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Last evening, PUBG Corporation, the gaming corporation that gave the world, the hit arcade game, PUBG, had stated server clos
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India has always been the place for many controversies, and one of them is how the government deals with games. In a sense, games are what we need to differentiate on; what kind of games does the government have the right to ban, and what to they don’t. The rise of battle style games in India certainly revolutionized the gaming industry. From games like Counter-Strike, Modern Warfare, Road Rash a many to more to games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and more, these games have changed the way we experience the action and adventure genre have been a memory to many.

The games today have a common aspect to it; Violence. Today’s theme is to win, be the number one in the game, or be a hero, and all these lead to killing many characters. The way these games have inspired many is the same reason as to why these games are now facing retaliation by the government. Parents have always been crying out the same reason that their children spend much time on mobile games or in front of the console instead of reading a book or getting some vitamins from the sun (indirectly as a way to sweat out and play). They fear that these might get out of hand and affect their studies and potentially damage their future.

Many of these players worldwide have started Gaming channels on YouTube, and in turn, the monetization scheme of Youtube turns these players into their partners, and they earn money through games; the other ways of income also include promotions of various games. The Bandwagon effect has played its part here. In simple terms, the effect is a way to bring in new users through renowned players’ experience, and thus, in tur,n their fans play the games or use the product out of curiosity. Many such players who value themselves as “Pros” have started Channels these. Gaming Platforms like Twitch, Trovo, YouTube Gaming are platforms that provide the luxury of expressing gaming talents.

The Indian story: E-Sports

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered an idea to expand the digitalization of India. The E-sports platforms were an idea that he wanted to expand for the youth who struggled with unemployment. It came as good news to many Indian players, and foreign stars like Pewdiepie expressed his envy and pride for the Indian community. Indian Gamers like Mortal, Scout, out of joy, broadcasted their clan system to bring in more “Pro-type” players to the team, being inspired by Foreign E-sports teams like Tribe, Xset, and many more. The Indian game platform was at the zenith of expansion, and it was like a dream for many!

Then came the app ban, an effect of the inter-country clash. Many apps that had their origination in China were banned, and PUBG was feared to be next in line. Call of Duty Mobile, helmed by Activision, had relations with a Chinese gaming company, Tencent, who also was in partnership with PUBG Corporation. Activision severed its partnership with Tencent as early as possible and was the smartest move in the Indian Sector. They knew that the ban could affect their stats and earnings. PUBG failed to realize it soon, and the ban had happened faster than they could ever adapt to the change.

The ban affected many Indian E-sport careers. They were lost on returning to their viewers, which new content and prevent any more subscribers’ loss. Each subscriber is as vital to the popularity of the gamer. The way one could get subscribers is much difficult today than earlier. Better Content, Excellent Gameplay, and more could help the viewers have a better hand at their game, and it is what a subscriber increase would seem. The ban itself has even given more popularity to games than reduce it. Games like Among Us, Fall Guys, and more have gained fame overnight and improve subscriber interest.

The Reason for the Ban: Is there a solution?

For some time, even state governments have been trying to ban some games like Fortnite. The Andhra Pradesh government wanted to ban Fortnite because it was seriously impacting student lives and hindering student growth in education. It propagated violence and more than studies; the game was the talk of many students, and parents’ complaints only worsened it. It is only a matter of time when a popular game like Fortnite could be banned as well. One might never even know. The call for the ban has been an instrumental factor for the overall development of the child. A survey had warned of these games’ impact on children’s mental health, spending more than 6-8 hours every day. If not controlled, the player could suffer from exhaustion and even death. Many cases have been reported where a 14-year-old had died due to mental exhaustion. Sometimes, the games go to the extent where some kids buy in gamin-game through their parents’ bank accounts, unaccounted for.

The games have also created a mental urge to be better at the game and get affected by loss in a game against friends and other players. The adult population of the game use profanity, which the kids learn from the game. Loneliness, Depression are some of the side effects of these games. The importance of a social creation among friends and others is taught in schools to tackle this. Counseling and much are some extreme steps that the kids are set to face and might even cause embarrassment, but they wouldn’t realize the betterment it provides. Banning a game cannot solve any crisis; it is the early onset of control that must be placed onto the child to solve these crises. The same policy is what has to be applied and taught to parents as well.

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