Around the turn of the new millennium, gaming with a big group of people was the domain of the LAN party. You’d collect your PC or console, grab your monitor or TV, and drag them over to an event or a friend’s house for a party of cooperation and competition. As high-speed internet became standard, this pursuit started to fall by the wayside, where LAN parties today can be an alien concept to newer players.
Despite their downturn in the West, however, LAN parties persist, and might even be poised for a comeback. So why could this be, and what advantages does this approach offer that makes them a preferred way to play for many?
The Personal Touch
On a smaller scale, the success of LAN parties ties to how it’s more engaging to experience fun with people directly. While there’s no doubting the improved convenience of online play, physically being in a room with other people affects us on a deeper and more personal level. A close victory or nail-biting match, when you’re next to another player, can be felt in a way that online microphone communication just can’t match.
The trouble with this is that moving equipment around isn’t easy. Although the days of lugging around back-breaking CRTs are mercifully behind us, getting a bunch of equipment set up in one place is still a logistical problem. While newer tech like 5G connections can cut down on some hardware requirements like LAN cables, if you aren’t close to the people you want to play with, it’s still not easy.
A Matter of Necessity
On a larger scale, there are instances when LAN parties or more professional and competitive versions of LAN parties are a necessity. Part of this is thanks to how being physically present with other players will eliminate latency issues that can plague online play. Fast-paced games can be frustrating or glitchy when latency is introduced, and thanks to limitations from the speed of light, this is not an issue that fast-paced gaming can ever overcome. If you’re playing from New Zealand, for example, you’ll never be able to play well with someone from Spain, because the signal needs to travel around the world and back.
Of course, this isn’t the case for every game out there. Consider casino games in Zambia for example. These titles like Epic Ape and Buffalo Blitz have been released on this website especially to cater to players in Zambia, but they could also be theoretically players from anywhere in the world without latency-caused issues. Whether playing on mobile or computers, instant reflexes don’t matter, so latency and proximity aren’t creating any issues. Head-to-head fast-paced video games don’t have this advantage, however.
As eSports continue their path towards entertainment dominance, championships via LAN parties are again raising the profile of the in-person way to play. While online will continue to thrive thanks to its convenience, there’s also hope that the older ways will return. Whether that means setting something up ourselves, or the growth of gaming cafés as demonstrated in countries like Korea, playing together in person is poised for a comeback. As for what that means for two decades of evolving smack-talk now experienced in person, for that, we’ll have to wait and see.
