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A look at the future of cricket games

just bat

2016 looks to finally give cricket fans a game that they deserve when Don Bradman Cricket 17 comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows on 16 December.

But whilst there are many features that suggest that this could be the best cricket simulation yet, there are a few innovations elsewhere in the online gaming domain that could be implemented into future cricket games.

Realism is an incredibly important factor in all simulations whether it’s a cricket or a casino game. And the incredible graphical depth found in the recent FIFA 17 soccer game shows how something as simple as the movement a corner flag makes can subtly add to the gaming fun.

Much of this innovation is based on the Frostbite engine that enhanced the FIFA 17 game to include over 500 crowd chants, complex facial expressions, and even provide fireworks to make the soccer games even more immersive and authentic.

Although it’s been relatively easy for online gaming brands like Red Flush to successfully imbue their casino games with a realism that’s uncannily like real-life games of roulette, poker and blackjack, it’s tougher for cricket fans to emulate the speed and motion of the game from a stationary console or desktop computer.

This is why the emergence of augmented and virtual reality has proven to be a thrilling prospect for all cricket gamers. Whilst the likes of Just Bat is a simple take on cricket in the virtual reality domain, it does show how the new technologies could finally help us all emulate the likes of Steve Smith in our living room.

Although Just Bat is fairly basic, it does show how the new range of VR headsets have zero-latency and can be easily adapted to such fast-paced sports. But it’s once these primitive VR cricket games start to add further realism that things could get really exciting.

Whilst casino gaming brands like Red Flush don’t yet offer virtual reality, they include stunning games of video roulette. This means that once players start out with a great casino bonus at Red Flush, they can compete against other players and receive guidance from a real-life croupier in a way that could be implemented in the cricketing domain.

So it’s surely just a matter of time before we’re able to bowl in virtual reality against our friends and even have a digital umpire helping to decide any potentially controversial LBW decisions.

And whilst cricket fans have traditionally suffered from lack of gaming options, with the likes of Don Bradman Cricket 17, Just Bat VR cricket and inspiration from Red Flush Casino, we could be in for a great gaming future.