Another key area that influences gaming in the Asia-Pacific region is as a ritual to pursue fortune. In Singapore, long lines may be observed regularly outside 4-D lottery booths on weekends, while in Japan, working-class businessmen often depart for long nights at pachinko gambling parlors in a bid to seek their fortune. These disparate phenomena may be explained as a ritualistic pursuit of fortune. For example, Bosco et al (2009) also studied how underground lotteries serve as a ritualistic method for poor rural families in China to escape their poverty, and to regularly and ritualistically place their hope in a lottery victory as a means for social mobility. (Bosco et al, 2009)
Such ritualistic fortune-seeking may also be observed in diasporic Asian communities in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, in an exploratory study of Chinese Australians’ problem gambling habits in Sydney, Zheng et al (2011) observed that gambling is an integral and ritualistic part of Chinese heritage, and that the game of mahjong was a regular and ritualistic fixture at Chinese Australian rituals such as weddings, Chinese New Year celebrations and funerals. (Zheng et al, 2011)
Ohtsuka and Chan (2010) also found that gaming, and the fortune-seeking ritual that accompanies such gaming, was also accompanied by other ritualistic behaviors such as the donning of red underwear as an auspicious symbol during mahjong games among Chinese players in Macau, with a strong correlation (of up to 95%) between mahjong superstition rituals and problem gaming in Macau. (Ohtsuka and Chan, 2010) These studies thus demonstrate that there is a ritualistic element to gaming in the Asia-Pacific region, and a repetitive motion to gaming as a means of seeking fortune.
Gaming as a form of stress relief in the Asia-Pacific region
Finally, gaming may be understood as a form of stress relief in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large pool of low-wage migrant labor, many of whom perceive gaming to be a significant relief from their daily toil, as well as being home to a large number of large, urbanised cities with high levels of anxiety and social stress. Gaming thus provides a source of stress relief for several contexts found in Asia-Pacific. For example, in a study of Taiwanese teenagers, Wan and Chiou (2006) found that gaming serves to place Taiwanese players in a ‘flow state’ that serves as a form of psychological relief from dissatisfaction in their lives. (Wan and Chiou, 2006) In a study of Vietnamese adults aged 16 to 24, Lostutter et al (2013) also found using the South Oaks Gambling Screen model that gambling was often seen as a coping mechanism for social anxiety and stress. (Lostutter et al, 2013)
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Gaming therefore serves an important role in the Asia Pacific region, in allowing gamers to be more mindful, to relieve stress and to engage in entertainment that allows them to unwind at the end of the day. This is supported by research from Reinecke (2009), which surveyed 1614 gaming participants to show that gaming can be used as a coping mechanism and social support mechanism to relieve work related fatigue and stress. For example, games such as DOTA, World of Tanks, Counter Strike and League of Legends are popular in major gaming markets such as China and Japan, and internet cafes are regular hangouts for teenagers and youths in Taiwan and Tokyo. Furthermore, a study by Beavis et al (2005) demonstrated that local area network (LAN) cafes in Australia, where teenagers and youth frequently congregate to play games, serve as community hubs where these individuals can learn from older mentors and seek a form of stress relief. Finally, gamers in South Korea had reported, in a study by Lee (2017), that their main purpose for playing online games were amusement, stress relief and anxiety relief. (Lee, 2017) This shows the important role of games in the Asia Pacific.
Conclusion
In conclusion, gaming continues to have an entrenched and diverse role in Asia Pacific. This essay has argued that gaming in Asia-Pacific can be best understood as a form of illicit entertainment, ritual and stress relief in the Asia-Pacific region. However, it is worth noting that the Asia Pacific remains a highly diverse region, and that the manifestation of perceptions and trends of gaming in Asia Pacific will depend significantly on the specific country or sub-region of interest.
References
Beavis, C., Nixon, H., & Atkinson, S. (2005). LAN cafés: cafés, places of gathering or sites of informal teaching and learning?. Educat
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