Gaming is a lifestyle. To be able to see the best results from your gaming experience, you want to make sure that you are going about the task in the right way. A lot of the enjoyment comes down to the game itself. If you are a casual gamer, then you might be very selective about what games you choose. Many people who game pay close attention to leaders of the industry like Bobby Kotick in order to get a feel for which games are going to prove the most enticing down the line.

Once you have a solid game, there are plenty of practical ways that you can go about enhancing the overall experience. If you want to game, you need to make sure that you are gaming right. Take a moment to consider the simple adjustments that you can make to change the way you experience your gaming adventures. With a bit of insight, you will easily be able to make the most of your time spent with your console.

The Environment

Selecting a game can help you to get started on the path to exciting gaming, but it is only one step in your journey. You are also going to want to dedicate a good amount of time towards crafting the ideal gaming environment. Simply plopping down on your couch in front of the television is not enough to make for a fantastic experience. You also don’t need to go above and beyond to improve your conditions. In fact, making a couple of simple adjustments can go a long way towards your overall success.

Think about how light enters the room where you plan on gaming. If there are large windows and you want to play games during the day, then you are going to want to consider blocking the light in some way. Limiting the amount of natural light in the room while playing a video game can help enhance the visuals on your screen. Keeping the light to a minimum level allows you to see everything happening on the screen and get the most from your time spent gaming.

The Equipment

Where you game is only a small part of the equation. Your system and the accessories that you use can also have a big impact on the success of the experience. Many people live in loud environments. Whether you live with family, roommates or in an apartment with thin walls, there are going to be times when noise is an issue. Since you want to be able to hear everything happening in your game without cranking the volume way up, you may want to consider investing in a solid pair of gaming headphones.

Using the best possible accessories helps to eliminate real world problems while simultaneously boosting your gaming experience. Buying a pair of quality headphones will help you to come across as a more considerate roommate without you having to sacrifice hearing what is taking place in the game. There are plenty of other accessories to consider, as well. Gaming chairs are a great choice for guys who game all the time. If you want to record your progress and share with others, you might want to invest in capture devices.

The Company

Playing video games can be a unique experience for a few reasons. Playing online games often means that you will be accessing the internet and participating in a game alongside many other people from around the world. While this can be incredibly exciting, it can also be frustrating. People are not always kind or considerate when they are on the internet. This means that you could be looking at some annoying or outright awkward online encounters when you are simply trying to relax and play some games.

Finding the right people to play with can make a huge difference in how you enjoy your gaming experience. A simple answer to this problem is trying to play games with people that you know. Of course, this is not always going to be possible. Instead of giving up and choosing to deal with young kids who love to curse up a storm, think about searching the internet for people who play the same games as you. With a little effort, you’ll be able to find groups who play the same games and who won’t drive you absolutely bonkers.

Gaming is a fun pastime. Whether you’re someone who plays games each day or you only now and then, there are many different ways to consider enhancing your experience. Take a look at equipment that might be able to improve your experience, consider gaming with the right crowd, and be sure to make the right adjustments to the environment where you will be playing. Find the right fit for you and get started on a whole new level of playing video games.

One thing is for sure: the beginnings of the eSports betting industry are far behind us. Now, this industry has been transformed into a global phenomenon. This information is backed up by reports and official stats. In 2016, the eSports industry was expected to grow by 43 percent, reaching $40 billion. The growing popularity of this trend is translated into the quick increase of individuals that follow eSports events.

No less than 40 percent of Chinese people who own smartphones admitted to having watched at least one eSports event.

According to projections, fans are anticipated to bet about $23.5 billion on eSports by 2020. What is more, operators are expected to generate $1.8 billion in revenue.

The eSports industry has grown over the years to a surprising point. Leading bookmakers continually take bets on important matches. It appears that the betting volume surpasses that of tennis, golf, rugby, and it’s always changing.

It’s easy to understand why that happened. ESports are prone to become a significant segment of the sportsbook’s portfolio. Tournaments are exhilarating, competitive and fast-paced. Moreover, the live crowd creates a distinct atmosphere that is compared to that of a traditional football match.

Betting creates more engagement and makes the entire experience even more thrilling. This applies to both the hardcore gamer and the casual viewer.

Additionally, the accessibility of eSports events via the Internet is another important factor. That is expected to bring this industry to the forefront in the future. Twitch, for instance, enables gathering fans to communicate during matches. That makes the entire process more exciting and entertaining.

Experts admit that it’s just a matter of time until the eSports industry reaches the coveted $1 billion mark. In this scenario, getting into betting is rather tempting. You can start placing your bet on eSports now at gg.bet if you want to be a part of the phenomenon.

With the news that “FIFA 17” matches will be broadcast live on TV by BT Sport, now could be the time for eSports to start pulling in huge audience figures and for eSport stars to become household names.

