How the growing popularity of e-sports show that videogames don’t always need to be enjoyed alone.
E-Sport gaming team, Media from Wix
The act of playing videogames has often been perceived as a lonely endeavour, playing in isolation and keeping us from the outdoors.
The emergence of online play in videogames demonstrates that while people may play games by themselves, they are not always playing alone.
According to Statista, the most played games in 2022 included titles such as Lost Ark and Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO), both of which had over a million concurrent players.
The games with the most active player base were titles that functioned with online features, showing that sociability in games are in high demand.
Now, more than ever, any game genre can potentially be played with friends or present an opportunity to make new friends online.
Connor Lawrence, president of the University of Brighton’s E-Sport Society, said: “It’s not as lonely as it used to be back when it was first made in like the 80’s-90’s sort of era where [on] game consoles you could only play locally.
“It’s a lot more interactive now, there's a lot more ways of interacting with people. Talking to people about your games and playing with each other as well.
“I’d say it's a lot more social now.”
This ease of communication has allowed for competitiveness to truly flourish within the gaming industry.
Now, many users from different leagues are turning the act of playing videogames into a career.
According to statistics on escharts, there are over thirty thousand professional e-sports teams competing online across the globe.
This has turned video games from a simple virtual hobby into an entertainment scene that has both attracted a dedicated audience and has become a thriving industry.
Lawrence said: "There's a lot of different games that do all sorts of like leagues and teams in all sorts of countries, regions, continents, everything.
"But it still needs improvement because there is still a very large sort of bias to one sort of particular group within the e-sports scene at the moment."
E-Sport crowd at a live event, Media from Wix
Events are now being held through live tournaments that people can view through livestreams or attend in person, and therefore interact with others through the common subject of videogames.
Various teams use specialized communication tools such as team speak, discord, or slang to communicate important game information quickly and efficiently and perform at a higher level than the casual player.
This competitiveness has allowed for sociability outside of the game, through not only fan communities but also advertising and merchandising.
According to a report by Forbes, the ten most successful e-sports team in the world have a combined net-worth of $3.5 billion.
It has become a whole new world of entertainment connecting both players, broadcasters, and the audience.
Lawrence said: “Even though it looks as though you're not getting as much interaction. Like ‘why would you want to watch someone play a game?’
“It’s more for the atmosphere, its more for seeing how the teams play together, its routing for your favourite people.”
The professional scene has allowed for videogames to evolve from a simple hobby to thriving entertainment industry, garnering a large audience all across the globe connected through a common interest.
Check out the interview here!
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