- Jorge Huguet is the general manager of PlayStation in Spain and Portugal.
- He believes it's more than a mere entertainment machine, highlighting the social aspect of gaming.
- The future of gaming will focus on offering a better immersive experience.
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The video game industry is thriving. New technology and the introduction of a new generation of consoles has led to a boom in the sector.
By 2024, Newzoo's Global Games Market Report 2021 predicts that the games industry will hit $218.7 billion with a sustained growth of 8.7% per year.
The number of gamers also continues to increase.
According to Newzoo, the number of gamers worldwide in 2021 was up 5.3% year on year, with around 3 billion gamers.
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According to Jorge Huguet, general manager of PlayStation Spain and Portugal, there are two key reasons for this. The entertainment value that gaming offers and, above all, its social aspect.
"PlayStation is ultimately an entertainment machine with which you interact, but then it has an amazing social side. You put on a headset and you can connect with anyone in the world," he said at the XX Smart Business Meeting organized by Insider.
The executive of Sony's flagship product said that "the beauty" of video games and the key to growth in the industry is the ability to offer content for all types of people and age groups.
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"There are people who sometimes like to play alone and feel able to do things that no one else can do. But there are other times when those same people, or other types of people, want to play socially," Huguet explained.
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Allowing for different audiovisual experiences adds depth to the product. From the great leaps made in individual immersive experiences with epic games like Red Dead Redemption 2 to the constant social interaction offered by others like Fortnite or FIFA.
In addition, since the first generations of gamers, video gaming has become a bit of a cult that goes far beyond the limits of the platforms or consoles. The feeling of belonging to a community is what elevates the category of video games "to another level."
"The people who started playing video games are now between 40 and 50 years old, when those people retire it's going to boom," said the Playstation executive.
Those generations that have grown up with video games are going to continue consuming this kind of entertainment. "I think it has a bright future because it's continuing to grow and it will reach more generations," he added.
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Technology is the springboard for industry growth
It's undeniable to observe the enormous evolution that video games have undergone from their first appearance in the second half of the 20th century with 2D models to the virtual reality and immersive experiences that can be seen today.
The rapid progress has been driven by innovation and technological advances across different platforms and services.
The constant improvement in the depth of interactive content is continuing to drive the sector.
"Technology is going to make video games more immersive. I don't know exactly how or with what technology. But I do know that the essence of a video game is to feel like another person or to be inside worlds that you could never have thought of," said Huguet.
