We are in uncharted territory, folks. With the metro in community quarantine and the malls closing down except for essential stores, one asks, what’s next? Could a bigger scale lockdown be imminent?
For gamers, we also ask, what now of Animal Crossing, Resident Evil 3, Persona 5 Royal, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake? How are we supposed to get hold of these upcoming titles with retailers like Datablitz and Game One PH closing down along with the malls?
Datablitz has already made an announcement that all their Metro Manila based branches will be closing down while provincial branches will remain open. We can expect Game One PH to follow suit and put out an announcement today. (Update – Game One PH has announced branch closures as well)
The government is doing the best it can and we, as law abiding citizens, must comply for our own safety. Of course that means more time for us to enjoy our favorite games! Then again, how do we get our hands on the latest releases if the local retailers are closed?
Here are some ways you can continue gaming during the community quarantine!
Go Digital!
I prefer my games of the physical variant but if you just can’t wait to get your hands on the upcoming titles on day 1, then your only choice is to go digital. Of course going digital has a couple of requirements:
- You must have a form credit card (or variants) available
- You must have a stable Internet connection
If you are a PlayStation user, chances are you’ve encountered the dreaded Region 1 wall where no local credit cards are being accepted. There are ways to go around this, namely purchasing PSN Credits. Sites like Offgamer can offer you ways of purchasing PSN credits across various PSN regions. They also offer Nintendo eShop Credits for Switch owners, covering your need for digital purchases. Those in the local gaming groups know of several trusted sellers like Kaizen Gaming to fulfill their store credit needs.
Don’t know how you can purchase online because you have no Credit Card? You can get the next best thing in Paymaya, which is technically a credit card but is more accessible to most Filipinos because you can use it even without a physical card! Just download the Paymaya app on your mobile phones and get to buying your credits or even games directly.
Also, since you won’t be having any physical disc, you’ll need to download the game and all of the updates along with it. A fast and stable connection like PLDT Home Fibr is what you’ll need. I was subscribed to the 50Mbps plan before the permanent speedboost given to everyone, bumping up my speeds to 100Mbps, so you can imagine how fast my downloads go, allowing me to download a 50-100Gb game within an hour or two.
Your free PS Plus games for March are Shadow of the Colossus and Sonic Forces
Going digital with PS Plus and Xbox Gold / Xbox Game Pass also gets you free games every month on top of your multiplayer benefits, which is added incentive for gamers willing to get the most out of their money.
Going digital will certainly be a popular option during the quarantine, so make sure you have the necessary requirements to continue gaming in the midst of this national emergency.
Go Free to Play!
There are quite a number of games that you can play that will last you hours on end without having the need to play the newer titles. Some notable examples are Warframe and battle royale games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, and the recently released Call of Duty: Warzone.
These games offer up intense squad based action with sessions lasting from a couple of minutes to outlasting the whole field of 150 players, ensuring fast paced gameplay that will keep you busy until the quarantine is recalled.
You noticed I mentioned “Free”, right? These games, even Warzone, are all free to play! You don’t even need to own the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game to play Warzone, but you’ll need to prepare for quite the hefty download so it’s best to start it now.
Not playing the new games on Day 1, especially the upcoming hits like Resident Evil 3 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be painful, but you’ll be glad to know that Warzone is a very good alternative for anyone looking for frantic shooter action!
Go Baroo!
Last year, we had featured a gaming rental service called “Baroo”, obviously a word play of Borrow, that let’s you rent games under a subscription service ala Netflix for only 999 a month.
All the games you want to borrow (one at a time, of course), unlimited exchanges, all for 999 a month. Best part about it? The games get delivered right to your doorstep and depending on your subscription plan, you even get free delivery.
Games are not exactly cheap and it so happens that not all the games are worth buying at full price due to their mediocre gameplay. Take the fear away of buying games you won’t like since you’ll only be borrowing the game, and you can promptly return it if you don’t like it and have it exchanged with a different title.
Head on over to the Baroo Website and register for an account to start “barooing” your games. They deliver even during the quarantine, so this is an especially tempting option for gamers who are stuck at home!
Of course, thing may change over the course of the next few days depending on Government mandates so check out the Baroo Facebook Page for any announcements.
The quarantine (or even the possibility of a lockdown) is not a laughing matter and for everyone to see this through, we all have to do our part, no matter how small it may seem. Gamers such as us will have to spend more time gaming, which is a very good thing to be quite honest, so taking advantage of these options will assure you that the fun never stops.
Videogame Content Editor. A father and gamer. Would gladly trade what’s left of his soul to witness a Final Fantasy 6 and Xenogears remake done during his lifetime.
