22 Friday Lifestyle | Features Friday, May 8, 2020 Gaming becomes king of entertainment in pandemic lockdown ou are facing a pandemic lockdown with no seeming es- cape. But wait! You still have your marksman rifle for Y“Call of Duty” and the mysterious island on “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” awaits exploration. Video games have been seeing exceptional growth during the COVID-19 pan- demic which has shut down real-world activity and kept billions indoors. Evidence of the gaming surge was seen in strong re- sults this week from Activision Blizzard, which said an average of 102 million people played its games such as “Call of Duty” online monthly the first quarter of this year. The company reported growth in titles such as “Overwatch,” “World of Warcraft” and the popular color-matching smart- phone game “Candy Crush. Electronic Arts, meanwhile, saw players flock to online sports in hit franchises devoted to soccer, baseball, and American football. “They’re gaming so much they are wearing out their devices,” said analyst Ted Pollak of Jon Peddie Research. A report by Futuresource Consulting called gaming “the shooting star of the entertainment industry” which is expected to grow its share of the sector to 36 percent by 2023 from 31 percent last year. “Following a record-breaking year in 2019, with gaming software generating $143 billion of A man walks past a coronavirus-related mural, in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, on May 1, 2020. —AFP consumer spend, the industry is now poised for further growth, with captive audiences worldwide acting as a catalyst.” NPD analyst Matt Piscatella said sales of the Nintendo Switch gaming console doubled in March compared with a year earlier, with many of those users playing games like “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” the fifth of the franchise which takes people to explore a deserted island. “Existing gamers have more Game world star PewDiePie signs time to spend because of the lockdown, and schoolchildren are at home,” said Futuresource analyst Morris Garrard. “We were expecting the console segment to see a dampened year as a re- exclusive deal with YouTube sult of people putting purchases of software and hardware ahead of (new) console releases. But with people stuck at home, you have a massive base of existing content that people are en- ouTube on Monday announced that streaming star gaging with.” The research firm has boosted its forecast for PewDiePie will make the Google-owned video platform mobile gaming, now expected to grow 12 percent worldwide, Yhis exclusive online stage. PewDiePie, whose real name helped in part by the deployment of fast fifth-generation or 5G is Felix Kjellberg, has 104 million subscribers at YouTube, wireless networks in some parts of the world. where his videos have racked up more than 25 billion views. No details were disclosed regarding any financial incentives Games for all ages involved in his decision to go exclusive at Google-owned The lockdown gaming craze appears to be luring people of YouTube, which competes with rival platforms such as Ama- all ages. Young children are turning to titles such as Roblox, zon-owned Twitch and Microsoft Mixer. which allows for creative, user-generated experiences. The “YouTube has been my home for over a decade now and older crowd is using online versions of the Chinese tile game live streaming on the platform feels like a natural fit as I con- Mah-Jong, part of what marketers call the “gray gamer” phe- tinue to look for new ways to create content and interact with nomenon. “With movement restrictions, time-rich retirees are fans worldwide,” Kjellberg said in a release. Kjellberg created isolated and turning to mobile games,” said Garrard. “It’s a sub- a YouTube channel in 2010 and began uploading videos of stitute for meeting up with friends and playing games face-to- “Minecraft” and “Amnesia” game play, according to the serv- face.” Garrard said that in China notably, there has been a ice. His channel has evolved to include a range of comedy and pronounced boost in online Mah-Jong play. —AFP reaction videos as well as popular videos about topics catch- ing fire on various online platforms. In August 2013, Kjellberg became the most-subscribed YouTube channel in the world in Felix Kjellberg 2013, and six years later became the first individual YouTube creator to reach 100 million subscribers. 200 million gamers a day watching more than 50 billion hours Kjellberg is going exclusive at YouTube as online gaming of game play annually. and video streaming has surged overall as people staying The 30-year-old Swede has stepped into controversy over home due to the deadly pandemic turn to the internet for en- the years. In September 2017, he apologized for using a racial tertainment. “YouTube is where the world comes together to slur in an expletive-laden rant against an opponent during a connect and during these unprecedented times,” said head of live-streamed computer game. Before that, he was shunned gaming Ryan Wyatt. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to continue to by YouTube and Disney over videos containing anti-Semitic grow our roster of creators who are making our platform their insults or Nazi references. In 2016, he was temporarily exclusive live streaming home.” The list of gaming-related blocked from Twitter after joking he had joined the Islamic content stars exclusive at YouTube include CouRage, Lachlan, State group. Kjellberg last year said he was “sickened” after hearing that the gunman behind a New Zealand mosque mas- LazarBeam, Muselk, Typical Gamer, and Valkyrae. YouTube This photo shows Australian high school teacher Dante Gabriele touts being the largest global gaming platform with more than sacre had promoted his videos before opening fire. —AFP playing Nintendo’s Animal Crossing at home in Melbourne during the country’s enforced COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown. —AFP.