noun - Video Game: a game played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a television screen or other display screen.
Ease of Accessibility
Arcade games like Pong and Pacman existed longer than most may believe. In around the 1980's, arcade games were usually single player, and could only be played AT arcades. Compare this to modern video games today, they can be played anywhere, anytime, as long as the player has a stable internet connection and a working console/computer. This has made video games more accessible and more popular where games like Fortnite, released by Epic Games LTD. in 2017, a free to play game of the battle royale genre has had over 350 million downloads over the course of the 5 years it's been released. This can b attributed mainly to how easy it is to download the game, simply having to click a few buttons on their computer and have the game ready in minutes.
Evolution of Graphics
Another thing we can look at is the evolution of graphics in video games. As previously mentioned, games in the 80's - 90's were quite unpleasing to the eyes to look at. No more than 10,000 pixels were usually shown on screen, for example the video game Super Mario Bros. Compare ths to a game like Overwatch, released by Blizzard Entertainment in 2016, has been rate by critics and fans to have "one of the best graphics of any video game of the shooter genre". This evolution in graphics and visuals has appealed to audiences as the beauty, realism, and prowess of the visuals in these games have influenced many people to download them and see what all the hype is about.
In-App-Purchases
The term in app purchases refers to micro-transactions that can be made within the game itself for either in-game currency that may help the player progress in the game, or in-game items/cosmetics that serve no competitive advantage to the player and are only for "style points". These transactions allow the player to send real money to the video game companies through bank transactions, paypal, credit cards, etc. This is a more modern concept as video games that existed in the 80's-90's had not even the slightest version of in-app-purchases. This ability to spend "real life" money on a virtual world, (i.e video games like Counter Strike-Global Offensive, released by the Valve Corporation in 2012 that has captivated its users, in which Valve have made a gross profit of over 2.3 Billion USD in the purchase of Weapon Skins by players) create a heightened sense of addiction to the game, as players have now spent real money on the game, and it'd be considered a "waste" to stop playing/quit once players have done so.
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