What will 2019 bring to the gaming world?
Much like every year, by the time summer comes, many of the gaming and tech players have already revealed their big plans for the rest of the year. And 2019 is no exception, with gaming fans all over the world impatiently waiting to see what new will come out of the largest gaming expo.
Apart from that, this is supposedly the year when 5G will roll out on a more global scale, foldable phones should have their shortcomings exposed under the hands of early adopters and hardware manufacturers should present the latest breakthroughs in chip production.
Here are the five major events that gaming fans anxiously anticipate for the remainder of 2019.
E3 Expo
Tech and gaming fans are on the edge of their chairs, waiting for the big news that will reveal at the E3 Expo.
Indeed, many companies have teased big announcements, leaving the details for the LA-based convention. There is confirmation that Google, Bethesda, Microsoft and Nintendo are only a few of the big players that will share before or during the event what they’ve prepared for fans.
EA will start with a press conference on Saturday, and Microsoft and Bethesda will do the same a day later.
Notably, Sony will skip the convention, announcing earlier that it will look for alternative ways of reaching its fan base. Of course, this doesn’t mean the company will keep tight-lipped about its new products. Sony already released a Death Stranding trailer and on June 7th, starting its massive Days of Play sale.
5G
One of the biggest things coming to the tech world this year is the wide release of 5G-capable devices. The new network generation will supposedly provide mind-blowingly better connectivity and quality, which are paramount for gamers who play/stream professionally or participate in online poker games.
As games get more technically demanding and cloud-based gaming becomes more of a thing, internet connectivity and quality will only become increasingly important for casual and professional gamers.
The technology is already available in South Korea, and its abilities, along with other tech advancements, demonstrated during last year’s Winter Olympics.
In the U.S., Verizon has released 5G to a limited client base, and last month, the company announced achieving gigabit speeds in some places while in April, AT&T hit 2 gigabits.
Other major carriers have also raced to secure the necessary frequencies auctioned by the FCC.
Foldable Phones
The birth of foldable displays was long-awaited, and this year, the world finally witnessed not one but several flagship foldable phones. In fact, the Chinese Royole beat the big brands to it, and last November, became the first company to release a commercially foldable phone. Shortly after, all the big names in the game also unveiled their projects that are due for release this year.
Many expected Samsung to release a commercial purchase the Galaxy Fold while Huawei awaits the wide release of 5G before putting their foldable device on the market. Allegedly, Xiaomi, Sony, Motorola, OPPO and ZTE won’t be too late to the party either, with all of them having presented prototypes or at least concepts.
Anyway, what does that mean for gamers?
Well, so far, the reviews for both the Royole and Samsung’s devices haven’t been raving, with the Korean manufacturer postponing the release to fix some issues spotted by early testers. On top of that, the Fold, which is supposed to be among the top flagships in the field, will come at around $2,000, which puts the device in the niche category.
On the other hand, having more screen real estate will undoubtedly be a welcomed change for mobile gamers, especially now that streaming allows even casual players to turn their passion into a paying skill.
Hardware Boosts
This year, gaming fans also witnessed some significant improvements in another hardware category: PC components.
Razer, a brand that has consistently produced some of the best gaming hardware, released the Razer Blade 15 laptop to high critical acclaim.
Logitech, another gaming staple brand, also revamped an iconic piece of their lineup: the G502 LIGHTSPEED gaming mouse.
Despite the $150 price tag, users and reviewers have welcomed the peripheral device has been welcomed, awarding it top ratings on all major retail and review networks.
In the CPU world, AMD made a claim to the throne after announcing at COMPUTEX the second-generation (technically, third) Ryzen 3000 “Zen 2” CPU and the Navi-based Radeon RX 5000 GPUs.
Subscription Gaming
Google has joined the gaming race with cloud gaming subscription and its own controller.
Another tech giant, Google, also recently entered the gaming sphere, officially pushing the start button on its Stadia gaming cloud platform. While the whole early-bird $129 Stadia combo — three-month pro subscription, Chromecast Ultra and a controller — will be first available in November, the internet giant accepts preorders.
Speaking of gaming and subscriptions: We have to mention that Xbox Game Pass is now available for the PC. In a blog post detailing the move, Xbox’s chief Phil Spencer writes that “Xbox Game Pass for PC will give players unlimited access to a curated library of over 100 high-quality PC games on Windows 10, from well-known PC game developers.”
The move is a huge leap for PC gamers who up until now had a limited Xbox Pass library available to them. “We look forward to sharing more at E3, including the great games coming to the library, as well as more details on when and how you’ll experience the new Xbox Game Pass service for PC gamers,” said Spencer.
