{"id":3774,"date":"2020-05-19T10:44:03","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T06:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/?p=3774"},"modified":"2020-07-21T19:09:31","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T15:09:31","slug":"pandemic-players-how-covid-19-changed-gaming-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/pandemic-players-how-covid-19-changed-gaming-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic players: how Covid-19 changed gaming forever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the age of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, bored residents are turning to video games for entertainment<\/a> – and company, in a way that’s never been seen before<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pandemic<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gaming companies operating in the Gulf region have seen a spike in sales as a result of Covid-19 restrictions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s Friday night, and \u2013 like the rest of us \u2013 24-year-old Abhinav Kanungo is sitting at home. Just a few months ago, he\u2019d have been out on the town. But in the age of Covid-19, Kanungo\u2019s favourite restaurants are operating at minimal capacity, his choice bars silent, his potential Tinder dates quarantined safely at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His limited options, he tells us through the grainy screen of a Zoom call, don\u2019t mean that he\u2019s bored.  Like millions around the region and the world, he\u2019s turned to video games for entertainment \u2013 and company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot more people are gaming now. Lots of games have picked up in terms of the number of people playing since the quarantine began,\u201d he says, the booming sounds of a ferocious digital gun battle audible in the background. \u201cGames also kind of fill the void of that social life that we\u2019re not getting. It\u2019s a way to overcome that social distance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sony Interactive Entertainment, the makers of the popular PlayStation game console, is among leading companies in the gaming industry<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Statistics show that Kanungo is far from alone. PC gaming service Steam, for example, has seen users skyrocket to record levels amid the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, with 23.5 million gamers on the platform simultaneously on March 30. In the US alone, according to telecom giant Verizon, gaming usage has gone up a whopping 75 percent during peak hours. Similarly, esports has seen a dramatic spike in viewers, with Amazon\u2019s Twitch streaming platform seeing a 60 percent jump in viewership in March compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGaming has proved to be a non-pandemic industry. It can\u2019t be affected. It was already online,\u201d explains Habib Chams, head of digital games conference at ITP Gaming [ITP is Arabian Business\u2019 parent company]. \u201cWe were already playing games with one person in Brazil and another in Tunisia. It\u2019s not only not been affected \u2013 it\u2019s done very well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A golden opportunity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A spike in gaming has in turn created a surge in demand for gaming-related products, ranging from consoles and laptops to headsets and controllers. In North America alone, video game sales were up 34 percent in March compared to the same month in 2019, while hardware sales were up 63 percent, according to American research firm NPD Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although figures for the Gulf and Middle East markets are not readily available, firms operating in the region have reported seeing similarly profitable increases in demand since lockdown restrictions were first introduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prime example is Taiwan-headquartered Acer, a technology firm that specialises in PCs and laptops favoured by gamers. According to Paul Collins, the firm\u2019s Middle East general manager, the firm has seen a sizeable increase in orders since the Covid-19 crisis erupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs people battle to fill their time, gaming has become a very valid and quite important pastime. We\u2019ve definitely seen an upsurge in gaming monitors, and we\u2019ve seen a move in product demand for more entry level line products for gaming,\u201d he tells Arabian Business. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen as much as 20 percent [rises] in some key territories in terms of short-term demand. That implies that people are either improving their set-ups, or maybe even getting into new gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Paul Collins serves as Acer\u2019s general manager for the Middle East<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Like many firms in the gaming sphere, Collins says he\u2019s \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d that demand for gaming products will remain elevated for the next 12 to 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of it is because of the suddenness of this, and lack of preparation,\u201d he adds. \u201cPeople thought they had the right equipment [for gaming] but now realise that they don\u2019t, now that they\u2019ve been stress tested. There are a lot of new entrants, as well as exiting players that are upgrading. I anticipate that this will be sustained.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Pickering, the managing director of Power League Gaming, said that some titles are seeing engagement spikes of as high as 100 to 150 percent as a result of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will be a crossover of people who enjoy watching the sport in real life actually starting to pick up on those sports in a gaming environment\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[That] is quite incredible when you look at those titles even pre-Covid,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe bottom line is that we are all at home, now more than ever. The demand for entertainment and collaboration is high and the ability to compete with one another in traditional sports or physical formats is at an all-time low.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A turning point for esports?