Traveling for Gaming
Games have always been an important part of society both for
learning rules and strategy and experiencing competition in a healthy and fun
way.
Vacations are good for the heart, body, mind and soul. Everyone needs some time off, but not
everyone is excited about that Caribbean beach and umbrella drink vacation or
the Alaskan cruise to see the glaciers and the all-you-can-eat buffet. Some people long for adventure, yet they are
not prepared for rock climbing in Colorado or hiking the Highland Trail.
There are those who have fond memories of afternoons at the
local arcade, weeknight backgammon games with their siblings and weekend
competitive chess matches at the city park. They still love spending a
couple of hours in the evening playing darts at the local gin joint or take
every rainy weekend as a cue to indulge in all-day video gaming. These
game-loving types have started to constitute a new type of traveler: people,
mostly in their 20s and 30s who travel for gaming purposes, in order to
experience video game competitions or take a look at how exotic games are
played. Who are these gamer traveler and what drives him to embark on
game-filled journeys?
Pokémon Go
Many of the available countries are
throughout Europe, making a Pokémon GO travel itinerary a must do. Now
you can travel through Tuscany in search of Jigglypuff or hang in Amsterdam
collecting the elusive Gyarados. In fact, there are some Pokémon that are
exclusive to specific locales: Tauros in North America, Mr. Mime in Europe,
Farfetch’d in Asia and Kangashkan in Australasia. Considering that trading is
not (yet) implemented in the game, completionists are already posting in
internet forums, stating their intentions to take transatlantic trips and beyond
to catch the Pokémon they’re missing.
What’s more, this phenomenon has already become apparent in
some places: the Associated Press reported that because of South Korea’s
limitation on GPS services, most Korean players are not able to catch Pokémon.
There are, however, some places in the country that do have access to these
services. Since the game’s launch in South Korea, people have been traveling to these areas, namely Sokcho, in order
to play the game. They have actually gotten to calling it “Pallet Town,” after
the name of the village in the inaugural games of the franchise, Pokémon Red
and Pokémon Blue.
77% of players are over 18 and 54.2% make over $50,000
income, making travel for Pokémon a common travel decision. With new countries
in the works, gamers can take a weekend chasing Vapoeons in a nearby city or
travel across the world for a Caterpie. Unfortunately, airlines and
hotels are not accepting Pokécoins as a form of payment as of yet.
Tour Classic Game Histories and Championships
Pokémon just not your thing? You are wondering what ever happened to good
old classics like Dominoes, Chess and Darts? Believe it or not, they
still the happening thing in many parts of the world. It’s fascinating to
discover and travel to where your favorite games across the
globe, from poker to exotic Morabaraba were invented and are still a
large part of the local culture today.
Whether it’s learning about the origins of Chess in India or Darts in
England, the history of your favorite classics makes a great centerpiece to
your travel plans. Additionally, even if you’re not the gamer-traveler type,
local board and card games are a great opportunity to learn a bit more about
the culture of the place you’re visiting, let off steam and bond with your
fellow travelers and even locals.
Even more exciting is traveling the world to attend
championships of classic games like backgammon or even pinball. The World Championship
of Pinball brought Pittsburgh alive in April and the Backgammon Championship
recently took place in Monte Carlo. The World Series of Dominoes takes place in
the exciting city of Las Vegas in September. The World Chess Championship comes
to New York City in November, followed by the World Darts Championship in
London during the second half of December.
The Asian Experience of Arcades
Sadly, arcades have gone the way of the Dodo in the United States and
Europe, but they are still very much alive and popular in Japan. One can
still enter the world of flashing lights, deafening techno music and machines
blaring commands and retro music as players get lost in their own gaming world.
This experience is completely unknown to many in the west.
If movies like Tron and Pinball Wizard are some of your favs, then a
Japanese arcade adventure is the perfect vacation for you
Las Vegas
Las Vegas might be considered one of the adult gaming
capitals of the world. Casino
destinations rank as top destinations for travelers with Las Vegas ranking the
top 3 travel destinations in the US. With plenty of discount incentives to get
travelers to start gaming, this does not need much explanation
If you have even the most remote interest in video games,
either PC or console, you have probably heard of the phenomenon of eSports.
What used to be limited to your living room and computer desk has become an
arena sport, attracting millions in of tournament attendees and online
viewers. People travel from all over the world to watch brand sponsored
League of Legends, Call of Duty and Warcraft teams battle it out on the big
screens. Which brings us to the third gamer-traveler category: the professional
(and his/her audience)! If you want to rub elbows with the newly famous,
join over 150,000 fans this fall at the Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Championship in London and San Francisco where winning prizes top $1.4 million.
Or join over 300,000 fans in Paris for the ESports World Convention at Paris
Games Week. If you can’t make it to a championship, there are a multitude of
video game conferences to attend all over the world.
Travel companies are actually putting together tours for
today’s gamer. Follow Lara Croft to Thailand or visit Havana, Call of Duty’s
backdrop. Tours include flights, accommodations and a “game plan.”
Regardless of your gaming passion, there is a great vacation awaiting
you. The assortment of event locations make it easy to bring your
non-gamer mate and still have a brilliant “playcation.”
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