The Trendsetting Power Of Video Games And Esports In Fashion
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By PAGE Editor
How Gamers Have Become the Trendsetters of the Fashion World
Fashion is in a constant state of flux, which some love and others loathe, but none can deny. In recent years, gamers have advanced from being seen as distinctly uncool to setting trends and forming partnerships with leading fashion brands thanks to the rise of esports, the popularity of individual gamers, and the creation of new technology that has a fashionable aspect.
These include wearable peripherals for augmented reality and entirely digital fashion that can be accessed only inside the metaverse. Through these assorted channels, gamers are now at the cutting edge of modern fashion.
eSports and Fashion
For decades, gamers were derided as unfashionable nerds. Still, the sheer number of gamers and the popularity of gaming as a pastime has not just reduced the sting of mockery but turned the world on its head.
Between tech innovations being used all the time (from Zoom in the pandemic to smartphones for checking the weather, browsing the internet, and playing casino games for real money), taking the mickey out of gamers is rather a 20th-century. The wheel's turned so much that gamers are now having a significant influence on fashion, as huge audiences tune in to watch the biggest Twitch streamers and esports competitions.
The popularity of League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (two of the biggest games for streaming and esports) has seen a rise in streetwear fashion, as proven by the partnership between Riot Games and Adidas.
Playing video games professionally has been a dream of schoolboys for decades, but now it's a real thing, and the pro gamers are increasingly having an impact on women <a href="https://www.reveriepage.com/blog/the-most-stylish-outdoor-gear-for-men">and men's fashion</a>. This is especially the case for influencers, who are often gamers too, and whose whole business revolves around getting social media attention.
The Viral Popularity of Gaming and iGaming
Gamers also have a heavy influence on video game development, with many new games coming with streamer modes that avoid copyrighted music and varying settings for nudity to help keep things more advertiser-friendly. The rise of esports has largely come to pass thanks to the huge popularity of streaming and has also led to changes in video game development, as making a top esports game (such as DOTA 2 or League of Legends) can be extremely lucrative.
In addition to video games, many players also enjoy the world of gaming, whether that's the latest cutting-edge slots, poker, roulette, or blackjack.
Like video games, there are many competing casino software developers, from the juggernauts of Microgaming, NetEnt, and Playtech to the smaller but high-quality likes of Lightning Box Games and Thunderkick. Lighting Box Games is one of the top software providers that rapidly paved the way to the online casino scene, and players are quite amused by its game portfolio. To test out some of its best games for free, consider some of these <a href="https://www.top10casinos.com/software/top-lightning-box-games-casino-list.html">top casinos that offer Lightning Box Games</a> carefully selected by a renowned industry specialist. It's always advisable to browse around and check reviews before signing up to ensure an online casino has a good reputation. Unlike video game connections with the fashion industry, online casinos are using different marketing tools to reach a bigger audience by promoting free bonuses. But at least you can try out some superb fashion-themed slots for free or perhaps discover your favorite eSport-themed title among the rest.
Peripherals and Fashion
In technology terms, peripherals are typically just a matter of functionality, whether that's a keyboard and mouse or a headset. However, there are small degrees of fashion here, from constantly changing lights to cat ears on headphones. However, this could change significantly with the rise of AR (augmented reality), which operates by enhancing reality with computer-generated information.
The classic example is a pair of glasses that has a HUD (heads-up display) and can overlay digital information onto things the wearer is seeing in the real world. There are already <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/meta-ceo-zuckerberg-looks-to-digital-assistants-ai-to-push-metaverse.html">Ray-Ban glasses released by Meta</a>, featuring a pair of cameras that can translate as a wearer reads or identify landmarks.
The Metaverse
It remains to be seen whether the metaverse (or metaverses, to be more accurate) do end up becoming the next dominant version of the internet, but what's for certain is the commitment that Mark Zuckerberg and other big names in the business (both tech and others) have to it.
Fashion naturally conjures images of the latest footwear, new tops for summer, and so on, but this is no longer limited to just the physical world. Many forecast that the metaverse will end up being worth hundreds of billions of dollars in just a few years and its focus on NFTs and digital representations of everything from real estate to shoes has seen major companies express significant interest.
For gamers, this is nothing new. There's always been the annoying choice to be made in an RPG between the gear that looks cool and the gear with the best stats. Modern games increasingly take this into account with toggling visibility options in Baldur's Gate 3, or the Dragon Quest XI S approach which is to allow for unlockable appearances that can be independent of the gear actually worn.
In the metaverse, because it's not an RPG but a new way of interacting with the internet, there's no need to worry about stats, and the only question that needs to be answered is whether the virtual NFT fashion items look cool or not.
Collaborations between real-world fashion brands and the virtual world have already been going on for a few years at this point, with the likes of Fortnite and Minecraft teaming up with Balenciaga and Lacoste, respectively, to name but two. And this is only going to get bigger as the metaverse grows. Another upside of this development is that such and addresses an increasingly important concern for those who care about how their clothing is sourced in an ethical sense.
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