With online gaming on the rise and e-sports finally being recognized as a legitimate sport, it is crucial for gamers to make sure their gaming conditions allow them to achieve peak performance. It would be immensely unfortunate for a skilled gamer to suffer during a game because of external factors that are outside of their control. For this reason, they should not only be aware of what affects optimum game performance but also of which cities can provide them with those facilities.
Some factors that time2play compiled in their article on the best and worst cities for gamers are the cost of living, internet speed, the number of GameStop outlets, the number of BestBuy stores and lastly, but very importantly, the average price of a pizza. To keep expenses low, living has to be affordable and that plays a huge part in deciding where to live. In order to maintain a smooth, lag-free connection free of stutters, gamers need the best internet speed. A greater number of GameStop outlets will make things easier for a gamer in terms of providing quicker access to games. Similarly, BestBuy outlets will ensure gamers have fast and easy access to new hardware, whenever necessary. Lastly, it would be great to have cheap pizza available which is important for maintaining ideal performance.
Methodology
Ben Treanor was kind enough to compile this info in a very interesting article. They used various sources as part of their methodology. For finding out the average internet speed in different cities in the US, they took help from Nomadlist. Then they looked at the number of GameStop and BestBuy outlets within a radius of 30 miles from the center of each city in the list. The average price of a pizza was calculated using Expensivity’s Pizza Index. And, for the cost of living, they used Numbeo’s cost of living index.
Results
The results are shown in the image above. Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, clearly wins. It not only provides a low cost of living but also speedy internet among various other factors. Sitting on Missouri’s western edge, Kansas City comes second and Cleveland comes third. Even though Cleveland offers cheaper pizza than both Raleigh and Kansas City, it has considerably slower internet and a higher cost of living as compared to the two.
As expected, New York comes last with the highest cost of living. The city also has a surprisingly low number of GameStop and BestBuy outlets. The Canadian cities, Calgary and Edmonton, were third and second last respectively with almost the same findings. This thoughtfully-compiled list is of great use not just for gamers. It is for anyone deciding upon the ideal city in terms of factors that affect everyone such as internet speed and cost of living. We hope you find this list of some help when making a decision about where to move to.