How Video Games Have Thrived During the Pandemic | Podcast

While many businesses are facing their most difficult financial times during the coronavirus pandemic, consumer spending on video games and hardware grew 11% to a record $10 billion in March. On this week’s episode of “TheWrap-Up” podcast, hosts Sharon Waxman and Daniel Goldblatt were joined by TheWrap’s Samson Amore and Yoshio Osaki, President and CEO of IDG Consulting, to discuss how the video game industry has thrived during the pandemic. “The stigma of gaming as being an antisocial behavior, I think in this odd, climate of social distancing, gaming is somehow now viewed more acceptably, as a way of engaging in community,” Osaki explained. He also added that a lot more people are picking up games than ever before, saying, “The other thing we’re seeing right now is gaming as entertainment for non-gamers. So there are a lot of mothers and fathers who see their sons and daughters on Twitch, on YouTube or Snapchat or TikTok, and gaming is a key focal point within that behavior set. And so we’re now seeing a lot of folks learning about games for the first time by watching other people playing games with tens of millions of viewers at any given time. And so I think that’s a sort of transcending some of the cultural barriers that we had seen with gaming in the past.” You can watch the video above and listen to the full podcast in the embed below. SUBSCRIBE: Apple | Spotify | Art 19 | Stitcher | Google Podcasts “TheWrap-Up” is hosted each week by founder and editor in chief Sharon Waxman and assistant managing editor Daniel Goldblatt. The pair dive into the biggest headlines of the week in the world of movies, television, streaming and tech. Each episode features two deeper dive segments featuring our knowledgable and talented team of Wrap Pro reporters, offering up their in-depth, expert analysis you won’t hear anywhere else.