Online Games

Online Games

Online games are played over some form of computer networking. At present, this usually means the internet or equivalent technology; but games have always used whatever technology is current: modem before the internet, and hard wired terminals before modems.

The expansion of online games has reflected the overall expansion of computer networks from small local networks to the Internet,intranet and the growth of Internet access itself. Online games can vary from basic text based games to games incorporating complex virtual worlds and graphics populated by many players simultaneously.

Many online games have associated online community , making online games a form of social activity beyond single player games. The rising popularity of Java and Flash have led to an Internet revolution where websites could utilize streaming video, audio, and a whole new set of user interactivity. When Microsoft began developing Flash as a pre-installed component of IE , the Internet began to shift from an information spectrum to also offer on-demand entertainment. This revolution paved the way for sites to offer online games to web surfers. Most online games like Final fantasy and lineage II charge a monthly fee to subscribe to their services, while games such as guild wars offer an alternative no monthly fee scheme. Many other sites relied on advertising revenues from online games-site sponsors, while others, like Ruins cape, let people play for free while leaving the players the option of paying, unlocking new content for the members.

After the dot-com bubble burst in the year2001, many sites solely relying on advertising revenue dollars faced extreme adversity. Despite the reducing profitability of online gaming websites, some sites have survived the fluctuating ad market by offsetting the advertising revenue loss by using the content as a cross-promotion tool for driving web visitors to other websites that the company owns.