Jack Wagner, Editor

In 1958, the first video game, Tennis for Two, was created. In 2024, the global games market generated $187.7 billion in revenue, with over 190 million Americans aged 5-90 saying they play video games. Gaming is especially common among college students, with a Pew Research Center study finding that roughly 70% of students play video games, even as far back as 2003. Some universities, such as La Salle University in Philadelphia, are responding to this rapidly growing industry by providing a space that allows students interested in gaming to play and enjoy.

Located in the St. John Neumann Residence Hall is the La Salle Esports Gaming Lounge. While the lounge was added several years ago, it recently went through some renovations to make it a more inviting and welcoming space for students to play in.

“I think it was just about getting the supplies that we needed and upgrading our gaming systems,” said Area Coordinator Sam Brockway, who oversees the St. Neumann Residence Hall. “[We’ve been] getting lights and making it a space that students want to be.”

Some of these improvements include the addition of game-themed pillows and neon lights on the walls to provide atmosphere. They have added Playstation 4, Xbox 1 and Playstation 5 consoles. These consoles currently have a small library of games available for any student to play.

Students are also welcome to bring and play on their own consoles, using the large TV in the lounge for a better experience than gaming in their rooms. A glass door allowing students to see the lounge from outside was installed to let them see what the lounge has to offer. Assistant Area Coordinator Eddie Adams was also very excited about the upgrades.

“I remember the first time I walked in there. I was like, students are just gonna love this,” said Adams. “That was really cool.”

Adams is also happy about the engagement and opportunities the lounge gives students.

“It just provides an awesome space for residents to really connect,” said Adams. “The engagement that we’ve been getting from residents has been really fun as a supervisor to watch.”

Students responded about a variety of things when asked why they liked the lounge.

“I think it’s a cool place for people to hang at,” said freshman Ephriam Rordriquez-Osuna.

“The amount of games, the lights on the walls,” said freshman Samaiya Bazemore.

“The PS5 and the decorations are nice,” said freshman Tisah Davis.

Brockway is also pleased with how frequently students are in the lounge.

“Now that we have these updates, the students are in there using it, literally every day. So it’s been exciting to be able to watch that,” she said.

The lounge is also home to the La Salle Esports Living Learning Community (LLC), a group of students who expressed interest in living and connecting with other gamers while at school. While the lounge is open for any resident to use, students in the LLC have card access without needing to ask a Resident Assistant to open it for them.

The LLC helped some students, like Bazemore and fellow freshman Dominique Brown learn about the lounge and what it has to offer. The LLC hosts gaming nights every other Friday in the lounge, which Adams expressed excitement about.

“I am beyond impressed with how it’s going,” said Adams. “It gives that space for residents to go and socialize and play these games in a just relaxed environment and a really cool lounge.”

Last semester, the LLC voted on a new game to buy for the lounge and settled on Mortal Kombat 1, and a tournament was held the following Friday to play their choice. The LLC is also being allowed to pick another new game for the spring semester, and voting for that choice is ongoing.

The LLC is also open to students who did not initially apply to join but want to become part of the La Salle Esports community. To join, students just need to contact Jack Wagner, the Resident Assistant in charge of running the LLC and promoting esports among the student population.

When asked about what they hoped to see from the lounge in the future, students responded by saying they would like to see more games, or even an air hockey, foosball or a pool table. Rodriquez-Osuna also said he would like to see more events in the lounge. Adams was also hopeful about the future of the space and continuing to improve the lounge’s collection, even though he will be leaving before next school year. 

“My hope is that just a more wide range of games can be gradually progressed,” said Adams. “And I think that’s what we’re doing, just finding gradual progression, maybe some collabs with other organizations on campus to just get the word out a little bit more.” Students and supervisors both have hopes for the future of the lounge and its continued use.