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just regular members of the public that have been stuck and unable to compete physically. Around the world, arenas and stadiums have been dormant, the stands empty of crowds and the playing fields and courts devoid of action. In response, large parts of the professional sports world have taken their competition online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, for example, Formula 1 announced an \u2018Esports Virtual Grand Prix\u2019 featuring a number of current F1 drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top flight football leagues quickly followed suit. The trend was highlighted on April 10, when arch rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan held an \u2018e-Milan derby\u2019 on the game Pro Evolution Soccer 2020. The match \u2013 which in \u2018normal\u2019 times would have been played in front of 80,000 fans at the shared San Siro Stadium \u2013 was instead broadcast globally on YouTube and on AC Milan\u2019s subscription TV channel. The British Premier League, for its part, held a similar week-long digital tournament on FIFA, with the \u2018matches\u2019 streamed on NBC Sports, Sky Sports Twitch and Youtube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ahmad Al Nasheet is a well-known gaming influencer and commentator<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ahmed Al Nasheet \u2013 a wildly popular Dubai-based gaming influencer and commentator who goes by the name DVLZGame \u2013 says that the fact that professional athletes endorsed esports during the pandemic will have a lasting impact on the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will create a whole movement. People interested in watching football, for example, will also get interested in watching esports. It\u2019s all related,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf professional football players are playing a game and taking it seriously, the fans will take it seriously. It breaks the boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Nasheet\u2019s views are echoed by Acer\u2019s Collins, who says he believes the Covid-19 pandemic will one day be seen as a turning point for esports when it moved from niche \u2013 but large \u2013 audiences of young people to a wider demographic of \u2018traditional\u2019 sports fans, many of whom will be older and more mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to get a lot more of this, and we\u2019re going to see quite a large spike in gaming, to almost replace traditional sports. There will be a crossover of people who enjoy watching the sport in real life actually starting to pick up on those sports in a gaming environment,\u201d he explains. \u201cThis is going to be a huge accelerator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond business<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the short-term, however, many gamers and industry insiders are more focussed on the benefits that gaming has during the pandemic: namely, that it is an activity that manages to simultaneously keep people apart physically and bring them together emotionally at a time when physical gatherings outside of the home are all but impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe solution [to the pandemic] is gaming. Stay home, and play games,\u201d remarks Karim Ibrahim, the chief executive of Robocom VR, a Dubai-based tech firm that specialises in virtual, augmented and mixed reality gaming and entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConnectivity is the key. Covid made us realise, even on an off-level, that we\u2019re all connected,\u201d Ibrahim adds. \u201cOne way or another, the world functions as one single entity. Gaming allowed us to realise that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and gaming companies themselves have pitched this connectivity as a major selling point during the crisis. In late March, the WHO and a number of gaming companies came together to launch the #PlayApartTogether initiative, aimed at keeping people indoors, playing games, and having a conversation \u2013 through gaming platforms \u2013 while following safety guidelines during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never been more critical to ensure people stay safely connected to one another,\u201d Activision\u2019s chief executive, Bobby Kotick, said at the time. \u201cGames are the perfect platform because they connect people through the lens of joy, purpose and meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the WHO, the encouragement of gaming comes as something of a reversal. Just last year, the organisation officially labelled gaming addiction a modern disease, despite the fact that it is  far from accepted as one by mental health practitioners around the world. Citing \u2018reviews of available evidence\u2019, the WHO warned of \u2018impaired control\u2019 and that many young people may prioritise games over school work and social responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis proves them wrong,\u201d Kanungo tells us angrily. \u201cThey took extreme examples and warned of a modern illness. Covid-19 is a real, actual illness, and now they want us at home gaming to fight it. This is important now, and a kind of social interaction on its own. The pandemic helped everyone realise it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"Dr Sarah Rasmi, managing director of Thrive Wellbeing Centre<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The potential benefits of gaming haven\u2019t been lost on parents and mental health professionals here in Dubai. Among them is Dr Sarah Rasmi, managing director of the Dubai-based Thrive Wellbeing Centre and mother of a 16-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs much as we try to minimise the amount of time they [young people] are spending on video games and these other sorts of things, if that\u2019s their social outlet, and the way they are able to connect with their friends, then we need to be a little more flexible about it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a lifeline. They used to go hang out or go outside together. Now they can\u2019t, but what they can do is continue to play and connect through their PlayStation or Xbox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No end in sight<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Currently, it remains unclear how long restrictions will last, and what social life and entertainment in the UAE and elsewhere in the region will look like in the post coronavirus era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the foreseeable future, however, most of us will largely be confined to our homes most of the time \u2013 a trend that many gamers say will likely mean elevated interest in the sector, even after \u2018official\u2019 restrictions are lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverybody is bored at home,\u201d Al Nasheet sighs. \u201cFor the first time ever, it doesn\u2019t matter where you\u2019re from or what you do for work. Everybody is at home. People are hungry for new games and will be bored of what they had before. People just want to play video games. It\u2019s the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kanungo puts his forecast more bluntly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRestrictions may be lifted a bit, but this isn\u2019t going to end all that soon. I doubt I\u2019ll be headed out to eat or to a bar this year even,\u201d he says, his eyes still locked on his game rather than on the Zoom call. \u201cI\u2019ll need to buy more games.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the age of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, bored residents are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":3775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1244,2332],"contributor":[],"class_list":["post-3774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-tech-events","tag-entertainment","tag-video-games"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/download-1-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Techx Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/techxmedia.com\/en\/author\/techxadmin\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t