Video Games Helping People Stay Connected

Senior+Luis+Tena+playing+his+favorite+game+Madden+to+pass+the+time.

Senior Luis Tena playing his favorite game “Madden” to pass the time.

During the pandemic people have had a lot of time on their hands, playing video games is one of the things people started doing more during the pandemic. 

In March of 2020, the start of the pandemic lockdown, Nintendo Switch sales doubled and Ps4 and Xbox One increased by 25% according to NPD, an American market research company. 

During the last seven months, the most popular games have been Call of Duty Modern Warfare/ Warzone (PS4, Xbox, and PC), Fall Guys (PS4 and PC), NBA 2k20 (PS4, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch), Animal Crossing (Nintendo switch), and Madden 20 (PS4, Xbox, and PC). 

“During these times, video gaming has helped me relieve stress and boredom,” says senior Luis Mejia, who has twelve years of gaming experience. 

Call of Duty Modern Warfare/ Warzone has been very popular for the past couple of months because the Warzone part of the game is available for free. Warzone by itself is a whole game; it’s a battle royal game, 150 players drop in last team standing wins. Warzone is free, but you can pay for the whole game and it adds campaign and multiplayer with various modes. 

Fall Guys was popular for about two months, it was free for PS4 players (with PS Plus). It starts with sixty players and it’s an assortment of mini-games until there is a winner. NBA 2k20’s popularity went up because it was free towards the end of the year. Its more famous mode is MyPark where you take a created player with chosen attributes and play against people. Animal Crossing got popular because it’s a well-put game and was designed to be soothing and creative. The goal of the game is to explore and decorate the island as you desire. Madden 20 was popular because of all the different modes and diversity of players. “Video games are really entertaining for me because I get a challenge while playing with or against my friends, also I love playing a competitive game and finally getting a win after struggling and grinding all night,” says Nicholas Gonzalez, nine years of gaming experience.   

While many might think teenagers make up the majority of gamers, 38% of gamers are 18-34 years old according to Statista. “Sitting at 31 years old, I fall under that category.

That sounds like an appropriate number. I have several friends who are around my age who actively play games. We aren’t friends because of our gaming hobby, we just happen to be friends who also play games,“ says Ricardo Rodriguez, science teacher who has twenty-five years of gaming experience. 

With the start of the pandemic, some people got laid off their jobs and some took on gaming to pass the time. When people got older they stopped playing video games and the reasoning was lack of time. What better way to start playing again when there was plenty of time to play. Some veteran gamers came back to their childhood games that evolved like Nba 2k, Madden, and Call of Duty. These veteran gamers are connecting back to their childhood. Also, senior citizens that live alone were isolated from their families, so gaming felt like company for them. They might not be the best at competitive games, but games like Animal Crossing are perfect for them.

Playing video games with friends makes them entertaining because you either work together toward a common goal or you play against them. While playing you’re also talking with them, laughing, making memories, and maybe some rage.  “Video games have helped me pass the time during quarantine, I love that I get to talk with my friends and catch up with them because I rarely see my friends, I also get to play with them sometimes I rage because my friends win in the luckiest ways possible but it doesn’t matter because it’s the memories I make with them that makes it worth it,” says Luis Tena.

During this pandemic, video games have been a go-to activity because it’s indoors and safe. It is also a good way to stay connected with friends. When playing, it helps take off the worries off the mind about the ongoing news about the situation of Covid. Video games are popular because they are fun, and a good way to bond and make memories with friends and meet new people.