We live in a connected world, with an increasingly wide range of services being offered online. Games, videos, TV, and a host of other services can be downloaded or even streamed and enjoyed live online. We can also communicate more freely and easily with one another via messaging, chat, and other apps.
More recently, innovations like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality, have seen options expand even further. As well as affecting our home lives, some of these platforms have also begun to creep into our nightlife.
There have been a lot of developments in recent years that have changed the way we interact with others and entertain ourselves. As well as streaming videos and other content, online gaming has become popular. This includes online casino gaming. Since becoming legal in 2022, its popularity has boomed, as evidenced by the growing number of trusted online casinos reviewed by Esports Insider.
According to online gambling expert Viola D’Elia, these sites offer secure, reliable gambling platforms for keen players. They also enable players to enjoy their favorite games without having to leave the house or track down a local casino, which isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
Online casinos now offer games like crash games and Plinko, which have not been common in retail casinos. However, as their online popularity continues to grow, we are seeing them appear in more real-world casinos. Similarly, games like electronic roulette are emerging while, at the same time, live dealer games are becoming increasingly popular at online sites.
Platforms like messenger apps, forums, and social media apps make communication easier. They enable users to send quick text messages or voice notes, while also communicating directly via voice calls or video messages.
They make it easier to arrange nights out between groups of friends, while the Internet has become a common means of advertising venues and even individual nights out. A lot of venues now provide exclusive online offers to those customers who find them online.
A trend that really started in 2020 and 2021 was the introduction of ordering apps. Patrons can sit at tables in restaurants and bars and download the venue’s app. They can then choose the foods and drinks they want while giving their table number. Servers bring the order over and everything is paid for through the app.
App ordering can prevent hefty queues at counters, therefore reducing the negative impact that large crowds can have. These apps can often even be used from outside the venue, which means friends and family can order drinks and food for people when they’re not even there.
Online games have cropped up where people post their venue and table number and other Internet users send orders to their tables. App orders can expedite the ordering process, and improve customer satisfaction, and it means that customers don’t have to interrupt their conversation or entertainment to go to the counter and get served.
Social media walls are used at corporate events and have also been seen at clubs and bars. Users are given an account to message, and usually a hashtag to use, and they can then post messages that will appear on the giant wall for all to see.
The content of the social media wall can even be broadcast online, which enables venues to show others what they’re missing out on and what they could enjoy by visiting. As well as being able to send text-based messages, a lot of these walls can accept photos and videos.
Social media walls can take some moderating, to ensure no offensive content gets through, but venues can also run promotions to encourage visitors to use the walls and help them generate a buzz and create a user-friendly atmosphere.
With more than a billion gamers in the world today, it isn’t surprising that online gaming has become such a cultural phenomenon. While many people enjoy gaming from home, some enjoy heading out to play at dedicated gaming venues.
Gaming cafes are nothing new. They became popular when high-speed Internet connections and advanced gaming rigs were difficult to come by and even more expensive than they are now. Today, they are popular because groups of friends can get together and enjoy a shared hobby.
Gaming cafes have progressed even further, with a lot of players partaking in eSports tournaments and games. eSports teams are groups of players that combine in team events against other teams. Ontario has its own dedicated eSports league, the OeSL, and it is still possible for new groups to break into the league.
Virtual reality is another technology that has been around for a while but is enjoying a surge in popularity. VR experiences typically involve giant machines with large VR walls, but modern headsets are affordable and more advanced.
VR experiences can be shared between users, and as well as gaming cafes and Internet cafes, they are becoming increasingly common in arcades and even bars. VR venues typically rent out headsets for one or multiple-hour slots, while also serving food and drink, and they can be popular with experienced VR users as well as those who are new to the whole experience.
Arcades were popularized in the 1980s. At the time, arcade machines were far more advanced than even the most expensive home hardware, and this, coupled with the extensive range of games, drew people in.
Although they were more popular with young crowds, they weren’t exclusively aimed at kids. Today, arcades still exist on many high streets in most towns and cities, but we are seeing an increase in the types of venues that offer an arcade experience.
Arcade bars, for example, are like other bars. They serve drinks and offer food. They may have large-screen TVs showing sports events. But they also have arcade machines. In some cases, they have tables with consoles and other gaming hardware with hourly rentals available on these machines. There is some crossover between these bars and VR experiences, too, with the emergence of VR arcades.
Online platforms continue to evolve, offering access to everything from game and TV streaming to VR and AR. While a lot of people enjoy these platforms from the solitude of their own homes, venues are finding new and innovative ways to incorporate them into their businesses.
Arcade bars and VR experiences are cropping up all over while existing bars are using ordering apps and social media walls to streamline processes, improve customer experiences, and generally improve their margins.
Photo: Unsplash
