Online Gaming – it’s a culture many people know little about. If you visit these websites, you will find that the number of people currently playing games, competing with friends and strangers alike, and participating in forums or chats, is enormous!

It has replaced card games, board games, and although video games are still widely popular, online gaming is giving it a run for its money – literally. You can find any game you want online. The web offers a multitude of sites to support this gaming community. Game developers aspire to please and entertain eager players, and advertising companies see these sites as a great marketing tool. They can reach millions of people from any race, gender, class, and age group with their ads. Online gaming attracts a broader range of people than the conventional video game industry.

The big names used to be Atari, Nintendo and Sega. Then came variations and newer game systems like Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. N64 was the first game console to introduce link cables so multiple gamers could play together. There were four controller ports on the system. Now Xbox has taken that to a new level with a network allowing competitions and real-time chats with people on the network. Opponents are actual friends and fellow game enthusiasts instead of artificial intelligence built into the programs. Game developers and engineers are working diligently to make consoles like PlayStation, GameCube, and Xbox (X Live gives gamers a chance to play as many games as their hearts desire – for a monthly fee of course) compatible online.

While the game entertainment industry develops new ways to “wow” their audience, and debate over the money-making potential of online games, adolescents, teens, adults, males, females, etc. enjoy entering different worlds from the comfort of their home computers. Get informed about online gaming and decide for yourself what all the hype is about.

Note: If you feel as though you or a loved one has a problem with online gaming, there is help available – you are not alone!