AIGF releases new report on benefits of digital gaming
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) launched an industry report ‘Online Games: A tool for learning & development’ at a launch event in New Delhi yesterday. The report highlights experts’ opinions on the positives of digital gaming and benefits of better hand-eye coordination, reduction of stress and anxiety, team building, improvement in decision making skills etc.
The industry report contains testimonials on the benefits of esports for learning and development from experts such as Ankur Diwakar-South Asian competitive esports champion; Fatima Agarkar- leading educationist; Dr. Sanju George- mental health expert; Dr. Divya Jain- mental health expert and Dr. Ishita Pateria- Counselling Psychologist.
Launching the report Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and Olympic Medallist, Mary Kom said, “While the conventional thinking is to categorise all forms of digital gaming as harmful, careful research and analysis indicates that there are many positives that accrue from Digital Sports Gaming. In today’s time, with the growing digital infrastructure, eSports can reach out to an innumerable set of people in different cities who do not have a proper sporting infrastructure and provide them with a platform to showcase their skills.”
She further added, “It is needless to mention that all gamers need to be cautioned against the overuse of online games at the expense of other physical activities.”
The report launch was followed by a panel discussion wherein experts like Fatima Agarkar (Leading Educationist & Founder – KA Edu Associates), Ishita Pateria (Counselling Psychologist & Founder – State of Mind) Lokmanyu Chaturvedi (Pro Gamer), and Dibyojyoti Mainak (General Counsel, Mobile Premier League) gave insights on advantages of digital sport games, gaming methodologies used in teaching, enhancement of life skills, mental aptitude, lowers stress, better hand – eye coordination, critical thinking and psyschosocial skills through gaming etc.
Expressing his views, the moderator of the panel discussion, AIGF CEO Roland Landers said, “The proliferation of digital infrastructure, high-speed internet and growing technology have led to a tremendous growth in the online gaming industry. There are an estimated 300 million mobile gamers in India. The number of digital gaming companies has also seen a rapid rise. In digital sports gaming players like Mobile Premier League (MPL) and First Games from the Paytm stable taking the lead in driving growth in this sector.”
