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Platforms, gadgets cater to gamers’ increased activities during COVID-19
As more people spend more time playing games during home quarantine, many digital and technology platforms have been bold enough to launch new products and services to cater to gamers' needs, as the gaming sector seems to be one of the very few industrial sectors that have not been impacted adversely by the pandemic.
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any digital platforms and technology platforms have seemed to thrive amid the grim economic outlook of the COVID-19 pandemic. As more people spend more time playing games during home quarantine, these companies have been bold enough to launch new products and services to cater to gamers' needs, as the gaming sector seems to be one of the very few industrial sectors that have not been impacted adversely by the pandemic.
A report by The Jakarta Post showed that several local game developers that produced immersive video games enjoyed a 15 percent to 30 percent increase in average daily users during the pandemic, as of May 2020.
Globally, market tracker SuperData shows that spending on video games hit a record high of US$10 billion in March 2020. Spending on mobile games, mostly smartphone games, also increased by 15 percent to reach $5.7 billion in March 2020.
This has helped local game platforms and ecosystems to thrive alongside the game developers. One such platform is Gojek’s digital gaming ecosystem, GoGames.
In collaboration with three online gaming services providing casual gaming experiences – Google GameSnacks, Mobile Premier League and Maingame.com – GoGames has seen a 64-fold increase in average game sessions during the pandemic, according to GoGames head of third-party platforms Sony Radhityo.
He mentioned Bubble Words and Cake Slider as among users’ favorite games during the pandemic.
With the increasing popularity of video games and casual games, both computer and smartphone companies around the globe are launching new products specifically catering to gamers during the pandemic, particularly focusing on immersive video games.
Technology company HP, for instance, launched its new OMEN 15 laptop and OMEN 25L desktop to the Indonesian market on July 14. The computer allows gamers to optimize the capabilities of the hardware that they use, according to the company’s press release.
In an email interview, HP said the new products were the brainchild of a research project that the company carried out on tech-savvy gamers in May 2020, which revealed that nowadays, both professional and casual gamers prioritized features such as high performance, immersive design and gaming expansion.
Gamers specifically need high performance when they play immersive video games, which simulate realities and storylines that require their hardware to have high processing capacity, according to hobbyist gamer Prasiddha Gustanto, 34, who lives in Depok, West Java.
“This high performance translates into a more immediate gaming experience,” he explained.
To support high performance for gamers, HP uses Intel and MD processors for the latest OMEN 15, while also elevating the physical positions of the computers from the latest product line higher to improve air circulation.
“HP also equips the computers from the new product line with comprehensive port connectivity and an access panel that can be opened for customization without any additional tools to allow for seamless gaming expansion,” the company announced.
Smartphone makers have noticed that when it comes to gaming, performance really matters. Recently, smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi launched the POCO F2 Pro, specifically made for gamers.
According to a Xiaomi corporate press release, the latest product is equipped with the RAM LPDDR5, made for a speedy and immersive gaming experience. To sustain a smooth gaming experience among players, the smartphone is also equipped with a UFS 3.1 storage system, allowing excellent data transcription and encoding.
The smartphone also accommodates gamers who want to livestream their sessions or create game-related content, backed by its 64-megapixel main camera lens featuring the Sony IMX686 allowing for high-resolution pictures.
According to Prasiddha, before you decide to buy a new gaming gadget, first you need to decide which game types you would like to play.
“If you just want to play games with simple visuals, you don’t need personal computer central processing units with high RAM graphics,” he advised.
Even when you want to play immersive video games with complex visuals, that does not mean you need to buy high-end gaming laptops and personal computers, which can cost around Rp 20 million (US$1,371) to 40 million, according to Prasiddha.
“Therefore, when you buy new video games, you need to check on the gadget specifications that they require. Most people are happy to play using mid-end gadgets, with a price range between Rp 10 million and Rp 20 million, tweaking the visual quality of the games in order to circumvent the mid-end computers’ lower processing capacity so that the games’ image resolution will not slow the mid-end computers down,” he said.
If, however, you want to play games with hyper-realistic graphics, complete with the shadows that objects cast on their surroundings, then you may find a high-end computer worth buying.
If you play simpler games such as Farmville and Candy Crush, simply using smartphones will do, Prasiddha said.
