PC or Console Gaming has oft been looked down upon as a very addictive and non-productive affair with little capacity for mental stimulation in adolescents and children, a partial myth which we tried to dispel in our previous article. The previous article in this ongoing series listed out the top Indian gamers who streamed their gameplays on YouTube detailing their unique styles and their domains of gaming. In this article, we analyze why live-streaming gameplays is a growing field in India.
The constant evolution of technology, especially in the field of computers, has enabled multiple welcome changes to be brought into the field of gaming. Perhaps the most visible change would be the graphical enhancement of games, along with better storylines and sound effects which add to the realistic effects. With a massive population in India, a large percentage of it being young, the gaming scene in India has always seen a high demand from not only the youth but also adults. With increasing investments in gaming by business giants like Alibaba and Tencent, there has been further exponential growth in the gaming world because of this improved gaming experience made possible by these investments. It is inevitable in such cases that gamers all across the world would witness a larger audience in such conducive circumstances.
Watching gameplay is sometimes required in order to better one’s game, whether it is for better strategy or just for the sake of viewing. Over the years, it might have changed from the traditional CS: GO to the modern day PUBG, but given how much addictive PC (or mobile-phone) games are, it comes as no surprise that people would pay to watch their favorite games being played almost effortlessly by expert gamers. The telecom boom that was characteristic in the past two years has also connected vast amounts of our Indian populace to the Internet, thus widening the audience for Indian streamers. An increasing number of cheap smartphones have also enabled the multitudes of people to play and watch these games. Gaming streamers have also realized the vast potential of the same and thus have employed tactics like witty commentary which entertained audiences even more.
However, the gaming environment in India (or South Asia, by extension), though growing, is still dwarfed by the gaming communities in East Asia, especially S. Korea and Japan, whose gamers are renowned the world over for their prowess. But change will come to India, albeit not in a “Fornite”.