The clock has been reset and we’re starting another 12-month journey around the sun. The start of the year is the traditional scheduling for the Consumer Electronics Show where all the biggest technology companies from around the world get to showcase the inventions and innovations that they’re working on.
Some of the biggest categories at this year’s conference include foldable smartphones, the Internet of Things, and electric vehicles. And while CES is not the biggest gaming event of the year (that title belongs to E3), there was plenty of stuff for gamers to get stuck into at this year’s event in Las Vegas.
However, what we often see at CES is not what appears on shelves in the following months. Instead, much of it is a proof of concept or a work in progress that’s teased to get consumers excited about the future.
So if you want to know about what gaming tech will be big in 2023, you often need to look elsewhere. But fear not, here are some trends and categories to get excited about in the coming months.
Casino Gaming
Online casino gaming continues to go from strength to strength as the industry finds new markets to expand into. One of the biggest of these, in recent years, has been the United States.
Following the move by the Supreme Court to allow US states to set their own rules regarding sports betting, over half of these 50 regions have taken up that opportunity. While not always, many have also decided to include casino gaming as part of that, sparking a rush among companies to launch mobile and online casino services.
Competition is strong in the space, leading many companies to offer bonuses and other incentives to new players to get them to sign up for their services rather than a rival’s. This is helping to drive interest in playing casino games online and creating growth.
These platforms are also turning to technology like streaming to augment their offering. These “live dealer” games create a more immersive experience since they can see and interact with a human dealer who controls the game rather than just some computer graphics.
Virtual Reality Gaming
Virtual reality gaming has been around for quite some time now, though it has only just begun to take off among the general public.
Some of the factors behind that growth include the decreasing costs for VR headsets, the improved functionality of the hardware, and the fact that many modern devices can be played in a strand-alone mode that doesn’t require a physical connection to a computer.
2023 is expected to be a big year for virtual reality gaming with some major hardware releases on the cards. The first of these is likely to be from Sony. The Japanese company is scheduled to release the follow-up to its successful PlayStation VR headset with the PS VR2.
Available for pre-order right now, the upgraded hardware will go on sale in late February, packing in new features like headset vibrations, 3D audio, haptic feedback, intelligent eye tracking, and finger touch detection. The result of these additions is claimed to be a more immersive and “real” experience along with better visuals.
And given that Sony has seen a lot of success with the first PS VR, many are expecting it to do well again.
Others will be joining the party too. HTC launched a new model at CES in the hopes of competing with the Meta Quest 2, but Meta also reportedly has plans for a Quest 3 in the coming months.
Wireless Television
Much of the gaming experience has become wireless over the last couple of decades. In addition to VR headsets dropping the cables, consoles no longer use wires to connect their controllers or other peripherals.
However, the televisions they connect to generally still do have a spider’s web of cables hanging out the back of them. This may begin to change in 2023 as the first “wireless” television sets are beginning to make their way onto the market.
They will still require a wired power source but will be able to transmit 4K video data wirelessly from devices like consoles. As it’s a new innovation, it’s likely that wireless TVs will remain expensive in 2023, but will be attractive to early adopters with deep pockets.