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The Internet of Things and the Future of Gaming

Daniel H.
Nov 26, 2016
3 min read

If you wanted to trade pocket monsters from the game Pokémon Red in 1998, you would have to find a willing friend and connect your Game Boys by means of a Game Link Cable. If you wanted to swap Pokémon in 2016, you could instantly find hundreds of willing traders through the power of the Internet and complete your desired trades within a couple minutes.

However, Pokémon trading is only one example of how the Internet is revolutionizing the way we play video games. As technological pioneers push the Internet out of confining LAN lines and modems, they push it into other hosts: gaming consoles, phones, appliances, and even cows! The increasing Internet connectivity of various devices has been dubbed the “Internet of Things,” and although I may never see a Wi-Fi-enabled cow, I’m sure to see its effects weekly in a key area of my life: video gaming. In the words of technologist Jeevan Kalanithi,

"Gaming may shape the first real commercial forays into the Internet of Things. Games have proven over and over to be the staging area for new technologies and new interactions . . . You can draw a straight line from early game portables like the Game Boy to today's mobile phones. Gestural interaction enjoyed its first great success with the Wii and now the Kinect."

For thousands of young adults (including myself) the Internet of Things (IoT) will affect our future as gamers. What exactly will this future look like?

First off, we’ll probably see more platforms for gaming. As with the TV and the home computer, whenever a new media technology is invented, games quickly find their way onto it. With the advance of the IoT, almost anything can become a gaming platform. I could play Angry Birds on my toaster while waiting for breakfast or Clash of Clans on the back of a car seat. If developers are willing to get creative, we could also see more diverse multiplayer experiences and the emergence of the “companion app.” A good example of this was the recon drone in The Division. By using a smartphone app, one player could join his friends playing on consoles as an in-game drone. Although the feature was ultimately scrapped, it shows developers experimenting in new methods of multiplayer play featuring a range of connected devices.

Games such as Battlefront and Destiny already host companion apps which allow players to stay updated and swap in-game equipment on the go. In addition to virtual reality, we could also expect to see more immersive single-player experiences utilizing already existing software like heartbeat sensors (á la the Fitbit) and facial recognition. Imagine a hostage negation game which can integrate your pulse and facial cues as smoothly as your dialogue choices.

Will the future of gamers be enlivened by the Internet of Things? This future seems to promise more immersive experiences, but new and unnecessary sensors could clutter otherwise quality games or pose a threat to privacy. Even more so than security concerns, the biggest danger of the IoT is a focus on convenience over real human interaction. Nowadays, it is simply easier to play games with your friends through the Internet than in person. However, online gaming should never replace “couch co-op” lest we lose the community-building, relational power of games. Trading Pokémon with the person sitting beside you builds excitement and friendship, unlike the static online experience. Superb games have been made with and without the Internet. As a gamer, I exhort developers to let their games be enhanced by the IoT, rather than letting the IoT be the game.