For today’s week in review I’ll be focusing on the impact the coronavirus has had on the gaming industry. For the rest of the coverage of video game news and previews, I’ve linked my podcast episode above for your perusal.
The coronavirus is having a devastating impact on the entire world, but especially in China where the virus was first noticed. The death toll, as of this writing, is currently at 2,345 lives lost, with a reported 76,288 confirmed infected individuals (CNBC).
Brave doctors, nurses, and health care professionals are working around the clock, with many of them wearing diapers underneath their bio-hazard suits so they can continue to work uninterrupted. Some of them have even contracted the virus as they do their best to take care of the ill.
The world seems to be in panic as many countries are going to extreme measures to contain the spread of the virus. There are videos of city officials in certain areas of China locking their own citizens inside their residences in a desperate and foolhardy attempt at containment. Japan has quarantined a cruise ship, and because of mishandling by bureaucrats, have only increased the number of infected. There doesn’t seem to be a country that is not fighting the coronavirus.
The virus has left such a devastating impact that most individuals have felt the repercussions in some area of their lives. Even the gaming industry as a whole was impacted. Gaming devices with production centered in China have suffered a disruption in supply, such as Valve’s Index. Many global corporations, such as Sony and Facebook, have pulled out of events such as the Game Developers Conference and PAX East. Large tournaments have relocated to other countries. The Overwatch League’s scheduled homestead matches in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai are now being held in Seoul, Korea.
In the modern era of digital communication, we are still limited by the reality of the physical world. With the coronavirus impacting almost every facet of life, hope seems to be dwindling. Even worse, as the impacts of the virus worsen, news coverage is lessening because it is not trendy enough to cover.
It may seem like there is not much an individual can do in the face of such a large and seemingly unsolvable problem. However, the power of a collective community is unmatched. In my opinion, the gaming community is one of the best, most intelligent, dedicated, and creative communities I have ever seen, when it comes to gaming. Using the combined might of a community, I’ve seen what many claimed to be impossible in the gaming world to be made possible. It is quite the pity however, that this problem solving prowess is seldom applied to the real world.
I believe that if the gaming community has a whole shifted their focus to solving problems in the real world, that we would solve many of them with the same intelligence, dedication, and creativity that many apply to games on a regular basis. Mr. Beast has managed to get 20,000,000 trees planted by encouraging the YouTube community of both creators and viewers to work together towards this common goal. I believe that if the gaming community came together and worked in a similar fashion towards any goal, that we would see a better world.
Sadly I am not a visionary so I wouldn’t know the first thing to do in helping to stop the coronavirus other than donating to a handful of charities that are involved in relief efforts but I do know that if we joined together as a community, we have the potential to change the world.
Let us not forget the problems of the world because they cease to be trendy. Let us keep the coronavirus, and especially those who experienced loss because of it, in our hearts and minds and make a collective effort to help make this world even a little bit better. If every gamer, every content creator, used their medium to continue focusing on this problem and doing everything possible to help, then I am certain that there will be a significant impact made for the good of all.
Ducky Obrien 