Technological advances in the past few decades have fundamentally transformed recreational activities into various forms of digital entertainment. Consumers want and expect their specific needs catered for with digitalization intensified by social distancing and mobility restrictions.
Digital entertainment has a vital role in the average person’s life today more than ever before. Be it electronic devices, computers, tablets, or smartphones, you always have your attention on a screen for much of the day.
These forms of amusement are constantly evolving to set and meet market trends. Digital entertainment is incredibly competitive and only elite organizations can showcase their proficiency on the global stage.
What are some of the trends shaping this industry today?
The explosion of streaming services
This is one trend that has become even more apparent in the COVID-19 period. Streaming services started as niche entities with movie companies calling the shots. Today, these entities have totally turned the game on its head. Netflix is arguably the most powerful company in the movie business today.
Streaming is the dominant form of consuming digital content. As internet connectivity and digitization continues to spread across the developing world, streaming companies will be aggressively pushing for a share of this pie. The era where television dominated the manner in which households got digital entertainment is shifting toward streaming subscriptions.
In a recent Deloitte study on Digital Media Trends in America, more respondents indicated that they have at least one streaming video subscription (69 percent) than possess a traditional pay-TV subscription (65 percent).
Artificial intelligence software
AI is one of those things topics you can’t talk about too much. With the internet of things now a reality, the next evolution in AI software is within reach. Digital entertainment just got more entertaining.
The AI software industry is predicted to generate revenue of over 100 Billion dollars by 2025. From television to device communication, animation and many other fields, the possibility of having more intelligent machines around is always exciting. The developments in the software will continue as the pressure to meet the needs of an ever-advancing market endure.
Online casinos: a new way to wager
Covid-19 drove gamblers online. The fact that many gamblers could not access physical casinos for the first time could not dissuade them from their favorite recreational activity. Gambling online is getting more and more popular as time goes by.
The regulatory developments about the online version of this industry are not as developed as actual casino regulations. This means that online gambling affords one more risk but crucially, higher potential rewards.
Therefore, this has come to become a notable trend in digital entertainment in today’s world. Moving forward, online gambling is only set to become bigger and better.
The global online gambling market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% from 2020 to 2027 to reach USD 127.3 billion by 2027.
The growth of gaming
Digital gaming has gone to stratospheric levels in recent years. More children today grow up knowing video games as the primary form of recruitment.
Games like Fortnite have grown to become cultural phenomena that attract tens of millions of players. This sector is one that always has tremendous upside because of how much numbers of developing markets can add to the table in the long run.
Rapid urbanization, along with the increasing penetration of the internet across the globe, is one of the key factors driving the growth of the digital entertainment market, particularly digital gaming.
Data privacy and security becoming greater issues
With the development of GDPR legislation in the EU, more people are now aware of the data privacy issues at play when engaging with digital content providers.
The USA recently banned TikTok, claiming that the extremely popular service had serious data privacy issues. This theme will be a key regulatory issue in the short and long-term future.
Augmented reality and virtual reality
These are two closely related fields with some distinctions.
Virtual reality uses specialized software to create a completely virtual experience that users can view through a headset. In augmented reality, special software simply enhances your environment to create a different experience.
An example of an AR application is the blockbuster game, Pokémon Go. AR and virtual reality have grown leaps and bounds in the past decade. Their applications are diverse and go over and above entertainment uses.
Blockchain digital entertainment
When Bitcoin first came about, many thought that its applicability was narrow in scope. However, as the years went by, the true capabilities of blockchain innovation became apparent.
Smart contracts are digital blockchain contracts that can be used to create decentralized platforms that provide all manner of entertainment, including gaming and gambling.
These platforms utilize digital currencies and mostly rely on community consensus to operate smoothly. In the current market scenario, the rise of online transactions has led to the demand for the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology market.
Much of the growth came around 2017, followed by a dip then a surge in the blockchain’s popularity as a technology rather than just a medium for cryptocurrencies.
To wrap it up
Digital entertainment takes new trends all the time. These trends reflect societal needs and can be a benchmark for progress, or feedback from customers is warranted.
A rise in the adoption of smartphones, improvement in internet infrastructure, and easy accessibility to casino gaming platforms will drive the market demand.
Information on growth opportunities across countries, segments, and strategies to be followed in those markets. are useful for any entity seeking to shine in the digital entertainment sector. There is much to observe and learn and it shall be interesting to track progress within this industry.
