The video
game industry is breaking out in a cold sweat, and this time the enemy is not
piracy or rival consoles. According to a devastating report by the consulting
firm Epyllion, games are losing the war for users' free time
against three titans of fast entertainment: TikTok, gambling sites and
adult content (yes, we are talking about platforms such as OnlyFans
and nopor sites). The "attention economy" is brutal,
and today's gamers prefer instant gratification to eating a two-hour tutorial.
The War
for Cheap Dopamine
For fans of
anime and RPGs, this is a direct hit. Grinding levels in Persona 5
Royal or farming artifacts endlessly in Genshin Impact requires
a level of commitment and time that new generations simply don't want to invest
anymore. Why suffer against a boss when scrolling on TikTok
gives you clips of anime fights, VTubers dances, and instant dopamine in
15-second doses?
The numbers
back up this stark reality. Spending on PC and console games in the United
States fell 8% since the pandemic. Meanwhile, spending on
adult platforms and betting apps soared by $31.6 billion. It's
official: the internet prefers to gamble money or watch explicit content rather
than spend $70 on a AAA game.
Real
bets compete against your waifus
The gacha market,
the true gold mine of the otaku industry (with giants such as Fate/Grand
Order, Honkai: Star Rail or Blue Archive), is
in direct danger. The mechanics of these games are basically glorified slots
where you pay to have your favorite waifu. However, digital casinos
and sports betting use the same psychological tricks, with the added incentive
that you can win real money. If male players between the ages of 18 and 45 decide
to migrate their wallets to real betting, rolls for rare characters are going
to plummet.
Added to
this is the exhaustion of the traditional player. With a Western AAA industry
releasing games that are broken, repetitive, or attempt to deliver political
sermons rather than offer true escapism, it's no surprise that users prefer to
turn off the console. To survive, franchises like Zenless Zone Zero are
already betting on super-short gameplay sessions and fast-paced combat that
feels almost like a TikTok video.
