video games and its tempting $ 1.6 billion industry in Mexico

It's hard to find someone who does not like video games. You buy or they give you a console, you connect it to the television and you let the graphics catch you. If it's mobile games, you have no link. In the case where your taste is legitimate, you stay in the world of digital pleasure … and little by little it becomes your passion, in your daily life. Some think it's a waste of time, but nowadays there are more and more players in Mexico who are ready not only to enjoy their hobby, but also to do their job. earn a living at work .

According to the consultant Newzoo, in Mexico it is estimated that the number of players in 2018 will be 55.8 million people who with their purchases leave an economic income [of 1.6 billion dollars in this industry.

The upward trend of the video game market in the country is clear : from 2017 to 2018, the number of players increased by 13%; meanwhile, gains in 2017 were $ 1.4 billion, so annual growth in this area was 14%.

Among the millions of players we can find minors and adults who take video games as a distraction or hobby, but there are others who use to boost their finances or even to devote 100% to it .

Carlos Ortega, better known as Hero Charly, who is the creator of YouTube content on a chain of nearly 150 thousand subscribers, said in an interview with El Financiero that it all starts with a taste for video games but other advantages appear that call you to want more .

"I started my channel about five years ago (over time), you start to see that the visualizations are growing (in the case of YouTube) and you already know that YouTube pays , in addition to the partners And suddenly you start to approach the companies in my case Gameloft approached me.I was a player of their games and suddenly the company of Your favorite game wants to approach, want to sponsor you, I want to support you, she wants to help. It's an amazing thing, "commented Ortega.

The Mexican creator of gameplays, live game feeds and video game reviews on Android or iOS added that in YouTube, people can decide to leave their content as a hobby, just like him. However, players can achieve such a disciplinary point in this area that they aspire to become professionals of what is now known as eSports (electronic sports), an area estimated to $ 5 billion in annual business revenue for 2020, according to Activate Corporation.

– Would eSports catalog them as a job?

– It can be so. The discipline that players have to dedicate themselves professionally is incredible. Practice 5 to 8 hours a day, a normal day of work ; It's impressive that they are devoting themselves to one game or two, and if they devote themselves to more, it's even more impressive. Playing a single game every day for a month, two months, a semester, and a year is something admirable.

In Mexico, there are virtual communities like Gamelta that organize tournaments leagues and all related events such as electronic sports, with games ranging from the League of Legends to the latest Dragon Ball.

And, although it is not sponsored by a large company, access to these events is becoming easier for people who only play as a hobby.

Saturday, July 28, at Liverpool Polanco of the CDMX, two Gamelta tournaments will be held for players who only need one click to register. The first is from the game Dragon Ball FighterZ for PC, in which up to now more than 120 registered to compete for a prize of 15 thousand pesos and a trip to Las Vegas for first place, and 10 thousand pesos for the second. The other tournament is for the Street Fighter V and the first two places will take respectively 7,000 and 3,000 pesos.
ESL, an eSport platform launched in 1997, also offers tournaments sponsored by companies like Intel- where teams of five players can win $ 100 a week plus $ 500 if they win the first time. monthly spot in a Latin American league.

Economic incentives increase their category and, with this, attract more participants . According to Ortega, which has nearly 21 million views on its YouTube channel – still far from those of the star youtubers in the world of video games such as Fernanfloo, VEGATTA777, VanossGaming, Ninja or JuegaGerman, which reach nearly 119 million Together, according to SocialBlade-, the video game industry in Mexico is on the right track and will continue to rise if it receives support from technology companies such as Xbox, PlayStation, between others .