How the gaming industry has affected cinema

The gaming industry is influential in many ways, but when it comes to cinema, it’s had a major impact in recent years. This impact is so major that they have undoubtedly made changes to the industry itself, both in cinema and online. 

Here are the main ways, both clear-cut and surprising, that gaming has introduced new elements to the world of cinema.

Representation of responsible gambling

One of the most obvious ways that games has changed the movie industry is by changing the perception of who does the gambling. Once upon a time, gamblers in movies were only ever on one end or the other of the spectrum: trodden-down addicts or super geniuses with superb mathematical and memory skills.

Instead, recent films have shown that most gamblers are in fact ordinary people who possess neither self-destructive self-control issues, nor impossible godlike abilities of observation and deduction. Though those types of characters can be entertaining, they can also be off-putting. 

More ordinary representation of gambling in film demonstrates that the barrier of entry is not high. This makes gambling feel much more accessible and inclusive. As a result, more people feel welcome to try out casinos for themselves, whether it’s the Las Vegas strip or the best online casinos.

People still make movies about extreme scenarios of course, be it the charm of a James Bond film or the seedy nature of gambling criminals in a movie like Jackpot, but more films than ever before are about normal people either getting lucky, improving their gambling skills or finding joy in a new hobby. Cinema has shifted with the advent of online casino gaming. 

Glamour and luxury

Even though online casinos are not as fancy as their land-based counterparts, customers and fanbases still want to experience some semblance of style with their online slots and poker games. Many online casinos understand this, as reflected in their user interfaces and their choice of software.

This often focuses on themes, including themed websites, themed apps, and themed games. Whether it’s pirates getting treasure, Olympian gods sitting on mountains of gold, or good old-fashioned kings and queens surrounded by riches, many online casinos know the value of putting on an air. 

This also applies to online casinos that take advantage of live-streaming technology, which blends online and physical elements. With access to real-life dealers handling your dice, roulette wheels, and poker cards, they are dressed in proper attire working in a real-life casino room with real decor. This adds a whole new layer of immersion and specialty that the digital realm previously did not have access to.

In other words, as movies continue to showcase all the riches, they take their influence straight from the real world where online gaming has progressed significantly in many ways—include the luxury element.

Intellect and cunning

Many of the most popular casino movies showcase a protagonist with impeccable brains and skills, often related to counting cards or a photographic memory.

Though these skills are very useful and highly entertaining to watch unfold on a big screen, the fact is that the vast majority of gamblers aren’t geniuses. Luckily, there have been more gambling films that have come out in recent years like Molly’s Game that show relatively ordinary people entering the world of poker, for example, and moving up the ranks in a fashion that is more gradual and realistic.

These types of films are important because it shows that you don’t need to be a math whiz to be good at a casino game. They got this from, of course, the world of gaming. Common people are playing these online games, so the cinema world takes from this. 

Movie-themed game tie-ins

A simple, clear-cut way the film industry has been impacted by gaming is putting the games themselves inside the films, like licensed movie tie-ins. This extends to television series, video games and other entertainment media forms as well, but most of these tie-ins or partnerships are centred around movies.

This is a huge plus for the movie industry because some people might start their journey into gambling by first encountering it in a major film. This means that they are gaining exposure to new real-world hobbies by watching more movies. 

These tie-ins are not limited to casino or gambling-based films, as many of these tie-ins centre on shows, games or films that are fantasy epics, psychological thrillers or crime dramas. As long as something has a sense of thrill, danger or adventure to it, it tends to be a solid shoe-in for a casino game theme.

Excellent staff and customer service

In casino movies, the gamblers themselves tend to have a wide variety of moods and personalities. They range from suave and charismatic rich playboys to downtrodden underdogs on their last leg. Despite the variety of moods that these characters showcase, these films always have a constant that runs through them: the staff.

They get their motivation for this from the real-world experience of the gaming industry. That could be in-person or online with casinos now offer customer service and VIP treatment for users who are playing remotely. 

With the frequency in which movies constantly depict casino staff as the most respectable and well-mannered people on the planet, it’s not much of a surprise to see the gaming world have its influence on cinema.