Letter: Positive impact of Covid-19 for digital content industry

LETTER | As Malaysians get used to the idea of working from home, there are bound to be distractions that will get in the way. Beyond keeping track of the many tips out there on how to remain focused during workhours and keeping the kids occupied, let’s not forget that proper work-life balance must also be maintained.

With everyone now staying at home, there are times – usually after working hours – that families can get together and catch a movie or play videogames together. Both – as orders of the day – are the usual first choices.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games as such content can do more than just provide pure entertainment. As is, games, movies, and drama series and animated shows on TV – especially, those that put family values and educational lessons front and centre – are now the default past-times for families to wind-down with.

According to various news reports, Tencent picked up millions of new users for its mobile games and WeChat platform when Covid-19 global pandemic first struck China. This growing trend is set to continue at a global scale. Similarly, App Annie reported how citizens of both China and Italy are now spending more time on their smart devices after these countries' respective lockdowns began.

For Malaysia, there are plenty of locally made games and animated shows that have taken off to become global icons. This includes Thor: War of Tapnorok, Bake ‘n Switch, WarPods, King’s League II, BoiBoiBoy, Ejen Ali, Chuck Chicken and so many more. All of them will certainly experience a higher surge of user download and interactivity. After all, with the movement control order (MCO) in force, all family activities must now be indoors.

Creative push

What can content producers – animators, game designers and even comic artist – do while they’re stuck at home? Besides carrying on with their work and part-time hobbies, it is a great time to really flex their creative muscles as digital content is experiencing a huge growth surge.

In fact, the same App Annie report revealed in February 2020 how weekly game downloads in China went up by 80 percent compared to the average weekly download for the whole of 2019. This is certainly a good opportunity for the creative industry as the demand for content is now experiencing explosive growths.

As videogames and animated shows are the cornerstones for the Malaysia creative content industry, they are set to become next-gen business drivers in this expansive digital era. Right now, thanks to this massive spike in user demand, the content industry is at the forefront of change. 

Even Hollywood had to change their age-old strategy and pushed forward the digital release of new movies. NBC Universal made the first move as it announced plans to take its latest movies straight to digital on the same day as the theatrical release.

Malaysia’s take

While things are changing for the creative content industry, the skyrocketing demand must be met head-on. That means making the best of this opportune time and upping the creativity of the industry as they push to meet market needs. 

Games and animation can focus more on driving awareness about Covid-19 and be educational for all. For example, Monsta Studios is currently working on brand-new content that educates about COVID-19 and the preventive measures to avoid further infection. Even Didi and Friends put out a new song to educate families on washing their hands properly.

All these changes and innovations will drive the growth of next-gen content development. This includes making the games and animation, or related content, engaging for the entire family. That has been, and always should be, the driving force of the creative industry. 

During this stay-at-home period, this global growth sector and its ongoing efforts will be well-suited for all to really learn and understand how creative content can boost family relationships, inspire creativity among youths, and energise positive innovation for the entire family.

SURINA SHUKRI is the CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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