BT Sport is a major broadcaster in the UK, and they already televise Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games. Now, they have added the remaining four EA FIFA Majors, which are part of the Ultimate Team Championship Series. Competitors will be taking command of their favurite football stars and battling it out on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles for a seven-figure jackpot and the title of FIFA 17 Ultimate Champion. It’s an innovative move from BT Sport, and if successful, others will be sure to follow and eSports players could start to profit from the same kind of endorsements as NFL stars such as DeAngelo Williams and the fame normally reserved for elite athletes.

Other Interested Parties

Broadcasters aren’t the only ones looking at eSports. The popular sites where you now find online casino games and sports betting see huge potential in eSports and are ready to invest big time. Just like eSports, the online casino industry is a product of our ever more capable modern technology, and the two seem destined to form an alliance that could change sports betting dramatically. Those that follow eSports are likely to have a natural affinity for the services provided by online casinos, and so sponsoring teams, individuals and events makes perfect sense. Yet this could be just the tip of the iceberg, as betting on eSports seems likely to become a huge industry for a couple very good reasons.

The first of these is that eSports present a level playing field. As the environment is constructed by game developers, gamblers should enjoy the facility to be able to disregard all the random factors that can affect sports betting and bet solely on the individual competitor or team. As well as betting on the pro eSports gamers, the second rationale for eSports and online casinos hooking up is that they should be able to provide the platform to bet on yourself in competition against a friend, foe or a random gamer from anywhere in the world. If you’re feeling cocky about your “Counter Strike” skills, why not put some money on it? If you think you’re a “Street Fighter” legend, soon you should be able to stake some cash on it too.

Growing and Growing

It’s still early days, but the partnership between eSports and online casinos should start to bear fruit soon, and there’s a good case for eSports becoming the number one leisure pursuit in the world. For many of us, playing video games is far more accessible than other pastimes, as all you need is right there waiting for you at home. Compare that to football, the most popular sport in the world, where you need to organise your friends, find a playing surface, construct goals, assign positions, bring a ball and hope the weather doesn’t ruin it all. With eSports being broadcast, the popularity is only going to grow as people can watch a contest take place and within a few minutes be signed in and playing the exact same game.

It’s going to be an exciting year for eSports, and soon, eSports stars will be all over your TV and attached to all the major free casino games sites. Time to start practising, because being the foremost sports star won’t be about your ability to kick, dunk or hit balls, but how you use a controller.

Over in China, students are not only prepping for their exams but also for e-sport tournaments. These young players are small fries in the world of gaming, but as they move up the ladder and join teams to defeat other players on games such as “Counterstrike,” “DOTA” and “StarCraft,” they could build a career for themselves and earn cash, all while doing something they love.

Online platforms such as Twitch are allowing more and more gamers to showcase their skill, and the most popular ones pull in millions from sponsored advertisers who feature their products on the side of the screen. For some, it’s funding their time studying, as they juggle gaming with writing essays and attending lectures.

E-sports is now a phenomenon in itself – there’s even talks of introducing it to the Olympic Games in the future – as more and more brands notice the appeal and sponsor events. Not only does this raise the profile of major e-sports events further, but it also ensures they pocket plenty of cash themselves. (Queue sassy woman emoji, although apparently that’s not what that emoji represents).

E-sports has even gone mobile, with sites such as Skillz offering mobile gaming tournaments and most recently opening up the playing field to brand sponsorship of certain games. Skillz is attracting a larger player base, mainly because so many of us play games on our smartphones now, and it also offers cash prizes for winning tournaments, which is ideal for students looking to earn some spare cash while doing something they enjoy.

Colleges in America are now offering scholarships to those who excel at E-sports, and in the UK, more and more universities have their own leagues or societies for those who play. It’s allowing those who don’t excel on the football field or with a hockey stick to find their feet while studying, make new friends and improve their gaming skills. Universities up and down the UK now offer ‘guilds’ for new students to join and play E-sports together; these teams could turn professional if good enough and could even develop into a system similar to those seen in China and Korea.

China is already on the ball when it comes to such a development, as its colleges have given E-sports official recognition and created leagues for students to play in. The students don’t win money for winning tournaments and they “cannot put gaming on top of their studies,” according to Kenneth Chang, Deputy Secretary of the organising committee of the China Universities E-Sports League. However, this suggests that the shift in how gaming is perceived is steadily moving towards positivity.

It’s also been proven that gaming is great for the brain, improving memory and reaction times the more you play. While the improvement in reaction times doesn’t necessarily translate into playing real sports, it’s helpful when it comes to improving in a gaming league. This is another reason why gaming is being encouraged by Chinese colleges. If it’s good for the brain, it’s great for their studies.

Gaming is a more constructive use of a student’s spare time than watching TV or drinking with friends, which is why it is being pushed now. If you’re a student reading this, don’t feel guilty for loading up the laptop or PS4 for a round of “Counterstrike” or “Overwatch” – it could improve your chances of better grades or even a future career.

In 2010, the first-generation Kinect was introduced by Microsoft. It is a motion-sensing input device that enables user to control and interact with their Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles without the need for a gamepad. This device features multi-array microphone running proprietary software, depth sensor and RGB camera, which provide full-body 3D motion capture, along with voice recognition and facial recognition capabilities. The second generation Kinect based on the same core technology as Kinect for Xbox was released for Windows in 2014, and it included a new sensor.

