The Corona Games
The Gaming industry could benefit greatly from the Corona outbreak.
The Corona outbreak froze the entire world’s economy, crashing the markets, and forcing people to stay at home. However, the outbreak is also an excellent opportunity for the right players, and no, I’m not talking about the alcogel manufacturers.
While tourism companies and airlines shut down their activities, and the forced quarantine changes consumer behavior, some set of new industries receive a tremendous amount of popularity with their products. Movie streaming, delivery companies, and even video conference apps like Zoom thrive in this new world. Among these, an old-new industry is having a significant rise in traffic and interest — the gaming industry.
Corona is cancelling the launches of Xbox and PlayStation.
Like the rest of the world, the gaming industry is experiencing confusing times. On one hand, many conferences that were scheduled this year got canceled. This year, Sony and Microsoft are presenting the next-gen of video game consoles: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The launch is a significant milestone in the market, and the conventions are vital for the entire publicity of the new generation and the games that come along. There is a notable decrease in sales of games and gaming products this year, due to the expectation for the next-gen consoles. An event like that happens once in seven years, and it is unclear whether the companies can sustain the manufacturing for the consoles. The companies declared that business is as usual, but it will not surprise anyone if there will be a delay.
On the other hand, demand for gaming is skyrocketing. People pile up at stores buying consoles and peripherals. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are sold in vast numbers even though a new generation of consoles is coming this year. Research by Verizon detects a 75% increase in Internet data transportation towards gaming since the outbreak. Gaming is the new social activity and an immersive form of escapism from the social distancing and home quarantine. The publishers do not miss this opportunity and offer free trials and discounts on games. Nintendo’s “Animal Crossing” is selling above all expectations, and video game subscriptions are a great option to access many games at once for new owners of gaming computers.
Video games are in high demand with social distancing.
The home quarantine presents an increasing interest in video game streaming. A research was done on streaming websites and found out an increase of 15% in streaming websites such as Twitch and YouTube. Kids have been at home ever since schools were canceled, and all the major sports leagues are canceled as well, people watch eSports instead. Online competitive gaming is already thriving in the last few years and reaches millions of people. Online competitive games replace the NFL, NBA, and NHL with League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Overwatch. Video game streaming and eSports replace live sports events and promote themselves to be a real alternative for conventional sports. For example, the Australian Grand Prix opening race was canceled, and the racers chose to compete in VR with players around the world.
The mobile gaming platforms might have the best outcome of all the other sectors. Everyone has a mobile device, and mobile games have a low threshold for both playing and developing. Mobile gaming companies enjoy an extreme surge in usage during the outbreak, as seen on the App Annie research, mobile games download in china increased by 35% in February. One of the most popular games was Plague inc, where you try to eradicate the human race with a plague. The game was so prevalent that China banned it from “displaying illegal content.”
Video games industry should learn from Hollywood.
Paradoxically, the entertainment business flourishes in times of a crisis. Hollywood made its breakthrough during the Great Depression of 1929.
The Great Depression was an economic crisis in 1929 and drove the USA to a long period of recession, high unemployment rate, and a leap in poverty. The stock market dropped and the salaries dropped. It was a hard time for most of the people and most of the enterprises that time. But Hollywood was prepared.
Hollywood was cheap entertainment for the masses, with a broad distribution and affordable production costs they could offer a dime for a movie. The movie industry had to compete with theaters and radio as a form of entertainment, but they were cheaper. A film would cost a dime compared to an expensive theater show, and radio broadcasts would force you to buy a piece of expensive equipment. Hollywood made a broad range of movies, from cheap cartoons to Broadway productions. The Great Depression caused the movie industry to become the large entertainment business it is today. The gaming industry nowadays is competitive and efficient. Hardware expenses are low, and consoles are easy to afford. Video games are incredibly affordable, with high competition over the consumer’s money. The subscription services can offer access to hundreds of titles with as little as $5 a month with Xbox game pass, for example, or even cheaper with Origin Access. The new model of Cloud Gaming offers video games without the need to buy hardware. Cloud Gaming suggests that the computing process of the game will happen in the cloud, and players will not have to purchase equipment to play games. Mobile gaming is even in a better position since most people already own a mobile device or two. It’s easy to develop mobile games and more comfortable to monetize them. The vast distribution of mobile devices makes it easier to earn from micro-transactions and make money from many players all over the world.
The gaming industry is well prepared for the Corona Virus outbreak, very similar to the Hollywood movies during the Great Depression of 1929. Will it get the upper hand and come stronger from this social distancing event? Only time will tell.