By David Mujuni
For the past years, gaming has not been a major thing in Uganda but it is steadily catching up at a higher speed and greatly joined by both adults and the kids. When it comes to the Ugandan gaming society, it is hard to mention a thing related to it without saying something about Sanyu Fm’s radio host James Onen aka Fat Boy. At the age of 40, Fat Boy still finds video games interesting of which he says his main aim of being involved in such activities is because of fun, excitement, entertainment, mental stimulation and has been doing this since 1985.
However, he says the average age for most video gamers is 35. According to Fat Boy, you don’t need anybody to tell you what to do when it comes to video gaming unlike other fields of entertainment where inspiration from other people is needed big time. He adds that nobody taught him and was inspired by no one. “Nobody. One does not need to be inspired by anybody to play video games. All you need to do is watch a game being played anywhere, you will quickly be overwhelmed by the urge to play,” he revealed.
Takes Gaming Seriously
Gaming is something that Fat Boy includes in his daily schedule which consumes at least two hours of his time everyday but seems his woman has no complaint about it.
He insists gaming isn’t affecting his personal relationship. “Not really. I’ve mastered the art of striking a balance. Also, a skilled woman knows exactly how to get a man to put down his game controller,” Fat Boy states. In a period of one month, Fat Boy does not have a fixed amount he spends on gaming but the highest he has ever spent is shs750, 000 in one month. “Depends on what new games are out. Sometimes, I spend nothing because no new games interest me. But also I buy used games sometimes and those go for $10 to $20 or even less. So the amount varies. The most I’ve spent in a month is 750,000/=”.
Despite the amount he has spent on these games he says the only thing he has gained from it is personal excitement unlike the young kids who strive for championship. “All I’ve gotten out of gaming is tones of personal enjoyment. I seek nothing more out of it so it’s all good. I’m not trying to be a champion or anything. I play to simply enjoy myself,” he said.
No matter the number of video games coming out everyday, Fat Boy’s favorite game remains Red Dead Redemption on the PS3 and he prefers playing as a single player. Some of the new trending games Fat Boy
Some of the new trending games Fat Boy recommends include Pokemon Go which is the hottest game worldwide that has been greatly enjoyed by celebrities like Justine Bieber.
“As far as console games go, probably Uncharted 4, Tom Clancy’s ‘The Division, and No Man’s Sky. When it comes to mobile gaming, Pokémon GO is the blockbuster game that everyone is talking about,” he suggests.
Gaming is Not Just a Game
In Uganda, Video gaming has not become that organized and it’s not clear whether there are gaming associations or not. But it’s however so big worldwide which generated sales of USD 74 billion annually worldwide in 2015 and were the third largest segment in the U.S entertainment market behind broadcast and cable TV (According to a report on Wikipedia). According to Fat boy, video gaming is larger than Hollywood and the music industry combined in terms of revenue. He also adds that gaming is big and has universal appeal.
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