At present gaming has been shaped as a huge industry, and social media is the main reason behind its rapid growth. There are many researchers which state that most of the time users spend on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and rest social networking site is spent in order to play games. There are many efforts made by Social media for creating a change in gaming industry. Now, there is more peer involvement in gaming which is stated by author Mcdonald , J(2016) as:
GREAT MEDIUM TO DISTRIBUTE
When we consider it as a medium to distribute, we should not forget that almost everyone today use social media and majority of them are active on social media.
In fact today, every person is on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube,Instagram or Snapchat. Also, it is not difficult for everyone to visit these sites on their daily basis, as everyone is active on these sites during several times a day. Taking a note on these points, it is much fair to say that social media is proved to be one of the best ways to reach people and keep them updated through distribution of the information.
GREAT WAY OF GETTING USER FEEDBACK
Talking about the feedbacks, It is very easy to gain reviews and opinion from the members about literally anything, starting from new releases to game features. This is proved to be very beneficial for competitive markets, like the online gambling industry. For example, mfortune casino a gambling site which uses social media in order to get feedback from its users which helps them in terms of player acquisition, retention and feedback regarding custom games.
ONLINE INTERACTION WITH FRIENDS
Today Almost every single person spend their time on social media, and being able to play games online means that more and more ordinary users are being slowly introduced to some form of gaming. As a result, this sets a positive trend in new audiences that they can interact with their friends while playing games online.
Talking about the platforms and the services within gaming industry:
PLAYSTATION
Playstation is very well known by everyone of us, it is also working successfully with the use of social media as,it use Facebook in order to showcase their blockbuster game titles. Which helps gamers to get closer to their brand. It also Highlights upcoming events, career opportunities as well as some preme content via their podcast.Secondly, PlayStation uses Twitter in order to encourage gamer feedbacks by asking their fans about their gameplay styles and their reviews. Also they ask their audience for tips through their blog, which keeps them interacted with their online users.
XBOX
Xbox is also a very well known playing device , it also uses social media through Twitter, as they keep their users updated by posting images as their background and cover. Which gives importance to the view point of consumers that represent their feeling that they need to be part of this new experience or not and by reminding them through imagery across their main social channels they are delivering an exciting and seamless brand experience..
NINTENDO
Nintendo is very popular among youth as it uses its Facebook wall in order to display the information regarding new updates and all the news related to their gaming industry. Also they create a survey which ask their followers about the consoles they use and what kind of details they want to see on their Facebook wall as well as which games and news theyre excited about. Therefore this resulted as a great way to get feedback from their consumers.
Hence, Social Media helps gamers to find better and affordable hardware. Its clear to see that how useful social media is to the online gaming industry. Social media today is the best tool for game developers as well as for gaming companies. It could be very much right that social media is biggest reasons behind success of gaming industry.