Video gaming boom hides struggle to create new hits in isolation
- The coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of marquee trade shows, like E3, where big-name games are launched
- That is especially painful for the industry, which relies on flashy annual gatherings to connect publishers with game creators
Video gaming is experiencing an unprecedented boom right now, but behind the scenes, the coronavirus pandemic is hitting the US$150 billion industry in subtle yet significant ways – delaying crucial development, squeezing out smaller studios and disrupting the pipeline of new games heading into 2021.
As with other industries, Covid-19 has cleared the 2020 calendar by torpedoing marquee events like the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this month and the biggest of them all, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), in the summer. The litany of cancellations is especially painful for a business that, like the film industry, relies on flashy annual gatherings to launch big-name titles, connect publishers with creators and raise the profile of independent studios aspiring to become the next Rockstar Games.
Shares in some video game makers like Nintendo Co have trended upwards over the past week alongside a steep increase in playtime with government-ordered lockdowns around the world. But David Amador, who runs a one-man operation called Upfall Studios out of Lisbon, has a different perspective.
“Despite the technology and communication channels at our disposal, nothing really beats the face-to-face meeting,” Amador said. “It’s an increasingly challenging market and being able to talk to customers in a casual environment and having them play our games helps a lot.”
A serendipitous encounter two years ago at Gamescom, Europe’s top video gaming showcase, secured Amador a licence to develop for the Nintendo Switch platform. Missing events like the postponed Nordic Game Jam this year, “it’s hard to know the damage of people we won’t meet or deals not closed”, he said.
