Khalil Yazbeck, Business Development Manager for UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman of Kingston Technology, discusses how SSDs revolutionize the Gaming experience by enabling Seamless Immersion, Faster Level Transitions, and Enhanced Responsiveness in Gameplay.
When categorizing modern-day industries in terms of mass popularity, gaming unquestionably ranks among the biggest worldwide with the number of global gamers set to exceed 3.32 billion and global gaming revenues projected to surpass $455 billion in 2024.
As digital transformation and technological capabilities have evolved at unprecedented speed while the lines between the physical and virtual worlds have become increasingly blurred, gaming has thrived with some specific innovations at the forefront.
Among them are Solid State Drives (SSDs), a distinct type of data storage device that uses flash memory to store and retrieve data. They have been revolutionary in the gaming world, propelling end-user experiences into a whole new stratosphere through a series of benefits now considered a must-have by every gaming enthusiast. These include:
Seamless immersion
SSDs have unlocked continuous and uninterrupted gameplay since their inception, eliminating loading screens while simultaneously reducing pop-in effects. This has been the catalyst behind more immersive gaming experiences, especially with graphically demanding games.
Faster level transitions
SSDs have significantly reduced loading times to deliver an almost instantaneous level of transitions. By restricting in-gameplay and waiting periods to never-before-seen lows, player engagement is not impeded, leading to an enhanced overall enjoyment.
Enhanced responsiveness
Accompanied by copious read and write speeds, SSDs enable quicker data access for smoother, more reactive and responsive gaming experiences – executing end-user actions and commands faster while drastically reducing lag.
Having transformed how players experience their games with newfound immersion, speed, and responsiveness, demands for SSDs are continuously reaching record levels, especially due to the clear superiority over their predecessors – Hard Disk Drives (HDDs).
When comparing the two, SSDs offer much faster read and write speeds compared to HDDs, resulting in quicker data access and transfer. While traditional HDDs rely on spinning disks and read/write heads, another plus point with SSDs is that they have no moving parts, resulting in enhanced durability with greater damage resistance. Additionally, SSDs consume less power for greater energy efficiency and also boast a modern form factor for more compact and reliable device designs.
With such significant performance improvements, it’s understandable why SSDs have emerged as essential devices not only for gamers demanding fast, reliable, and efficient data storage, but also developers tasked with creating more immersive and empowering games. The SSD market is awash with innovations capable of delivering such benefits, which also bodes well for gamers in the Middle East and North Africa – the world’s fastest-growing games market.
With the number of MENA gamers expected to rise from over 68 million in 2023 to more than 76 million by 2027, demands for SSDs in this region alone are certain to multiply in due course. Crucially, Kingston Technology specializes in market-leading SSD devices for gaming purposes.
Among the different types of SSDs available, NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) SSD is widely considered the best overall for gaming. This is because the read/write speeds – critical for today’s sophisticated games – are at the high end of the spectrum and help reduce the loathed latency factor which has traditionally hindered game performance.
For gamers, it’s absolutely worth upgrading to an NVMe SSD. When installed in a compatible device, these particular innovations provide significant performance improvements over other SSDs. Alongside increased speed, others factors as to why NVMe SSDs are rapidly becoming the new standard include superior power efficiency, advanced compatibility, and greater immersion and responsiveness.
The value of Kingston’s SSD product range is illustrated with the likes of the Kingston FURY Renegade PCle 4.0 NVMe SSD. Perfect for avid gamers, this provides cutting-edge performance in high capacities, leveraging the latest Gen 4×4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND for world-class consistency and exceptional gaming experiences.
“Such NVMe SSDs will become even more invaluable with the emergence of DirectStorage. This is a Microtype API-type gaming software destined to enhance gaming performance even further.
DirectStorage is a relatively new Microsoft API-type gaming software and Microsoft’s solution for developers and players alike to take advantage of the ever-increasing speeds offered by SSDs. For PC gaming enthusiasts in particular, DirectStorage is the missing link for them to take full advantage of today’s fast SSDs. Players enjoy reduced loading times, and developers can build support for it into their PC games, making games even more attractive to PC users.
