Jim Ryan: a decade in dog years

WHAT DO MICROSOFT and the online gaming industry have in common?

Think of a picture of mainly long-haired, bearded yet fresh-faced young men. Revolutionaries? Not quite, but in 1978 the spotlight started to shine on the youthful founders of Microsoft who, debatably, brought about a scale of change not seen in such a short span of time since the industrial revolution.

Now focus on the snaps taken by a digital camera a little over 20 years later of gatherings of similarly youthful entrepreneurs. More harbingers of change?

The unequivocal answer is ‘yes’. Change in the centuries-old world of gambling was indelibly ingrained on the agendas of the first ever online gaming conferences, which have since become an industry in their own right.

It’s often said that time in the online gaming sector should be measured in dog years. Just look back at how the industry has changed in 10 years and it’s not hard to relate to this sentiment.

The industry is unrecognisable from a decade ago; it has grown up; it has staked a solid claim in the leisure industry; its leading companies are listed on stock markets; it has swung convention through 180 degrees by using technology to deliver entertainment to the masses, replacing the once crammed number 29 bus that disgorged players outside the local bingo hall.

But at the same time it has lost none of its youthful, innovative, pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit.

Those of us who have worked in this super-hot kitchen over the past decade now tend to wear suits and lead companies packed full of young and talented people. These young people have only ever known the internet age and this bodes well for the future of online gaming ““ they are today’s pioneers, and tomorrow’s chiefs.

Horizons are really what online gaming is all about, and the next 10 years will see the industry progress from teenager to young adult. In dog years it will be middle-aged, but still not a mature industry in the traditional sense.

The shape and make-up of the industry will also be different, and it will have claimed a larger share of the overall gambling market. By then, today’s young employees will be 30- or 40-somethings, outsiders may well look back at old photographs and be just as cynical as their predecessors were about the famous picture taken way back in 1978.

There are contrasts between the two images, but the background is composed of an interesting common denominator: one that is reminiscent of the line “I wish I was there”. I was, I am, and I’m just as excited about the future.

To read the other posts in the From Dot Com to eGaming series, click here.

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