Online video games can be as simple as the flash animated applications found on Facebook, or as in-depth and addictive as the massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft which continue to exist long after you have shut down your computer. And playing video games online has become a multibillion dollar business globally, due to the incredible realism, 3-D effects, and visual and auditory experience that can literally deliver you into an alternative reality that might be preferable to the one you currently inhabit. Multi-player games currently represent a huge portion of the USA online gaming industry.

And some online video games, like those slots and other electronic offerings located in online casinos, can be played for real money. But the vast majority of video games online are those which offer no financial reward, and instead deliver such a full sensory immersion that they have created an industry which annually generates in the hundreds of billions of dollars in sales. Terminology like first-person shooter (FPS), massively multiplayer online game (also called MMO and MMOG) and role playing game (RPG) are well known to the online gamer who enjoys playing video games online as an escape from reality, as well as providing a way to play with their friends and other gamers around the world in real time.

Wireless headsets and controllers now allow dedicated gamers willing to spend hundreds of dollars the ability to play video games online through gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (PS3), conversing with fellow gamers and orchestrating their game play as a team. There are of course those online video games like Portal 2 which are intended to be played on a single player basis, and operate on a theme different from the common fantasy realm and battlefield games, but those two genres are far and away the most popular and best-selling.

The Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii video game consoles offer Internet access which then transports the video gamer from his living room or home base to a virtual reality where other like-minded individuals share his or her interest. Those three consoles also deliver a subscription option for popular titles like the Modern Warfare and Call of Duty franchises, and worldwide subscribers have driven the business of online video games to a multibillion dollar a year industry. Kinect Adventures is one of many video games online which uses a motion activated wireless controller, and it is the best-selling Xbox 360 game of all time at more than 18 million units.

Gran Turismo 5 (GT5) is the first GT game to be developed for the PS3 console, and currently stands as the best-selling PS3 title of all time, with more than 7.4 million copies placed globally. And online video games exist in both single person and multiplayer modes. But with access from the World Wide Web providing a global reach to players and gamers around the world with similar interests, playing video games online is predominantly a community experience. From a business standpoint the industry is a multibillion dollar hit, and from the viewpoint of worldwide gamers enjoying the incredible realism and sensory experience delivered to their favorite mobile PC or portable gaming device, online video games are definitely here to stay.