Online gaming is certainly one of the world’s favorite past times. It offers a fun and relaxing escape from one’s stressful world, providing not only an avid distraction but a strong source of entertainment.
People can happily engage in online gaming nowadays, and there are a few reasons why online gaming has become so popular. Have you ever wondered why online gaming is so popular, and what the 10 Best Online Games are? Read on for an overview.
Everybody needs some distraction from reality, and many people find this break when gaming. Online gaming offers a cheap and affordable way to get into a distraction that most find enjoyable. Even better, in our ever more interconnected world, online gaming allows us to interact with other users on the platform, making the game, not just an experience of playing, but also an experience of interacting with those involved in the culture of the game.
Many find that online games offer access to new acquaintances that share similar gaming interests, and get involved making friends in online gaming communities.
So while many see the benefits as numerous, there are a few other reasons why online gaming keeps increasing in popularity.
Why is Online Gaming So Popular?
Most people can note an increase in the popularity of online gaming, which occurred over the past few years. Not only has technology simply made games better and cheaper, but other reasons come into play when discussing the growing popularity of online games.
Accessibility. First, there is the accessibility factor. There is certainly increased access to games online, as it seems like there are so many to select from nowadays the choices can be overwhelming. Technology opened the door to many options for gamers, depending on their interests and needs. A person no longer needs to run out to the store to buy or rent games; he or she can now buy or rent online games from the comfort of home. Even better, some of these online games are offered for free. So while the choices are limitless, there is also easy access to those choices, since you can now pick out and immediately download a game, and be playing it in a matter of minutes.
Lots of Choice. There are so many games available nowadays; you can find one for almost any hobby or interest. Want to increase your smarts and brain power? There are games for that. Want to save a princess like your old 1980s games? Yes, you can still do that, too. You can do whatever your heart desires depending on what game you feel like playing. The options are quite literally endless, and with such a variety, the gaming seems like it never has to end.
Affordable. Remember when games used to cost as much as forty to fifty dollars each? Well, the time of that reign is quite thankfully over. Online games are extremely cheap, and many are even free with some choices of in-app purchasing, or the running of ads. Most online games cost under $10, with some costing as little as $5 and $2. You can thank technology and the spread of popularity for that widespread reduction in game costs; because so many online games are available, the market for them is flooded, making them affordable to purchase.
The value of Playing the Game. Most of the games offered online are highly interesting, entertaining, and enthralling. There is typically a learning curve with each one, but the games are so captivating it can be intrinsically rewarding to learn how to master one, and feel like a huge accomplishment. Some games take time and effort to learn, but once you get it and perform well, things go smoothly, and you feel like a master of your little universe. There are a lot of positive payoffs to feeling good about gameplay, including increasing self-esteem.
Opponents. You will wind up discovering, if you haven’t already, that there are many, many different types of opponents in online games, which makes the ability to play them interesting. It’s nearly impossible to get tired of your opponents in online games. There are so many different versions of ‘bad guys” offered; it’s almost as if game creators have thought of every enemy imaginable.
Since there are so many options and so much variety in the online gaming world, thanks to ever-advancing technology, it’s no wonder people are getting more and more interested in them. After all, they are cheap, intrinsically rewarding, and seriously enjoyable.
So besides knowing why online gaming is so popular, what are some of the best online games out there?
Ten Best Online Games
A hit as both a single player and multiplayer game, it allows users to play in a battle arena, pitting them against each other. League of Legends has stayed near the top of the popularity list since shortly after its release in 2009, and currently sits at the top. Amazingly, there are about 27 million active players online interacting within the game every day. The battling is quite intense and engaging for most players, and many people get hooked almost instantly. Most people feel they can never get quite enough of this game; that is why they log in the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that…you get the point.
It’s been around for a while, and it is still extremely popular. World of Warcraft, emerging onto the market in 2004, allows for both single-player and multiplayer fun. Part of the intense hook value of the game for users is the role-playing action gamers get to enjoy. The role playing sucks most users in instantly, as they get immersed in both the world and the story. It’s the most popular multiplayer game out there, and the longest lasting one. To further make the point of how popular this game is, in gross value, it’s the ranked as the all-time highest. So it’s an incredibly intense and entertaining experience most people enjoy.
Another fantastically popular game you can play in multiplayer or single player modes, DOTA 2 is another battle game that’s been out since 2013. It has about 800,000 players daily online. So what’s the pull of this game? The quality of the battles hooks most gamers, as the effects and interactive experience of the battles in the games can be all-immersing.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive emerged as a very popular first-person shooter game. Released in 2012, today it is one of the highest played online games, and certainly the number one shooting game used by gamers. Gamers get immersed in the targets and the story, enjoying the pace of the game, which makes it feel as if the action never ends.
Another action-adventure type role-playing game, Diablo III, released in 2012 since set a new record for quickly selling. Users get hooked in the storyline of the game, wanting to continue to see what’s next in the story. Interactive and entertaining, it is one of those games that can be difficult to pull yourself away from it.
Released in 2014, Smite is one of the most popular online games in existence. It offers a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), which immerses gamers into the fights. The intensity of the battles is quite engaging and keeps hooking more and more people into the gaming experience.
The popular game released in 2013, Battlefield 4 is another very popular first-person shooter game and emerges on top as a popular game on the market today. It also received various awards from video game journalism outlets. Gamers find the targets in the game catchy and entertaining, with the action being so immersing they quite literally cannot stop playing.
Immensely popular, this sandbox game, is customizable, adding to the fun of building in your cube-like world. This game offers a few different approaches, but one of the best things about it is the ability to make the game the way you want it by adding things like mods and skins. Users can decorate the background of the game, change a character or get him powers, and add pizzazz to the always-customizable features of the game.
World of Tanks, released in 2013, is a very popular multiplayer online game. Another cool notion about the game is that there is a free version and a version you can pay for—so how much you want to get out of it you can monitor monetarily. And better still, gamers get to try it out.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft came out in 2014 and by 2015, it had 25 million users. If it keeps topping charts in popularity, it will become one of the most played games of all time. The action of the game is very immersing, and it is free to play as long as you don’t mind some of the paid content that is flashing around it.
Go Out Online and Have Fun!
So now that you have learned a bit about why online games are so popular and the 10 Best Online Games, you can hopefully capitalize on your gaming experience. If you are looking for games to get addicted to, try the ones on this list; you will receive a boost of entertainment value from them. Happy gaming!