Gaming always used to be a bit of a niche entertainment medium, particularly due to the stigma surrounding gamers. On top of the thinking that most gamers had nothing better to do, there was the costs of set-up and buying games as well as the time required to play them, which all combined to make gaming somewhat inaccessible to many.
But now, we’re in a great age of gaming where anyone can find something that they’ll enjoy, be it an online incarnation of a classic game or on any of the on-the-go devices. Best of all, due to how competitive the industry is and how demanding the audience has become, most gaming companies offer ways for people to get a taste of their games for free.
Getting back into gaming is easier than it’s ever been thanks to all of the great new ways to test the water for free: here are some of the most notable methods.
Mobile’s ‘free to download’ approach
As explained, one of the factors that would stop people from getting into gaming in the past was the price tags on consoles and the games themselves. Smartphones have developers exponentially over the last decade and are now incredibly powerful devices. Not only this, but everyone has one as a standard part of everyday life. With this massive audience, developers turned to the app stores to offer games.
Despite the console part effectively being 'free' because everyone needs a smartphone, app developers decided to offer the majority of their titles as being free to download as well. The games often have time-walls and microtransactions for the developers to make money, which is why the top-grossing apps in Canada are free to download, but as they’re free to download, you’re given the chance to effectively try before you buy.
Online platforms offer free playing time
One of the oldest forms of gaming is that of casino gaming. The likes of slot machines, roulette, blackjack, and poker are instantly recognisable and popular all over Canada, which is why so many brands made the move to the online space. With the surge of online casinos came intense competition, forcing websites to offer bonuses to new players to enable them to stand out from the crowd.
Offering bonuses is now a standard in the online gaming industry, but some new casinos have started to deploy the innovative no deposit free spins. Where other bonuses used to require a deposit to unlock, these no deposit free spins are as free as they come, not requiring any action other than signing up. It means that anyone who wants to try out some online slots – which are by far the most popular online games – they can do so without staking their own money. It is also possible to start playing games with a very small amount of money with a minimum deposit casino like All Slots Casino and Jackpot City Casino, which allows users to start playing with as little as CAD 1.
The hybrid console changing the game
A late-comer to this generation of video game consoles, the Nintendo Switch has certainly been making waves. The hybrid console – which can be played on the television or as a handheld device on-the-go – boasts an illustrious line of top-quality games, hundreds of indie titles, and has brought back the old and much-loved method of offering demos.
There are many free-to-play games on the Nintendo Switch in Canada, such as Fortnite, Tetris 99, and Super Kirby Clash, but it’s their return to the ways of old with their game demos which has fans falling in love with Nintendo all over again. There are already big-name games like Yoshi’s Crafted World, Pokemon: Let’s Go, Fitness Boxing, and Octopath Traveler on the ever-growing list of over 400 games that let you try the game so that you can see if you like it or not.
If there was ever a prime time for you to get into gaming, now is that time. The best bit about modern gaming is that you can try out so many things for free and then you get to decide if you want to carry on playing.
