Over the past two decades, the video game industry has slowly grown to eclipse all other forms of entertainment. Sports, TV, Literature, and even Hollywood have been dwarfed by the gaming industry when it comes to generating revenue. But this current lockdown has the ability to completely skew everything even further, especially for the video game industry. So while the current lockdown will hurt the industry’s overall revenue, the coronavirus pandemic could cause a surge in the number of video gamers.
Because of the pandemic, we see upcoming games being delayed like The Last of Us Part II. So don’t be surprised to see other games, which would have been released this year, get pushed back as well. But it won’t just be video games. This year was supposed to see the launch of the next generation of consoles. However, the longer the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect our lives, the possibility of a delay for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launches increases.
Despite the delay in video games, cancellation of conventions, and the possible delay of the next generation of consoles, there is a potential silver lining. The video game industry will see a huge influx of new consumers interested in playing video games the longer people are told to stay in lockdown for several reasons as people look for options to while away the time.
The first reason would be money. As the government continues to increase the time of the lockdown, people’s wallets will tighten. Money that might have once been spent on entertainment will not be used except to pay for bills, rent, and essentials like food, chocolate, toilet paper, chocolate, shampoo, chocolate, medicine, and chocolate (don’t forget the chocolate or you are COVID to me). Luckily, there is a ton of free entertainment in various entertainment sectors. From video-on-demand to literature to streaming and video games there are plenty of options.
TV and Movies is certainly the most likely option for many people. Yet while Hollywood, in order to mitigate a financially disastrous year, will start to release new movies directly to digital platforms consumers might not be so forthcoming with their money. In fact, consumers might start to balk at the prices or resort to cutting off monthly services in order to lessen their monthly expenses (at least people will if they adapt a more frugal lifestyle to weather the storm). Movies such as The Hunt, Onward, Bloodshot, Bad Boys for Life, and Sonic the Hedgehog have quickly made their way to digital platforms. But at $20 per digital copy, that is the worst way for consumers to spend their ever-dwindling cash.
When you think about it, investing $20 for a couple hours of entertainment that you hope is good and that you may or may not watch again is not very practical. Not when you can buy a 300-page, best-selling ebook for a fraction of that price and will last you at least eight hours (depending on how fast you read). Or you could spend that $20 and purchase 20 ebooks for a dollar each. Though the quality could range from abysmal to great quite easily.
Unfortunately, not many people are readers. On average, the US population back in 2018 spent only .28 hours on reading. Overall, the industry isn’t nearly as big as the other entertainment mediums. Sadly, about 74% of Americans said they read at least one book that year and, on average, $110 is spent on reading each year. So while the market will see an increase in revenue, it will only see a slight increase in the number of readers (though I hope I am wrong on the latter).
Music, on the other hand, just doesn’t come close. Sure, you could buy 20 songs for a dollar each, but that would be about an hour’s worth of entertainment. Even when listening to the songs multiple times, it just doesn’t feel like it’s worth the investment. Unless you are one of those people who can listen to one song on repeat for days and weeks (quickly turns off “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”).
Video games, on the other hand, can be the best bang for your buck. At various price points, there are a plethora of games you can buy that can keep you entertained anywhere from a couple hours to hundreds or even thousands of hours on consoles and PCs. There are also plenty of games on these platforms that are free-to-play (F2P) that can easily distract you for weeks and months at a time. The mobile platform also has plenty of cheap and F2P games as well.
So from a monetary perspective, video games are the entertainment medium to get the best bang for your buck which will be one of the reasons for a surge of new gamers.
Another reason why consumers could drift to video games over other mediums is for mental stimulation. When it comes to keeping your mind active, the worst thing you can do is be a couch potato. Doing nothing but watching TV and movies is bad for your cognitive abilities. It is just empty calories that can hurt you more in the long run than help you in the short term. Even more so if you don’t try to be physically active on a regular basis. Especially when you compare watching TV to reading. While reading is probably the best way to keep your cognitive skills sharp, not to mention increase your vocabulary and absorb new information, most people don’t like to read. It’s a sad fact of this modern society and one that I don’t see changing even during this time
While watching TV does nothing for your cognitive abilities, video games are a different story. Because you, as the gamer, must participate in playing the game which automatically stimulates the brain. Now the benefits can change depending on the types of games you play as well. For example, first-person shooters can increase your hand-eye-coordination, while real-time and turn-based strategy games can teach you to think ahead, resource management, and multitasking while online games additionally can help with social skills.
