will be true, but looking at broader metrics can reveal where true popular opinion rests. Not that this is something that matters – your enjoyment shouldn’t stem from what’s popular, after all.
However, it can be useful if you’re looking to gain a wider perspective on gaming as a whole – where these trends might lead and where they came from.
Mobile Gaming
While it might not seem like it if you’re used to following the trends around console gaming, mobile gaming is an enormous industry. To players who do tend to stick to console and PC, the world of mobile gaming can feel like one that’s entirely distinct – appealing to a different audience with different games available for them.
Even more universal experiences, such as online casinos featuring online slots UK, can feel as though they’re most popular on mobile, leading to an association between the two. The same might be true of some indie games, which, while available on console, seem to be played more and gather more attention on mobile. However, there are ports of console games that make their way over to smartphones, which does decrease the gulf between platforms.
High Selling Titles
Naturally, the giant blockbuster titles that sell incredibly well are going to garner a lot of popular attention. Elden Ring, Baldur’s Gate 3, God of War, Red Dead Redemption – these are all both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, meaning that positive word of mouth arguably has a hand in them selling so well. That doesn’t always happen, of course; the Dead Space remake was well-received, but it didn’t sell as well as many were hoping.
It’s easy to look towards the AAA gaming scene when examining popular, successful games, but the truth is that many indie games also find their way to this level of success. Balatro is a more recent example of this, but Stardew Valley is one that’s been out since 2016, and yet it continues to draw media attention for how it’s become one of the best-selling games of all time.
Multiplayer Experiences
For many people, critically acclaimed single-player narratives aren’t what they look for in a game. Instead, they might prefer a way that they can spend time with their friends or even strangers online in a more spontaneous environment. The lack of AI guardrails and the sheer chaos of multiplayer environments can help this kind of format to feel more exciting to a lot of people – and successful multiplayer titles can appeal to developers due to the sheer amount of money that they make. A multiplayer game that persists through the years might have the advantage of being supported for many years, in much the same way as a game like Stardew Valley. Due to the timeless nature of spending time with friends while sharing a hobby, multiplayer games have been popular since they became possible.