Game On, Gamers: The Proliferation of Gaming in Lockdown

Gaming is the most immersive form of art and entertainment. This has previously been a double-edged sword in terms its growth. Gaming is not a passive past time. Even the most prosaic mobile game is a lean in, interactive experience. Neither does gaming augment other experiences in the way music does. It is so immersive that gaming requires full focus; it is the whole experience – plot lines with more depth than the movies or literature, landscapes vaster than our own world and more atmospheric than any album or theatre, all with an added layer of interaction.

Over the last four months gaming has become increasingly popular. The Economist recently reported record numbers logging into PC gaming platform Steam, Nintendo’s share price increased 45% in the month from March 16th and Twitch’s traffic has jumped up 50%. In addition, recent console announcements have seen huge surges in consumer interest.

Lockdown and the changes in behaviour have led to the ‘new normal’ becoming common parlance. But we should be clear, the new normal is not a reflection of new need states and desires. The ‘new’ refers instead, to our behaviour and the change in ways we might go about fulfilling those needs and desires given restrictions.

Gaming’s popularity over recent months has grown because it is able to fulfil unsatisfied needs, such as our need to be creative and use our imagination, our desire to socialise and an evolutionary instinct for competition.

Imagination, Socialising and Escapism

The physical boundaries of our world have shrunk and social interactions remain restricted. The world is smaller yet paradoxically, we are actively processing basic thoughts so much more because of the need to adapt to the new world.

Gaming has been fulfilling both these voids.

In the first instance gaming is providing a borderless realm within which we can have great social interaction. Counter to our need for competition (albeit linked as a survival trait), Fortnite has been successful because it is as much a hangout as it is a video game. Even guns are being phased out in the new party mode.

Equally, as we are having to actively process the ‘new normal’ and the stress that comes along with it, gaming is providing escapism. Gaming in this scenario is a mechanism to avoid us overthinking the stresses of reality. Moreover, in moderation gaming has been shown to be good for your mental health.

Self-Expression, Identity and Activism

As the virtual world is a social one, it follows that we would want to express our identity and values in it. Especially in the current climate of activism and restricted real-world interaction.

For a moment, let’s believe that consumers lie. Their internal thoughts and feelings are incongruent with their external words and expressions. Through this lens we can conclude, as cultural theorist Slavoj Zizek did, players are better able to express their authentic selves when in the alternate world of gaming because they are less inhibited.

Take Hong Kong as an example; there has been a crossover of real and virtual world self-expression on Nintendo game, Animal crossing. Protestors met with violence and aggression were driven to express themselves in a comparably safer, online environment. Protestors gathered on a virtual beach, with virtual tiki torches and sticks, and hit a banner featuring the face of Carrie Lam, the Governor of Hong Kong, as part of pro-democracy demonstrations.

The virtual world should have limits though. The addictive nature of loot boxes which reward players with items for their avatar or equipment such as weapons or armour, are now acknowledged to be addictive. At the start of July, the House of Lords Gambling Committee said loot boxes should be classified as “games of chance” which would mean they are subject to the 2005 gambling act - another example of the convergence of the real and virtual worlds, this time in the sphere of law.

Competitiveness

With live sport postponed, professional athletes and clubs have had to find new ways to exercise their competitive nature and engage fans. By contrast, esports has largely been able to continue unimpeded.

Perhaps most impressive of ‘traditional’ sports’ is Formula E’s pivot, with the Race at Home Challenge featuring the full grid of Formula E drivers. Motorsports may have a natural alignment with gaming because of its use of simulators. Nonetheless, Formula E’s affinity with gaming is in its DNA because of the innovative use of fanboost, attack mode and companion games to both engage fans and influence the result of live races. This progressive approach to motorsport allowed it to adjust authentically to lockdown whilst allowing competition to continue in a new format. Such was the desire to compete and win in this new format, Formula-e driver Daniel Abt was sacked by Audi after using a professional esports athlete to compete on his behalf.

This is by no means the first example of cheating in gaming. Match fixing scandals have occurred in Counter Strike, League of Legends and Overwatch. The integrity of sport remans paramount whether in traditional or esports, such is the human need for fair competition.

To conclude, as people have grown to realise that gaming can fulfil needs, on a subconscious level there is an appreciation of the value it can provide. Inadvertently, the launch of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X appear in a prime position to capitalise, particularly if we also consider that following a crisis, consumers often revaluate and are more open to trial of new categories, brands and products. The rush from brands into the space will surely accelerate as audience’s interaction with platforms increase. Ultimately, the value exchange and opportunity are more overt than ever. As the recently well received PlayStation 5 announcement proclaimed, it really seems “Play Has No Limits”.