ÑÇÖÞAV

, by Adam McCann, Financial Writer, Jun 10, 2020

Interview with Computer Game experts. Here is the excerpt with Rob Dieterich, Assistant Professor, Computer Game Design, ÑÇÖÞAV

Gaming can be both an expensive and a time-consuming habit. For advice on maintaining a healthy gaming lifestyle and insight on the industry, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

What tips do you have for someone who wishes to indulge his or her gamer habits without breaking the bank?

I recommend keeping an eye out for sales on markets for downloadable games, such as Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, and Epic Games. These storefronts serve the PC market. Likewise, the Playstation 4, Switch, and Xbox One all offer downloadable games and frequently run discounts. Epic Games particularly is worth noting because, to grow its market share, it has been offering free games that you can download and keep playing when you want. I personally have a collection of almost 70 games on the Epic Store and have yet to actually purchase something from it.

I also recommend being wary of free-to-play games. While they are initially free, they often have an uncapped monetization system that can lead to infinite spending if unchecked.

What tips do you have for parents looking to monitor video-game content and prevent children from spending too much time playing video games?

Because all game purchases go through my accounts, my child is not able to purchase games without my permission. I also generally set up accounts to require me to enter a password before allowing any purchases. 

Monitoring systems vary by game platform. The Nintendo Switch has an app you can put on your phone that tells you what games your child has been playing and for how long. It also allows you to set screen-time limits. On my child's gaming computer, I installed TeamViewer so I can view my child's real-time activity on my phone. This program lets the person being monitored know they are being watched which my child doesn't particularly mind (on the contrary, he's often quite excited to share what he's playing with me.)

Just as with controlling spending, I recommend caution around free-to-play games. Because of their business model, these are often designed to be played endlessly and often incentivize frequent long play sessions. I prefer it when my child plays story-based, single-player games as they have a definite beginning, middle, and end.

Knowing about the games that your child plays is a good idea. I am fortunate in this regard as knowing about games is part of my job. It can be a lot of work but try to talk to your children about the games they play. Research them when you have a chance. Consider watching videos of people playing those games on YouTube or Twitch to get a better idea of their content. Even better is if you can play with your child. My child and I have recently started a joint game of Civilization VI and we frequently discuss our load-outs in Monster Hunter World, a game we both play. 

Which is more cost effective: a subscription model akin to Netflix that allows users to access a catalog of games or purchasing games individually?

Subscription services could be a cost-effective way to get access to games, although my household tends towards buying games individually because I like to take a more curated approach to our game library. One factor to keep in mind is that, like TV, an all-you-can-play service is only as good as its best games. If a service does not actually have games that you want to play, it is hardly a deal. Also, similar to video streaming services, game subscription services are incentivized to use their particular catalog of games as distinguishing features. You may find yourself having to subscribe to multiple services to get access to the games you want to play.

Do you believe the popularity of esports will continue to rise? Will it ever rival major sports leagues such as the NFL or MLB?

I am bullish on the potential of eSports as an entertainment medium. I don't know if eSports will necessarily grow to the mass-market appeal of the NFL or MLB as eSports games tend to ask a lot more rule literacy about the games in question than the most popular sports. One could argue that the barriers to understanding the League of Legends as a spectator are much higher than, say, American Football.

Should eSports betting be regulated differently than sports betting in general?

I am not particularly knowledgeable about current betting regulations for sports, but my gut answer is yes.

Despite the current economic crisis, the video game industry is . What will be the long-term impact on the landscape of this industry?

If my memory serves correctly, the games industry has traditionally performed relatively well during times of economic downturn. I think this is often attributed to games' ability to provide a large number of entertainment hours per dollar. I am hopeful that support for work-from-home and remote work will continue to grow in game development on the back of COVID-19 quarantine measures. Game development, and game development companies, tend to concentrate in a certain few cities in the world. Remote work acceptance has the potential to allow more people to work on games without having to move to game development hub cities like San Francisco, Seattle, or Austin. I'm also hopeful that remote work measures will make it easier for people with families to actively engage in game development while still being present for their families.