With children essentially being homeschooled, parents are going to have to make decisions based on what is best for their kid. Sure, in most cases, it will be easier to just plop the kid in front of the television to watch a mentally-stunted show like Spongebob Squarepants, but it is not the best idea. Especially for younger kids where developing their mental faculties are very important.
Of course, it would be good for parents to read to their young kids and help them develop a desire to start reading on their own. Children who read at a young age will English better…err…I mean expand their vocabulary faster, have a better grasp of the language, higher IQ, improved concentration, and other benefits. The obvious downside is the time invested in reading to your child and getting them to read on their own. But it is a worthwhile investment for parents.
Yet, as have been seen over the past couple of decades, a lot of parents don’t want to take the time to teach their kids. It is easier to just hand the baby your smartphone or tablet to watch something than it is to get them to read. So the middle road would be to have them play video games since there is some reading required for some types of games.
Thus further increasing the young gamer population.
A third reason why there will be an influx of new gamers is mental health. When social distancing and lockdowns are preventing us from physically hanging out, modern technology can help mitigate this issue. After all, we are social creatures though there are some exceptions (raises his hand).
Now again, with TV and movies, there is no mental stimulation and, while it can give a boost to your mental health, it is just empty calories. Sure, you can watch a great show like The Rookie to give you some laughs and keep you preoccupied. However, the feeling is temporary and hopping from one show or movie to the next gets redundant. Reading, on the other hand, while it is a mentally stimulating form of entertainment, it is also a solitary one. Sure, reading a lot will help with your social communication skills, but it means nothing when you can’t practice those skills on someone.
Video games, once more, can fill in all those voids. While you are shooting down hordes of zombies, trying to come up with a strategy to attack someone’s base, or simply working on a farm, you can do these things with other people. Just take a look at multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft or Fortnite which are vastly popular and tend to generate far more money than other forms of entertainment. It is that social connection which will be what drives people to play an MMO, or a shooter, or any other game with a multiplayer campaign. They’ll be able to have fun and socialize with other people while doing it (unless the game is overrun with trolls).
They won’t feel as alone when playing a game with someone instead of reading or watching TV by themselves. Sure, you can watch TV with other people or have an online book club where one person is reading. But personally, I can’t pay attention when someone reads to me and if you value your life, you won’t talk while I am watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
In the end, and depending on how long everyone is told to stay in lockdown, money, cognitive abilities, and mental health will be contributing factors in bringing a whole new group of gamers to the video game industry. Look for the rise of new gamers to focus mostly in mobile and PC gaming along with growth revolving sports games as well. But more gamers won’t necessarily result in higher revenue for the industry overall. Yet those new gamers will mean that, in the long term, the industry’s overall revenue could skyrocket when things return to normal.
We already know that, for a little while now, video games have been the most popular form of entertainment. However, in the meantime, Hollywood isn’t going to just standby and continue to hemorrhage money. It is possible that the TV and movie industry will try to curb the loss of consumers to other entertainment sectors.
Time and time again we have seen Hollywood, the media, and even health organizations like the World Health Organization have smeared video games. WHO, for example, last year declared that video game addiction was a mental disorder but, during this pandemic, is now touting it as a healthy social pastime (which is it WHO?). But while WHO is finally coming around, Hollywood and the media have no such compunction to change their tune. Not when money and viewership is at stake.
It will be interesting to see how things progress through this year. But one thing I can say for certain, we are going to be meeting a lot of new players in the gaming arena. And if the video game industry was smart, developers would be planning for the long term and focusing on driving people to play their games.
To all of you noobs, welcome aboard and game on!
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