Discover how tech advancements like Megaways slots and VR headsets are revolutionizing industries

In most cases, technological advancement is something that happens over many small steps and a long time. However, there are also times, as with 3D printing or AI technology, when humanity makes a big jump in progress over a very short time. In some cases, these innovations can look small but have a big impact, and we’ve put together a few key examples.

Casino Games

Many of the most popular types of casino games like blackjack and poker are pretty much locked into their ways at this point. After hundreds of years of refinement, there’s only so much that can be changed. For slots, however, the experience saw a big leap forward a few years ago with the introduction of a revolutionary bit of technology.

Photo by John Schnobrich

If you look on any major casino site, you’ll often see a dedicated category for Megaways slots. Megaways is a technology created by developer Big Time Gaming and has the ability to transform classic slots by randomizing the number of symbols per reel and elevating the number of paylines up to a potential 100,000 or more. The underlying game remains intact, but it completely overhauls the feeling for players and gives older titles new life.

Video Games

Since the early 80s, the business model around video games was simple: games were sold at a set price, and then later additional content could be bought. Some games also had subscription services, but the initial entry cost was always expected and could often prove to be a barrier to entry for many people. Over the last decade, however, a new approach has taken over gaming.

The free-to-play model, often called freemium as a combination of free and premium, is where the basic game is free and all revenue is generated through purchases in the game. It’s proven most popular in mobile games, although games like Apex Legends have caused a revolution using it. Now, many high-level games have no entry barrier and the gaming landscape has completely shifted, with big franchises like Call of Duty even entering the free-to-play market to some extent.

Real Estate

On a less online note, it isn’t just digital-focused businesses that are benefitting from big jumps in technology. Buying real estate large distances away from where you currently live has always been an issue thanks to the reduced ability to visit the property first, and as globalization has taken over, long-distance moves have become more common.

Photo by Vinicius “amnx” Amano

For real estate agents and their clients, the solution came in the form of virtual reality headsets like the Oculus series. It’s not uncommon now for real estate offices to contain one or two headsets so that clients can tour properties without even having to travel. It has proven particularly useful for homes that haven’t actually been built yet, as prospective buyers can tour a mock-up environment before they buy.

Each of the above is a single concept that changed the industry, and future leaps may come in the same way. No one knows exactly which direction technology will go next, but it could end up being the smallest idea that propels an industry forward.

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