Everybody is playing video games right now, and that's a good thing

When was the last time you played a video game? I'll answer for you, it was probably today. If you haven't played yet today, you likely will in the next few days. We are all gamers right now because of coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines and as a result records are being shattered.

This week's edition of Making sense of coronavirus explores something that's been an important part of my life since I was a kid in the 80s, video games.

Video games long ago lost the stigma associated with playing them. Three generations have now grown up with games as a mainstream form of entertainment; Gen X (my generation), Millennials and Gen Z.

Gaming is no longer niche entertainment, and it hasn't been for some time. But this pandemic is about to take gaming to a whole new level of mainstream acceptance and cultural significance. Video games are as we speak having this breakthrough moment and it stands to carry on long after coronavirus is finally beaten back.

Hey, grandpa! I got next!

Older generations have even taken up gaming, even if less publicly. Your grandma probably played bowling in Wii Sport on the old Nintendo Wii as mine did in her nursing home. Your mom or dad in their 60s or 70s likely enjoy a spot of Words with Friends or Snake. And there's even 86-year-old Skyrim grandma Shirley Curry rocking it on YouTube with 887,000 subscribers.

Now all of us are stuck at home. Parents are trying to keep their kids entertained, we need a break from working or a distraction from the world, we've watched our favorite movies more than a few times, maybe binged some shows and... video games to the rescue.

Video games are proving to be coronavirus-resilient.

Turning to games

On March 23rd, PC game platform Steam broke a record for most concurrent users at 22.6 million.

(Source: Steam.com)

That's an insane jump of 18.7% from the previous 30 days.

It isn't just Steam. Microsoft's (LinkedIn's parent company) popular gaming service Xbox Live felt the crush on the weekend of March 13th as shelter in place and quarantine orders began to kick in. This last weekend both Xbox Live and Nintendo Online suffered short outages as a result of the added strain of more players.

Last week American ISP Verizon reported gaming usage was up 75%, according to Hollywood Reporter. Video game streaming site Twitch is also showing a huge increase in streaming and viewership during the pandemic as more gamers turn to streaming themselves playing and watching others.

One of the post popular games in the world and Esports powerhouse, League of Legends had servers hit 90% of max capacity.

Popular gaming community discussion service Discord has been trying to hold up with the increased demand and it's users have experienced service disruptions.

Add into the mix recent releases of anticipated, big name games Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty Warzone (30 million players in 10 days) and ALYX and you've got a monumental week for gaming.

Even struggling brick and mortar game shops experienced a boost before the lockdowns as excited gamers lined up at EB Games in cities like Toronto to get their hands on some of the new releases. This even when online services like the Steam Store are "open" 24/7 for digital downloads.

Alright, maybe the lining up in close proximity during a pandemic where you're supposed to be social distancing isn't a good thing, but you get the point. People are flocking to video games.

Pro sports stand-in

Traditional sports are turning to video games and Esports. In probably one of the coolest applications of gaming into real life, organizers of Formula 1 racing recently announced that F1 drivers would be holding a series of in-game races with professional F1 drivers in place of canceled events.

Professional Spanish football league La Liga recently had a player from Real Madrid square off against a player from Barcelona in a full-on FIFA 20 coronavirus charity match, complete with professional commentary. Spoiler alert: Real Madrid won.

These kind of events give sports and gaming fans some quality competitive entertainment. The alternative? Reruns and alternative sports on ESPN 2 or your former sports channel of choice.

When it comes to Esports, that is an enormous and growing sector in its own right and should be considered professional sport. I should know, I worked in game media and Esports for a couple years. Esports have been greatly affected by the pandemic as it's limited league matches and events. If you thought, "Oh, they're just playing games so they shouldn't be impacted," then you were wrong.

The good news is that some Esport leagues are already getting back up and running and if you're missing sports, they're worth a try.

Role reversal

"Go outside and get some exercise or sunshine or something!" a mom scolds her child as he/she sits in front of the TV playing a game after school. The kid cries Mario tears when mom powers off the game system. Or in my case, my kid cries when I do it to her.

Times have changed.

Right now, it's more "Please go play a game or something and let mommy work for an hour. Here, I'll get it set up for you! PLEASE LET ME WORK!"

And just like that, a revolution is underway.

