Our little tortoise will help you discover the hidden treasures within the gaming world.
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Humans are meant to be played with. We are wired like that. We love being subject to competition; we crave simulations. We can’t change our reality. But in a fantasy, we can position ourselves as we please and claim some solace.
Gaming is often connected with the childish need to be involved in something, but most of us take our adult lives very seriously. What are we, if not subject to a massive game of life? With capitalism laying the rules and giving us tokens — making us feel it is all real. Well, it is not. And we can’t complain either. Still we feel it does more harm than good. Maybe the game of reality is more unseeable.
News outlets blame video games for crime and violence. Parents yell at children to prevent them from gaming. They think we can do something more intelligent. (Peer pressure much?) Then some people use video games as a coping strategy which often culminates in negativity because they feel they’re not as good in reality. We’ve all been there. However, that’s just one side of the coin.
Playing video games day in and day out is not good, agreed. But in reasonable doses, video games offer people a sense of meaning and personal growth. They are more than just an escape from reality — both a magical and a tactical experience. Yes, games are fun to play and relax. But they are just as intentional — often requiring hardcore mechanical, strategic, and leadership skills.
Every gamer has two identities — real and virtual. Both affect each other. A study found that action gamers have better vision than people who don’t play. This could mean the difference between getting into a car accident due to fog and avoiding one. Even their brains function more efficiently. Gaming helps them handle emotions better, making them more resilient. In short, it has a powerful impact on our everyday lives.
Indians game big!
Games don’t discriminate based on age, gender, and whatnot. Gaming is often described as if it's meant only for kids and teens, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Some people take gaming very seriously for their entire life. It becomes an extension of their lives — not just a hobby, but something they have mastered over time. Even when life keeps on progressing, they keep going back to gaming.
The average age of an Indian gamer is 30! Indians form one of the largest video game bases on the planet — with 430 million gamers in 2021, projected to grow to 650 million by 2025. Most of whom play mobile phone games (remember Temple Run?) — internet connectivity, the rise in penetration of smartphones, influencers, and the pandemic were instrumental in their rapid popularization.
Investment in the Indian gaming industry surged 108% last year. It is worth $900 million and is expected to grow at 6.61 CAGR for the next decade. Even though India is only 1% of the global industry (which is worth $150 billion), it has massive potential for growth.
Think about it. Pokémon Go geo-blocked India as its servers could not handle the influx of players. Indians are usually rational and don’t spend much on vanity. But over 40% of Indian gamers are paid users who spend ₹230 per month on average on games (which is more than what Netflix basic plan costs). And 92% of Gen Z and Millennials, who comprise almost 70% of the Indian population, play video games.
Life’s not a simulation Elon, it’s a game!
After millions turned to it during the lockdown, gaming became the preferred leisure activity. Since its inception, it has been a cultural force that opened a whole new universe of possibilities for people. Indian gaming startups such as Dream11 have more active users than the number of Demat accounts in India. One can join a contest for as low as ₹10. Several other startups, such as Nazara Technologies, MPL, and Paytm First Games have also reported good growth.
Some people earn a livelihood out of gaming. Gamers post gaming content and build communities on platforms such as YouTube Gaming and Twitch. They get paid to live stream. They can participate in competitions like esports and acquire sponsorships. Gaming as a profession has become common because humans are naturally occupational beings who need to utilize their time purposefully.
If you think about it, capitalism has gamified human life for this reason. Normal human life is quite boring and dull. Capitalism has been a good problem for us because such opportunities did not exist thousands of years ago. Work is more fulfilling, and redundant jobs have been automated. We often credit the advancements in technology for the dramatically improved standards of living. But there wouldn’t have been any such advancements in the first place, had it not been for capitalism.
Winner winner, no dinner?
Jane McGonigal once said that gaming is essential to the future survival of the human species. What led her to believe this? The famine of Maeonia. If we are to believe the father of history, the Maeonians developed various dice and ball games to help them endure hunger. They would eat only on alternate days and played games on the interim days they fasted. They survived like this for 18 years!
Similarly, gamers today are weaving a tight social fabric. In video games, people come together to solve a problem. These help build strong bonds, trust, and cooperation — no wonder the gaming industry has been growing faster than OTT platforms and social media. It is bigger than the film and music industries combined, and still growing!
Ah shit, here we go again.
Safe to say that gaming has become the go-to medium for entertainment. Even tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Meta have made plans to enter the video game industry. They are looking for ways to make video game streaming as natural as streaming a song on Spotify or a movie on Netflix.
Speaking of Netflix, it recently rolled out the ability to create game handles on its platform for a more personalized gameplay experience — a feature to set itself apart from rivals. Even OTT platforms are intensifying their efforts to capitalize on the gaming industry. Will they succeed? We’ll have to wait and see.
Moreover, the introduction of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will soon revolutionize the gaming industry. Once they become more user-friendly and affordable, this will remove the barrier between the two realities. They will add an entirely new dimension, thus boosting the attention and retention of the users. Overall, gaming has penetrated very deep into our culture and will continue to.