Half of the Indian gamers surveyed as part of a study commissioned by PC maker Dell opined that gaming helped transform them into ‘strategic thinkers’.
The consensus among the respondents was that gaming helps improve a player’s cognitive abilities and skill development.
Dell partnered with a third-party research firm, Researchscape, to conduct the online survey where 5,763 video game players from 11 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, U.K. and U.S.) were monitored on contemporary gaming habits, attitudes and the wider gaming community. To qualify for the study, respondents had to play video games on desktops or laptops for at least one hour a week.
In India, 587 respondents participated. The survey was fielded from December 9, 2017, to January 30, 2018.
Of the gamers who spent anywhere between 10-40 hours gaming, 48% contended that their response to stimulus had increased and 49% agreed that they were ‘great’ at problem solving. As many as 31% of the gamers who gamed for 20-40 hours agreed they had an enhanced sense of peripheral vision while 51% asserted that they had faster hand-eye coordination.
‘Positive label’
Today, being called a “gamer” is considered a positive label and 55% of the respondents feel smart, cool and 51% feel excited on being adjudged so, according to the survey. Gone are the days when being called a “gamer” was considered derogatory.
More than 80% of gamers said they do not care about the gender of the rivals they are matched with online, which could explain the sharp increase in female gamers in recent years. One in two players (52%) has a female friend who plays video games, the survey findings show.
India’s online gaming industry is projected to add 190 million gamers and become a $1 billion opportunity by 2021, according to a recent KPMG report.
