TheJakartaPost
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Indonesia's gaming industry bursting with untapped economic potential
A study by gaming and e-sports analytics company Newzoo estimated that the global video game market will generate $152.1 billion in revenues this year .
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A child plays a mobile game via Tencent's WeChat. (Shutterstock/Freer)
Rima, 36, considers video games dangerous for her children, hence her decision to limit the amount of time they are allowed to spend gaming.
“I need to limit the playtime so that they will not become addicted to video games,” said Rima.
Vonny, a 40-year-old mother of two, voiced a similar view, saying most video games were good only for entertainment and did nothing to develop her children.
However, with each passing year, it becomes more and more likely that the perception of video games will change, as the industry shows great promise.
E-sports, a form of competitive video gaming, is growing in popularity in Indonesia. It made its debut at last year’s Asian Games in Jakarta and will have its own competition at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines in November.
The government is also now backing gaming. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo pledged he would strongly support it, and various gaming competitions were introduced recently, including the President Cup, Youth National eSports Championship and 2019 IEC University Series.