The government in Poland has fully bought in with using gaming to keep kids inside. Polish authorities created a public Minecraft server to keep kids from going outside.

In Japan, some kids dealing with a school closure that caused their graduation ceremony to be canceled, recreated it in Minecraft and held the ceremony in the virtual world with their friends.

The developer of Minecraft, Mojang has also started helping with remote learning by releasing an Education Edition and learning resources for free.

All this is to say that kids playing games is actively encouraged now. A light is being shined on both the creative and stimulation value games provide when compared to just watching videos, and the opportunities for much needed socialization and remote learning games can provide.

The industry impact

The video game industry is on the rise as a result of the world turning to video games, but that doesn't mean the industry as a whole hasn't been impacted by coronavirus. Major publishers, developers companies have had to stall projects, have their employees work from home and face the same challenges as other industries facing the pandemic.

(Source: Reddit)

There will assuredly be game delays as studios rely on motion capturing, voice acting, on-location research, events and more. Triple-A games are multi-million dollar productions with moving parts comparable to feature films. These things won't come back until the pandemic starts to ease and it's safe to go back to somewhat normal working routines.

The pandemic has even compelled some developers to create new modes. Ndemic Creations included a mode where you can save the world from a virus instead of wiping the world out as a virus in their game Plague Inc. Bravo.

Too expensive?

Senior Analyst, Product Manager, Co-Founder at MIDiA Research Karol Severin says PC and console gaming might catch up with mobile gaming as mobile gaming has lost a significant engagement contributor - the commute. But what about cost?

Sony and Microsoft are also set to release the next generation of gaming console this holiday season with the Xbox Series X and P5, each to cost between $400 and $500. Are people going to be willing to spend that kind of money within struggling economies?

One possible approach would be to take a drastic hit on hardware sales upfront on release and rely on the strength of software sales. Get the consoles into the hands of as many people as possible at prices around $200 - $300 and leverage the huge new gaming player base. The other option is to delay the launch of the systems into mid to late 2021.

The cost of games themselves can be prohibitive, with the average game costing between $30 and $60 a pop, not counting the "special editions" and DLC. Publishers like Electronic Arts are still recovering from "pay-to-play" fiascos like the launch of Star Wars Battlefront II a couple years back and they've got to be exceedingly careful in creating gaming experiences that acknowledge the economic restraints many will be facing while still managing to keep their employees employed.

Advertising vs cash payments

Senior Director, Content Sales & Partnerships at CNN, APAC David Collet tells me that COVID-19 situation will most likely "help reinforce or create new habits and behaviors with players."

He says the outcome for companies will "be very different depending if they’re relying on advertising or cash payment… The latter are probably having a good day as spending gets transferred from F&B and other entertainment expenses."

Video game media sites are also seeing an increase in gaming interest. I reached out to Rio Fernando, the Chief Representative Officer of Game Media Asia and EIC of Gamebrott.com, which reaches millions of gamers in Southeast Asia. Rio tells me the pandemic has had led to an increase in web traffic and video streaming views. He feels as though he's lucky to be in the situation he's in right now as the world's economies are collapsing into a recession.

Despite the challenges, the signals of the monumental interest in video games means this is at least one industry that will be able to help build a path forward in the tough times to come. That's a good thing when considering what cinema companies like AMC are facing.

I do hope we don't ever end up in a Ready Player One type situation where gaming is the only option we have to get access to education and entertainment. It sounds like Science Fiction, but not quite as much as it did three months ago.

In the meantime...

Enjoy gaming

Not saying sit in your living room and watch the world fall apart around you like Nero, but take advantage of what gaming has to offer in terms of social connection, a break from what's going on, and even to explore new learning experiences and keep your, or your child's, mind sharp. There's something for everybody.

We work better as people and employees when we're happy, relaxed and stimulated. That's tough to do right now. Video games are one of the ways people are coping with their new home-bound lives and there's good reason for that.

Just take care with Doom Eternal though OK? I hear it's a little...intense.

(Reddit: u/i_spot_ads)

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 date with my daughter that I must keep. Braiiiinnnnnzz.

I've got questions for you dear readers!

What games are you or your kids playing right now? How are you leaning on video games during the pandemic? Where do you see the future of the video game industry going?

Next time...

• Weekly round up of the latest coronavirus news and perspectives.

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