2020 YEAR-END ISSUE | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY 43
“First,it capturespeoples’instinctto
escapefromrealistic difficultiesandtheir
yearningtochasea peacefuland
harmoniouslife; thenit satisfiespeoples’
unwillingnesstobelonelyandtheirdeep
innerdesireforsocialinteraction.”islands to trade items but also can talk and hang
out virtually,” Zhu explains. “There are even real
stories of people having weddings on the game
after their ceremonies had been canceled in real
life. It is a thoughtful way to make memories and
have some laughs during a time they cannot do
so in person. New Horizons fulfills the players’
desire to continue social contact with each other
during the COVID-19 epidemic.”
The Show Must Go On
Each spring, sports fans rejoice. Baseball
season opens up, playoff races heat up in the
NBA and NHL, March Madness takes the
nation by storm. There’s the Masters
Tournament and the Kentucky Derby. The
absence of sports this year left an entertainment
void for many. Who stepped in? Esports.
Prior to the pandemic, the esports industry
was already becoming a global force, surpassing
$1 billion in 2019. With video games’ internet-
friendly playstyle, esports had an easier time
transitioning into a COVID-19 world, taking
advantage of a sport-less world.
According to the University of Las VegasNevada, viewership on the popular video game
streaming platform Twitch rose 23 percent,
amounting to 1.2 billion hours of video games
watched. In fact, gaming streams across Twitch,
YouTube, Facebook, and Mixer grew from 4.8
billion in Q1 of 2020 to 7.6 billion in Q2,
according to Stream Hatchet. A study by PwC
found that earlier this year more than two-thirds
of under-35-year-olds were playing or watching
gaming content during the lockdown, and more
than half were open to watching gaming or
esports specifically.
It wasn’t only Twitch and YouTube hosting
esports and video game streaming. Major
networks like Fox Sports and ESPN also got
onboard and used esports to fill the holes in
their schedules, televising the eNASCAR season
and the Rocket League world championship,
respectively.
No Industry is Immune
Of course, while it has had an easier time
adapting to our COVID-19 world, the video
game industry has faced its own issues. In the
world of esports, major events, like Epic Games’
Fortnite World Cup, have been cancelled. Othermajor tournaments for League of Legends, FIFA
20 , Hearthstone, Apex Legends, Call of Duty, and
Rocket League have also been postponed or
cancelled.
While we are seeing films and TV shows
delayed due to companies adjusting to COVID-
19, remote working, and new health standards
— the gaming industry may be affected in the
same way. Production of gaming hardware could
be hindered as factories experience supply chain
interruptions and game developers may want to
prepare for a loss in efficiency as employees
continue to work remotely. Nintendo itself
stated in an annual report that “development
schedules may be impacted due to the difference
in development environment between working
from home and in the office ... As a result, we
may not be able to proceed with the release of
Nintendo products and the start of services as
planned.”
The video game industry isn’t immune to
COVID-19, but, although revenues might be
declining at present, the value of the video game
and esports sector has skyrocketed due to its
accessibility in the home. ■