Since the introduction of Kinect for Xbox One, you now have the option of “Xbox Fitness,” where you can work out right from your home with famous trainers who can give you personalised feedbacks. You can also choose from a variety of workouts such as cardio, Tai Chi, Zumba and Sports Training. With Kinect, you can optimize each of your workouts, which can provide you immediate feedback on your heart rate, power and current form; other features with Kinect include Pulse, Energy Meter and Muscle Mapping. There are also various fitness games that you can choose from with Kinect for Xbox 360 such as “Nike + Kinect Training,” “Kung Fu High Impact,” “NBA Baller Beats,” “Dance Central 3,” “Zumba Fitness Core,” “Just Dance 4,” “The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout” and many more.

It might sound like a far-fetched ide, but if we can play casino games on gaming consoles like Xbox 360 and Xbox One, why not Kinect? The era that we live in is forever evolving, and at a very fast pace too. We reckon that it won’t take long before this innovation is adopted by leading online casinos such as Spin and Win to offer games such as virtual slot machine where players would be able to play on a more realistic platform. With Windows 10 “holograms,” you would be able to walk inside a virtual casino where they only require you to pull the lever of the three-dimensional slot machine using gestures for it to spin. This will definitely bring online casino gaming to a next level, which goes beyond virtual reality. Knowing how Spin and Win is constantly applying the latest technology trends on its platform to give a superior gaming experience, it won’t be a surprise if we see such a gaming innovation in the near future coming from their end.

We have come a long way since the introduction of the first generation digital video game consoles in 1972 with the Magnavox Odyssey. In the first few generations of video games, not much physical movement was required to interact with the game, apart from the movement of fingers on the gamepad to press the buttons. Gaming consoles experienced a major innovation in the year 2006 when the Nintendo Wii was introduced along with its Wii Remote controller (a handheld pointing device which can detect motion in 3D). Its controller uses a combination of built-in accelerometers and infrared detection to sense its position in three dimensions. A few years earlier, this was considered cutting edge gaming technology, and at that time, we could hardly think of any further innovation in online gaming.

But as you can notice, three-dimensional gaming approach is perhaps going to be the next big step when it comes to online gaming. Soon, you may be practicing your favorite sports in your virtual gym or playing your preferred slots game on a three-dimensional machine.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about picking up Tera, an MMO from En Masse that was making its way to the States. Tera’s big sell is a combat revamp from the typical MMO. Gone are the days of tab-targetting. Tera requires that you actually be facing your target in order to land your skills. It’s a nice concept, and it plays fairly well, but I still can’t justify buying the game. In a world of free-to-play, microtransaction games, the box cost just doesn’t play anymore.

Gaming is a zero-sum hobby at this point. If I want to pick up a game like Tera, it means subbing one of the games I’m currently enjoying out of rotation. Strangely enough, it hasn’t always been this way. Ten years ago, there just weren’t as many high quality games. With the proliferation of quality indie titles and the accessibility of those free-to-play games, though, I have plenty of titles to play. So why pick up a game like Tera?

This may seem a little clinical, but it’s the best system I’ve been able to devise. When I’m considering a new game, I basically break down the game’s entry cost. It’s not just the monetary cost. I also consider the amount of time I need to invest learning the game before I can really enjoy it (for some games this is a fair amount of time). For Tera, it looks a little something like this:

$50 box cost
$15 monthly fee
5+ intro hours

Is that really worth it? When I consider it against another game I’ve been playing lately, it becomes pretty clear. For Tribes Ascend, the cost looks more like this:

1 intro hours

And even that is a little aggressive. I was having fun with Tribes in the first 30 minutes, but if you haven’t played any of the previous titles you might take a little more time. Now granted, Tribes and Tera aren’t exactly analogous titles, but the list of top quality games with low entry costs continues to grow. And that says nothing of the changing face of the MMO. Players aren’t as dedicated to single titles, so does it really make sense to charge a box cost and a sub? Not to me.

I realize publishers want to recoup some of their investment with an initial return, but the box cost is actually keeping me from buying the game at all. I’d gladly throw $15 at the first month of a game, but $50 on top? I don’t think so.

As more games embrace MMO-style play without MMO subscriptions, the box + sub model just won’t be sustainable. Take a look at Diablo 3 – Blizzard could easily ask a sub for that game, but it’s box cost only. They aren’t even working in a microtransaction model (granted, they’re looking to get a cut of the real money auction house). It’s not just top-tier publishers; even the alpha-funding model upstages Tera-style pricing. I can pay as little as $10 to fund the development of an indie title and receive the full thing on release.

As the quality of games continues to improve, publishers are going to have to consider more flexible pricing structures. Like I said, gaming is a zero-sum hobby. I only have so much time to dedicate to games. When the low-cost games are outperforming the high-cost, you can guess what I’ll be playing.