Why Is Everyone Playing Childhood Video Games In Lockdown?

It’s a rainy Thursday afternoon and you’re lying in bed for what feels like the 1000th day in a row. Your head under the covers, you just collected enough seashells to buy furniture for your virtual home in Animal Crossing. ‘Dinner’s ready!’ you hear someone scream from downstairs. ‘Coming,’ you sigh reluctantly closing your Nintendo Switch.

No, you’re not 12. It’s spring 2020 and you’ve been locked in the house so long your old childhood video games are your only solace.

It sounds bleak when you think of it like that, but actually, the rise in people playing childhood video games has been quite the source of joy during these ever-anxiety-inducing times. At least, it has been for the millions of people who bought the latest Animal Crossing game New Horizons.

Released in March this year, as lockdown measures were enforced around the world, Animal Crossing: New Horizons broke sales records when it became the first console game to reach 5 million digital sales within a month. This is no coincidence: social distancing orders have had a huge impact on the gaming industry at large. According to SuperData Research, global spending on digital games reached an all-time high of $10billion in March, up 11% on March 2019.

Alongside console games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, mobile games have surged in popularity by 15% compared to March last year – with Pokémon GO raking in $111m in March alone (an 18% year-on-year increase) after publisher Niantic made it possible to play the game without physically moving. From The Sims to Grand Theft Auto, it seems that we’re all obsessed with returning to our childhoods by any means possible..

‘I have been addicted to Animal Crossing in lockdown,’ says Maria Loizou, 26 from London. ‘Especially when I was on furlough from work. I got called back this week and have been setting an alarm half an hour earlier than I need to get up so I can still play in the morning!’

But is it the nostalgia of our childhood games or have we just run out of things to do? According to Gemma Hales, 31 from London, who is now playing Mario Kart on an old Nintendo 64 constantly, it’s a mixture of both.

‘It's a good way to pass the time with my partner and we're both quite evenly matched so it's good competition, which makes it quite fun,’ she says. ‘It's also such a classic game, I remember all the tracks, secrets and characters from when I was younger. We've really enjoyed that it's something we can do together that's slightly better than watching TV as well as bringing back those classic childhood memories.’

For Lucy Ryan, 30 from Liverpool, unearthing her favourite childhood game has given her and her partner a shared hobby during lockdown.

‘My boyfriend is the only person I’m seeing right now and he’s obsessed with his PlayStation,’ she says. ‘I was sat bored at first but we started looking through multiplayer games and saw Crash Team Racing. I was so excited because I loved Crash Bandicoot as a kid and I knew I’d be good at it. Now we play it almost every night and it’s actually been a good bonding exercise, I would never want to moan at him to stop playing his games so it’s fun to be able to join in on his hobby.’

It seems bonding with partners isn’t the only draw of a vintage game, it’s also providing some fun family time for those stuck in the house with kids.

‘We were looking for something to do indoors with kids during lockdown that isn’t passive watching,’ says Megan Pickard, from London. ‘I think that video gaming can help children and adults develop skills – there’s a lot of stuff about planning your actions, fine motor skills, but also social things like turn taking and negotiation when playing with someone else.

So what is it about childhood games that has us all reaching for the remote or console? According to psychologist Krystine I. Batcho, it all about going back to a time in our lives when we felt secure and care-free.

'Re-engaging in childhood activities revives the feelings we enjoyed during the simplest, most ideal time of our lives,' she says. 'Childhood represents innocence, the absence of pressing responsibilities, and unconditional love. When we reminisce nostalgically about childhood, we experience again feelings of security, carefreeness, and simple joy.

'In a way, playing old video games permits us to visit childhood in a socially acceptable, reasonable manner,' Batcho continues. 'We're not regressing to be children again. We're just enjoying the emotions such escapist activities revive. Social distancing has increased feelings of loneliness and the longing for those we cannot be with physically. Nostalgia helps to counteract loneliness and strengthens feelings of social connectedness and belonging. Playing childhood games reunites us psychologically with the people we wish we could be with physically.'

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