Mobile gaming has shot to the top of the video game industry, now representing 60% of the market, and growing. While the traditional video games industry still remains a male-dominated category, one of the fastest growing segments in mobile gaming is growth largely being driven by women, who love to compete.
“The Four” sat down with Big Buck Hunter World Champion Sara Erlandson and found of Play mechanix, George Petro to talk about mobile gaming’s trends and future as they look to this weekends Big Buck Hunter World Championships
About the Experts:
BIO: Sara Erlandson
Sara Erlandson, a self-professed gamer and new mom is a four-time Big Buck Hunter World Champion. Over the past 12 years she has traveled around the country competing in Big Buck Hunter competitions, which has earned her appearances in a Twitch mini-documentary titled Ironsights, ESPN, Examiner, Men’s Health Magazine, USA Today, and numerous other glossy magazine and local news stories. An unexpected gamer of sorts, Sara grew up as a competitive dancer, and later poured that competitive spirit into mastering the skills of the Big Buck Hunter video game.
When she and her husband opened Clyde’s Corner Bar and Grill in her hometown of rural Beldenville, Wisconsin, an avid hunting community, the Big Buck Hunter video game became a must-have game in her bar. In 2010 she noticed an ad promoting a Big Buck Hunter World Championship running across the arcade machine screen and ever since, she was hooked. After watching her husband qualify and compete at the Championship that first year— the energy, community and competition were electrifying, and she knew she absolutely had to be part of it the next year and wanted to win a trophy. She spent the next year playing anytime she could, up to 30-40 hours per week or more, challenging people to compete, learning tips and tricks from her husband, and when qualifying time rolled around, it was announced the first ever ladies-only world championship tournament would be hosted. From that year on, she became the first-ever Big Buck Hunter Ladies World Champion, and one of the longest reigning champs in its history.
Her bar is now referred to as “The Big Buck Capital of the World,” serving as a host to numerous Big Buck Hunter leagues, tournaments, and skillful video game shooters. Sara is currently training her 2-year-old daughter, Marion, to be a Big Buck Hunter gamer and future champion.
BIO: George Petro, Founder of Play Mechanix
George Petro is the founder of Play Mechanix, developer of the iconic Big Buck Hunter video game franchise that has become one of the most popular arcade games and a fan-favorite bar-room pastime among millions of gamers who spend hours playing it at more than 46,000 bars, restaurants, and arcades around the world. The Big Buck Hunter franchise includes titles now made for mobile, PC, game consoles, plug-and-play games, social media platforms, and pinball machines. A simple-to-play, hard-to-master game, it is the top global arcade esports, boasting a thriving community of Big Buck Hunter gamers that continues to grow through both live and now virtual Skillz-powered tournaments.
A veteran in the video game industry, in 1995 he founded Play Mechanix, creators of hits such as the Big Buck Hunter franchise, Minecraft Dungeons Arcade, Halo: Fireteam Raven, The Walking Dead Arcade, and Terminator Salvation, to name a few. Now in its 14th year, he is the visionary behind creating a global competition forum known as the Big Buck Hunter World Championship that draws over 20,000 of the best Big Buck Hunter arcade players from around the world to qualify for a chance to compete for the title of Big Buck Hunter World Champion. Throughout the years, the event has grown into a forum for women and men to compete in a game they love to play, and build a community of friends who they wouldn’t have otherwise met—that all begins in the spirit of some friendly competition.
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