The Covid-19 pandemic and global confinement have created both health and
economic difficulties. There is a restriction on people's movements, such as
leaving their homes, meeting with family, and leaving behind sporting events
or live concerts with the public, resulting in a great crisis for the
entertainment industry.
However, one form of entertainment that has not been affected by the pandemic
is video games or e-sports, such as FIFA, Counter-Strike, Dota, League of
Legends (LOL) or the recent Valorant, thanks to their availability on
computers and smartphones.
In an “ABC of Gaming” study conducted by the WILD FI agency, Latin America's
video game industry grew by 10.3% in 2020 alone, reaching 134 million dollars,
higher than that of cinema and music combined.
And in relation to Chile, it is estimated that 52% of the national population
are occasional gamers, dedicating 5 to 10 hours a week to video games.
Undoubtedly, this situation resulted in an increase in internet traffic as
well. As per the latest statistics from the Undersecretariat for
Telecommunications (SUBTEL), there were 19.8 million mobile connections (3G
and 4G) as of September 2020, representing a 7.2% increase over the 18.5
million connected in the same period september in 2019..
The importance of 5G and its benefits
The importance of 5G in the gaming world is highlighted by the fact that this
technology promises to provide a quality user experience with no latency in
streaming systems for online games.
5G technology will create a new gaming experience, which will increase the use of VR and AR, as well as better smartphone performance for graphically demanding games. Additionally, the low latency of 5G will be beneficial to
users who enjoy multiplayer video games and competitions.
Additionally, there will be changes in the production of entertainment devices. Because 5G will host most of the content in the cloud, consoles and
computers may be small or almost indistinguishable.
Additionally, when we speak of video games or portable consoles, 5G-enabled
devices and Edge Computing will have an impact on game subscriptions, altering
how video games are consumed.
This means that the games that currently can be enjoyed on the home console
will also be available on mobile phones, being able to play or access them
while on the street or anywhere.
Within this context, an additional opportunity is anticipated to expand the
labor force associated with this industry, including specialists in 5G and
video games.
The specialists or professionals will be responsible for ensuring the
expansion of e-sports in the country, as can be seen from the recent
world-class computer game tournaments they have held. As a result of the
development of 5G, they will be capable of being transmitted in better
quality and with a better user experience, which implies that in a world
with a new reality, they will probably become more popular than they
currently are today.
