Escapism
Seeking entertainment through gaming is a much needed distraction in this day and age, and allows people to engage in fantasies that are not possible to carry out during the current global pandemic. Multiplayer games represent a trillion dollar industry, which is growing by the year and expected to grow to $2.2 trillion by the end of 2021.
The Covid-19 situation – which we are all very aware of – has sparked an even larger interest in gaming, and last year in 2020 it experienced a surge by 20%. With a large majority of the world’s population now stuck at home, bored out of their minds, gaming has become their new way to socialize and do group activities with friends despite social distancing.
Simulators
Most popular of the simulators would be the classic racing rig, complete with a steering wheel so that it really feels like driving a car. There is even a competitive scene known as Sim Racing, which features computer software which attempts to accurately simulate auto racing. It is complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, tire wear and grip, car damage, and suspension settings to feel just like the real thing.
Other than racing, there are a lot of simulators (most are easy to find as they have the word ‘Simulator’ in the title) which emulate real world scenarios and bring the player as close to the real world activity as possible. This varies all the way from flight and farming simulators all the way to goat simulators. Seriously. One of the most popular simulators though, falls under the miscellaneous category – and that’s Minecraft.
Socializing through games
Minecraft, in case you haven’t heard of it, is a sandbox video game developed by Mojang and released on November 18th, 2011. Depending on the server size, you can usually have 20 players per every 1GB of RAM. However the number of players you can have in total is virtually limitless. The Mineplex server broke a Guinness World Record on January 28th, 2015 for having 34,434 concurrent players which is the most on a Minecraft server at the time.
The sheer amount of social functionality that comes with the game makes it a great substitute for meeting your friends during a global pandemic. According to Matthew Keezer, Minecraft’s continued and consistent success is large in part due to the ultimate freedom offered to players; the strangely accurate simulation of life; large variation despite the simplicity; and most definitely the iconic calming music.
Matthew Keezer’s expert opinion
Sophisticated Internet entrepreneur Matthew Keezer is the chief executive officer of Momentum Ventures. Their flagship brand, FlightHub launched in 2012 and brings in $1.5 billion each year and is a leader in the North American online travel scene. Within Matthew Keezer’s company Interhub, the popular adult site Pornhub was founded and launched on 25th May, 2007.
Matthew Keezer is also a great advocate for video games, and has a lot to say about why Minecraft is so popular, and why it has remained relevant for over a decade. You can find said article here.
