The video gaming industry is one of the success stories of recent years. Even in a harsh economic climate, it continues to thrive and produce significant global revenue.
One of the reasons behind the sector’s success lies in its diversity. Gaming encompasses many different areas, including professional esports, online casino play, and the familiar titles that recreational players can find on store shelves.
In fact, there’s so much choice that video gaming can be bewildering at times, so what different genres are out there?
Sport
Sport is instrumental in the evolution of video gaming. From early, basic titles such as Pong, this genre has multiplied in recent years and is one of the biggest selling areas of the industry.
It’s a versatile category and virtually any sport can transfer from the field of play onto the small screen. It’s an exhilarating area too, with current standards employing high quality sound and graphics for an added element of realism.
Within a crowded genre, some of the best selling sporting video games include FIFA, NFL Blitz and NBA 2K.
Augmented Reality
The concepts of virtual reality and augmented reality promise to transform the gaming industry in the next few years. In the case of AR, the technology can provide a whole new genre of titles.
Augmented reality games are already here, and the most famous of these is Pokemon Go. Following its release in 2016, the game captured the imagination of youngsters, as they had to discover and catch their favorite characters out in the real world. Pokemon Go is a superb example of what AR can do, and many more titles will follow in the near future.
Casino Games
Many see online casinos as a separate industry, but they are an important part of the gaming sector. While offering traditional titles such as roulette, blackjack and poker, operators also look to video games for inspiration.
Slot machines are produced in an almost infinite number of niches, and many resemble classic arcade games of the past. It’s one of the most diverse areas of gaming and one which provides many different genres of its own.
First Person Shooters
This is, perhaps, the category that contains more of the best selling video games than any other. Included in the list of first person shooter titles are true classics such as the Call of Duty series, Overwatch and Battlefield.
As the name suggests, these are combat games where the player takes on the role of the shooter. They can be placed in a number of different scenarios from world wars to street battles of the future. The tension and excitement makes this one of the most popular sectors of all.
Civilization Games
Another popular genre among video game players is the construction of civilizations. Gameplay differs between each title, but will usually involve taking a barren village from scratch and turning it into a mighty and powerful city.
One of the earliest, and best examples of this genre is simply called Civilization. First released in 1991, players have to develop a crude society, build it into modern day humanity and lead it through several millennia.
It’s an area with many possibilities and the wide range of civilization titles available make this another hugely popular gaming genre.
Simulation Games
It’s another area of gaming that has been there from the start. Simulation games will often involve planes and the notion of piloting a jet airliner safely to its destination. It’s also possible to navigate military aircraft, while tank simulation games are another popular option.
Like all genres of video gaming, this section has simply expanded and improved over the years. It’s now possible to drive trucks across the country, while passenger aircraft can fly long haul in real time across the world.
MOBA Games
MOBA is the regular acronym for Multiple Battle Online Arena and it covers some of the most popular games available. These are heavily focused on strategy and the objective of building great armies to go into combat.
Many MOBA games have crossed into the professional world of eSports and the most famous of these are DOTA 2 and League of Legends. In these titles, a team of players get together with the task of assembling and controlling one central figure. The hero then goes into battle, taking on a series of enemies in different scenarios.
Many other MOBA games are available in another crowded area of the video gaming industry.
The answer to the original question is that there is almost an infinite amount of genres within video gaming. There really is no limit, and if the developers’ imaginations can think of a new sector, they will go for it.
It can be confusing, but the best advice is to try as many as you can. You’ll eventually find one or two to focus on, and you should have a lot of fun along the way.
