Ducky Bhai slams ban on PUBG

YouTuber believes that gaming can shield kids from bigger vices

TV and social media personality Waqar Zaka has been quite vocal against the ban on online multiplayer game Players Unknown Battleground (PUBG). Aside from filing a petition in court, Zaka, in recent days, has also called on various locally renowned PUBG players and gamecasters, among whom was none other than famous YouTuber Saadur Rehman, aka Ducky Bhai.

According to Ducky, the ban could put the future of not just gaming and E-sports but apps as a whole in jeopardy. Talking about the reason on the basis of which the ban was made, he said, “If people start accepting it as a legitimate argument then I don’t think any app, gaming or not, is secure in the future. It doesn’t make sense to ban an app used by millions just because of an issue relating to one person.”

Talking about the growing potential of E-sports in the country, Ducky pressed on how PUBG’s numbers in Pakistan are encouraging enough to have the makers give preference to the region, something that rarely happens for other games in the country. “Just over a few days ago, PUBG mobile, on its official website, announced that it had improved servers in Pakistan. That, in fact, has happened,” he said. “Why did PUBG makers do it? Well, they must’ve noticed that there are serious players in the country.”

Watch full interview here

He further dismissed the argument that a ban on PUBG alone would have that much of an effect on E-sports in Pakistan. “It’s going to have a significant impact. PUBG’s player count is way higher than other video games, including Fortnite. Even though Fortnite is a better platform globally, when it comes to Pakistan, facts are facts. Rarely do I come across a Pakistani player while playing Fortnite. But when I play PUBG, every time, I come across a Pakistani player. All my friends are online 24/7. Even my milk delivery guy is playing PUBG,” Ducky revealed.

The social media personality went on to highlight that globally, E-sports is considered one of the biggest industries in entertainment. “It’s at number one. Gaming is bigger than Hollywood, Bollywood. Gaming is the kind of thing that both kids and the elderly enjoy. You don’t need six packs to enter gaming. If you have an interest in it, even if you think of it as a time pass, once you enter it you can eventually make it to pro-level. Just have to keep on doing it.”

Adding on, Ducky talked about how the powers that be and parents should understand that gaming often keep adolescents away from various vices. “If you go to any gamer, he wouldn’t be wandering aimlessly, indulging in various vices. You wouldn’t see a gamer smoking, watching objectionable material on the internet and doing drugs. Why? Because they would be too busy focusing on video games. I myself have been shielded from such activities only because of gaming,” he admitted.

Aside from this, Ducky pointed out that gaming allows people to tackle loneliness in their lives. “Some people have social anxiety and are unable to interact with people in their real lives. But in online gaming, you have to talk to people. It betters your communication skills. There are kids who don’t have any friends and are sad because of it,” he explained. “In gaming, you are connected to people all around the world, be it duos or squads…you get to make friends. My discord is full of people that I have met only through gaming, whom I now consider friends.”

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