Mike Ybarra, former top Microsoft executive and president of Blizzard, believes that video games as a hobby do not compete with social media. In his publications, he clarified that he means short videos — TikTok, Reels on Instagram, and Shorts on YouTube.
"Games don't compete with short videos. They compete with 'time'. It's different. Video games are multi-hour, exclusive experiences. They are so good that you forget about time, get distracted from reality, from the problems and stresses of today. Short videos are what you do when you have a few minutes, several times a day."
In response, an X user noted that the average time spent on the phone is about 4 hours and 37 minutes, and questioned Ybarra's words. He noted that most social networks are used at school and at work, and at home people are looking for long content — movies, TV shows, games.
"It is known that people spend most of their time on social networks (Insta, TikTok, etc.) at work and at school. Yes, not working or studying, but sitting on social networks for hours every day."
"Video games take up time when you come home from work and school. So competition with movies/television — yes, but not with social media. I just don't believe it. Maybe I'm wrong, but in any case, the message is completely wrong."
Ybarra's statements came just a couple of days after Xbox's president of game content and studios, Matt Booty, said that Microsoft is not competing with other consoles, but is fighting for users' time on TikTok and similar programs.
