Online gaming has changed since the early days in the Philippines. Earlier on, for an individual to play online, people would have to go to a computer shop or an internet café. However, the proliferation of mobile devices and game consoles brought more alternatives for gamers to access their favorite games nowadays.
Why is the industry on the rise?
Playing online games does not suit only a specific age, gender, or region. It is a universal language spoken among internet users, apart from other activities available online. Across the globe, video gaming has gained significant popularity across the Asia-Pacific region. Although it is relatively recent in the Philippine market, the country ranked 5th in Southeast Asia among PC, mobile and console game users. The country’s result was not far-behind from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Online gaming brought about the rise of eSports or competitive video games in the Philippines. In this kind of competition, online gamers can compete internationally. The winning prize is what competitors look forward to as earnings are valued in dollars and not in Philippine peso. Most of the leading earners have won at least between 200 to 700 thousand U.S. dollars. Notably, in the recent Southeast Asian Games held in the Philippines, the Philippine team had won around three gold medals, one silver and one bronze for eSports competition.
Internet connection set-backs facing online gamers
Slow internet connection hampers online gaming streamers. In the Philippines, internet speed has been one of the challenges of the growing online population. Across the country, residents living in urban areas have a faster connection to the internet than those living in rural areas. For the Filipino consumers, obtaining internet connections may vary from subscribing to DSL, Fiber, and Wireless broadband. Among these, the most popular is the wireless broadband as it allows the users to use a mobile and fixed connection and Converge is known to be the most reliable and fastest internet service provider in the country as of June 2020.
