Ah, the Internet, the place were everything is true and where I spend too much of my free time. Speaking of free time, some of you may have heard of a game called Farming Simulator. It is more than the annoying FarmVille notifications your little brother would send you via Facebook. This is a video game that some people are OBSESSED with. Someone I know even bought a special laptop to play this game! Good news, they may be able to cash in with a new announcement from Farming Simulator with a big cash reward.
You ask, “What is so great about this game?” No clue — it is just virtual farming. I guess since only 2 percent of the population currently farms in this thing called “real life,” it can be seen as idealistic. Finally, being able to put yourself to the test to see if you have what it takes to be a farmer. You have farmers, city folks, and gamers alike interested in this game. People will work a 13-hour day on the farm to turn right around and farm on their laptop. Whew.
But before I turn my nose up at the game, I figured I should find out what the draw is to the game. I asked a farmer who plays the game what he thought about it. “It is relatable. It is what I like to do when I have down time. Sure, not everything is exact — for example the prices aren’t right — but I still find it fun.”
It gives you an idea of what farmers do, day in and day out. Granted, you only have to wait three days until harvest *wow*, but I would image if they kept the real wait time, everyone would kill their crops… *thinks back to the virtual dog I haven’t cared for since third grade. *
Winning Big
After testing the waters in 2018 with the first season of the Farming Simulator Championship, GIANTS Software is ready to dive deeper into the world of eSports with the upcoming season two. Major changes lie ahead, when the Farming Simulator Championship becomes the Farming Simulator League, a full-fledged eSports league with 10 tournaments across Europe. At the end of the season, the best teams will compete for the title of the Farming Simulator Champion and $110,000 in prizes. Every single tournament will not only grant circuit points for the best teams, but also wield big prizes, bringing the total prize pool for season two up to a total of $280000.
“We have a unique opportunity,” explains Christian Ammann, CEO of GIANTS Software and manager of the eSports division. “Competitive farming is something people have enjoyed for years now, but it hasn’t been done in eSports so far. We have lots of eSports enthusiasts in our company who can’t wait to show the world that farming can indeed be fun and competitive at the same time. We believe we found the right mix of real farming and fun to play game elements to ensure everyone will find it entertaining.”
Now if only, they could get the real life version and go outside and work … oh wait, no one would want to ACTUALLY do that. I wonder if my real life experience of farming would make me better at that game so I could win the money — I would put it towards my “real” farm.
