More consideration for gaming and its positive aspects in everyday life, growing female gamers…but – at least for now – don't call it sport. This is what can be seen from one recent research on Italians and sentiment on gaming conducted by Eumetra in collaboration with Gillette. The occasion is the launch of the collaboration between the best-known grooming brand in the world and PG Esports for the next Milan Games Week, the largest event dedicated to gaming in Italy.
In particular, it emerged that for over 50% of those interviewed, playing video games is not considered a waste of time, indeed it is functional to the development of certain cognitive abilities such as attention, reflexes and concentration. An aspect captured in particular by the target between 25 and 44 years, which include the latest generations who are physiologically closer to the world 2.0 and which is part of their daily life.
“Italians' knowledge of the dynamics of this reality is expanding. While there is room for improvement, there is an increase in awareness and interest in video games,” he comments Federica Pallavicini, research psychologist and research fellow expert in virtual reality and video games. Confirmation is also the evolution in the tool for accessing video games which from the classic console passes to tablets and smartphones (61%). Tablets and smartphones are the preferred mediums of the women interviewed who answered the question "have you ever played video games in the last month" in 71,8% of cases. Video games are therefore no longer a prerogative only for men.
Deepening the analysis on esports, it emerges that 55% of the interviewees know or have heard of it and that the players of this discipline are recognized as professional and have a positive role in transmitting social and human values within society (commitment, constancy). 65% of those interviewed do not consider eplayers to be sportsmen, although recently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opened up to esports, recognizing the value of the commitment of the boys towards the achievement of a high-level performance. “The world of traditional sport and that of esports can be equated starting from what they have in common, namely the “competition”.
Professional players, in both cases, aim for a goal and its full achievement. To this end, undergo physical and psychological training sessions whose main phases are "relaxation"-"internal language"-"visualization". In some cases, such as archery for example, the focuses are the same: concentration and precision” adds Mauro Lucchetta, sport and esports psychologist.
“Improving performance and managing cognitive resources in order to optimize one's skills is an asset that can be applied not only in the sports and esports world, but also in the professional world in the traditional sense. The skills acquired during training by an eplayer are then applicable in several areas. Professional eplayers are mostly young people who fall within the target that we follow with the “Gillette Young Promises” project comments Gennaro D'ambrosio, Assistant Brand Manager of Gillette Italia.
Gillette, on the occasion of Milan Games Week, and in collaboration with PG Esports, has created three unique training experiences for all esports fans and players, the “Gillette Skills Challenges”. Sessions led by two expert psychologists in the sector, Mauro Lucchetta (sports and esports psychologist) and Federica Pallavicini (psychologist and research fellow expert in virtual reality and video games) who will address various issues together with leading names in the world of proplayers, grappling with 3D simulations, eyetrackers, indie video games and much more”.
