PUBG banned? Teens are game for other war games

Hyderabad: As PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite have been banned due to security reasons as border tensions escalated between India and China, a section of gamers who are hooked to the game are desperately looking for ways to skirt the ban or use alternative apps to satiate their craze for such war games.

Left with no choice but to respect the decision, many avid multiplayer games lovers are finding alternatives to PUBG and many have shifted to other multiplayer games like Call of Duty (COD): Revolution and Freefire, etc.

"I was used to play PUBG since it was launched back in 2017. But later had to stop it because of my job, but in lockdown I was again addicted to the game. Though it was a very interesting game, I personally experienced it showing a huge negative impact on me and my work. Similarly, the young generation, especially kids who are playing it, are also facing similar issues.

Teenagers are deeply into the game and are using abusive words while playing. Now that PUBG is banned, battle game buffs are shifting to other violent multiplayer games," H Shabir, who works for an IT firm and a resident of Malakpet.

The ban on PUBG Mobile has also impacted many people, who took to gaming professionally owing largely to the game. According to reports, there were around 33 million active PUBG players in India of which the maximum were teenagers. "I started playing PUBG about two months ago during lockdown as many of my friends were enjoying it. I too liked it a lot and started getting interested in it. It was highly addictive. After it was banned, me and my friend have shifted to another multiplayer game called Freefire which is Indian version of PUBG, and those who have a gaming desktop are playing the PUBG PC version," says Anmol, a BCom first year student who lives in Vanasthalipuram.

You can still play

PUBG in India

The government is still allowing gamers access to the servers of the parent game, PUBG, which are based in South Korea. Unlike the PUBG Mobile and PUBG mobile lite, the PUBG PC version is still available, but one has to pay to play it, and so it has less demand amidst avid gaming lovers.

On the impact of online violent games Dr Amthul Fathima, psychologist & counselor, says "As the trend of online games is increasing day-by-day. It has attained its peak from the time of lockdown. But there is no respite to people who are addicted to such games despite the ban. Recently, there was a suicide case which came to light after the ban. A teenager ended his life because of unavailability of the game and his addiction to the game. In fact, a Class 10 student from Telengana committed suicide when his parents asked him to study instead of playing PUBG. No matter playing games whether online or outdoor should have proper rules and guidelines so that it won't affect the mental ability of a person. Children or young adults should be made aware of the pros and cons of the addiction of gaming."

"For the last five months, there has also been an increase in playing Ludo online.

But who is monitoring and checking the children and young adults while playing these virtual games? No one. Infant parents too are finding a way out to keep their children busy with these games which in turn making them addicted," adds Dr Amtul.

"Now with the ban of very popular games, many youngsters and kids are showing withdrawal symptoms i.e., getting irritated, showing hightened aggression, disobeying rules, manipulating things, and emotional disturbances. Problem lies behind system and at homes. People should be given limited access to such games. For instance, after playing four to five hours the game app automatically should get switched off and should open next day only. Child lock should be applied to such games which are affecting the mental, social and physical aspect of a person," she adds further.