Could We See More ‘Gaming Houses’?
In the same way that actors might have lived together in New York and Los Angeles, an interesting phenomenon is growing as more and more gamers are moving in together. The gaming house is becoming a common occurrence. Based on South Korean StarCraft teams cohabiting, many official eSports companies are putting their players into houses together. But what is a gaming house and how does it affect their gaming abilities?
Gaming houses come with plenty of benefits along with security. Not only will the houses be kitted out for long gaming sessions – gaming chairs and monitors, and enough space for all players’ set-ups – but the internet as well as security cameras will be established in the gaming houses to ensure everyone can game adequately and with proper means. As the rise in competitive online gaming has grown, so too has the need for people to devote much of their lives to it.
Late-night gaming sessions, extensive use of electricity, and antisocial hours creating noise when livestreaming might not be conducive to living with others. So, living together could eliminate these issues.
The move towards eSports as something players could do from the comfort of their own homes reflects the digital age. This is an increasing trend across industries, with iGaming being another apt example. Players are opting for the convenience of engaging with casino titles from home, with the latest casino bonuses in the UK being a further incentive to access gameplay through this medium. The gaming house is simply another response to the growth of gaming online and our desire to move towards a more digital way of living.
If you could share a gaming house with any 3 people, who would you pick? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/dnmPUhn1A9
— O₂ (@OxygenSupremacy) April 28, 2020
Gaming houses aren’t strictly a Korean concept. 2016 saw one of the UK’s prominent eSports teams – the Marfach team who played Gears of War for company Torpedo – move into a gaming house together. The team cited the reason for living together was that it allowed them to game together.
The proximity to one another meant that training and playing was simple and they were able to physically converse about the game and how it went. The camaraderie developed through sharing a house translated to the virtual battlefield and helped the team be successful.
However, in 2019 a UK League of Legends team was moved to training grounds in Twickenham by exceL. The organization they gamed for suggested that they wanted a separation between where they lived and where they gamed. Perhaps gaming houses are beneficial up to a point – a level of professional play – and then they begin to be counterintuitive. Going back to actors living together, after a certain level of success, they often moved out and lived alone again.
In the same way that YouTubers began living together, gaming houses are normal in the eSports industry. The industries are often misunderstood, so living with people who fully understand your lifestyle could help you focus more on the game itself and provide you some other gaming components too such as gaming consoles and gaming chairs. Living with teammates can also help how your game develops. These types of houses are a response to the digital nature of the world.
