Antares : How long have you lived in Mexico and how do you like it?
Adrian: I have been living in Mexico since the end of January. I really like it here. A crazy country, full of delicious food, amazing views. Friendly and cheerful people, with drivers who found their driving licenses in packages of chips (laughs). The sun shines here most of the year, so it’s hard to get depressed. For me, it is a totally exotic country, but I feel very comfortable here and if it was possible to stay here for more than just two years, I would not hesitate at all. I just want to take this opportunity to try to debunk one big myth. Many people think that death awaits you at every turn, and that’s not true. You know, there are dangerous places that you better not go to, but in most cities it is quiet, the people are really very friendly and positive. Unfortunately, the media plays a significant role in this myth, because they only report negative news about this country. It’s worth coming here and seeing for yourself that it’s cool (laughs).
Antares : Did you take your passion for games and electronic entertainment there from Poland?
Adrian : As a purebred player of course I took my passion here. It is true that I did not take the computer with me, because the transport is not so colorful, I would be sorry if they destroyed it or confiscated it, but I recently bought an Xbox Series X console and now I can enjoy my passion here. For five months I was unfortunately forced to detox from games due to the lack of equipment, and I must admit it was hard, but I managed and now I’m enjoying the Xbox.
Antares : Living there restricts your hobby in some way? Have you encountered any difficulties?
Adrian : I have not noticed any difficulties with playing in Mexico, maybe apart from the slower Internet than in Poland, and besides, it was without any problems.
Antares : How is the availability of hardware for players and games in the Mexican market?
Adrian: The availability of the equipment is practically no different from what we have in Europe. According to statistics, gaming on phones dominates here, followed by consoles and there are not much less PCs. Mexico is currently in the twelfth place in the world in terms of the size of the gaming market in the world and in the first place among Latin American countries. In the case of the availability of consoles, which has been a hot topic since the premiere of these new-generation devices, it is easier to get the PS5 than the XSX. Recently, in one large supermarket, I saw about ten Sony consoles to buy, but not one from Microsoft. In addition, the latter, if it appears, is only through online shopping and the price is cosmic – in our conversion it is about PLN 2,900. And this is a colossal difference compared to Poland, although this border is slowly blurring as well.
Antares : Is electronic entertainment perceived differently than in Europe? Do people there regard it as fun for children, or also as an interest for adults?
Adrian : From what I was able to learn from a friend, for a long time gaming was actually perceived as entertainment for children, but with time it started to change. Lots of people in the company where I work play and are not afraid to admit it. Gaming is slowly becoming a pretty strong force in Mexico. There are a lot of different “Comic Con” or other events where characters from the games reign supreme. There are even events that focus on games and believe me, a lot of people come to such events. Such a small curiosity, did you know that the Kerbal Space Program was created by the Mexican studio Squad?
Antares : Did you find people who share your passion? Do you spend time playing couch together?
Adrian : I managed to find such people and there are a lot of them. We are already planning, with one friend, to do a little sofa with games over a beer (laughs).
Antares : What hardware is predominant in Mexico: consoles or PCs?
Adrian : As I said before, consoles dominate here, especially Xbox and Switch. Compared to Europe, the greater problem is the availability of the Microsoft console. Recently I was in one supermarket and there is a lot of PS5 to buy, there is no Xbox at all, and even the prices of the latter have jumped a lot recently. After conversion into zlotys, it comes out about PLN 2,900. Nintendo is also very strong in Mexico; there are many Zelda fans , Mario . It seems to me that, in a way, the American market, which is very close to Mexico, also made it much easier to buy an old Xbox, or consoles from Nintendo, and these habits have remained to this day.
Antares : Have you had anything unusual about the move and the games? There are gaming and entertainment media operating there?
Adrian : Is the entertainment and game media working? I am not sure one hundred percent, but I think so. Especially since, as I wrote earlier, there are a lot of events devoted exclusively to games, so for sure such media works dynamically and becomes stronger and stronger.
