It's been decades of growth for video games; Is the industry ready for a correction?

These are just a handful of the challenges video games face as the first quarter of the century comes to a close. While most are self-inflicted, some have emerged as part of the sobering reality that growth is not limitless.

- By MATTHEW ARCILLA

It's been nearly 70 years since the first video game was revealed to the world and it's been a wild crazy ride.

While there aren't nearly enough inches of column space available to me to tell you about the long history of video games, there is at least enough to dwell on the epic highs and lows of the past two decades.

Video games have long been on par with other entertainment industries when it comes to attention and revenue, but it wasn't until the twenty-first century that they began to outpace them. The rise of digital publishing and distribution not only widened the global reach of video games, but it swung the doors open for independent game makers. Advances in technology and growing revenue made bigger budgets and greater production values possible. Plus, stay at home lifestyles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years led to a boom in engagement and spending on video games.