NWe are in the mid -90s. In Casablanca, Rabat or Marrakech, new lights come on, those of the first arcade rooms. Modest but vibrant spaces, where games like Street Fighter II or The King of Fighters captivate a youth eager for novelty. These rooms mark the first tangible traces of a phenomenon that would shape generations: gaming in Morocco.
Often installed in working -class neighborhoods, they quickly attract young people. For some dirhams, they access an electronic world, made of fights, strategies and adrenaline. “Frankly, at the time, it was magic. Arcade rooms were our place. Even if our parents saw it with a bad eye, we went there because we needed to find ourselves, to challenge each other and also to forget a little everything else, ”says Hamza Anoui.
But this popularity is accompanied by controversy. “There was this look of adults, as if we were wasting our time. But for us, it was more than that. It was there that we discovered games that made us dream and we made friends, ”he adds.
The console revolution
At the end of the 90s, a new step begins: the living room consoles. Playstation becomes a real cultural phenomenon. But its access remains uneven. If the official stores offer it at high prices, informal markets like Derb Ghallef in Casablanca stand out as accessible alternatives.
“Ah, Derb Ghallef, it was the gaming paradise, jokes Hamza. If you couldn’t afford to buy a PlayStation in the shops, it was there that you found your happiness. Consoles, controllers and even pirated games in five dirhams … Everyone knew the way! ». The consoles, once introduced in homes, modify the gaming report. The games are now playing with friends or family and make video games a more intimate and collective leisure.
The emergence of cybercafes and competitions
-The early 2000s saw the boom in cybercafés, which became sanctuaries for network game lovers. Titles like Counter-Strike and Warcraft III transform these spaces into competitive arenas. “Cybercafés was another era. You came with your friends to play hours, and even if the connection was not great, the atmosphere did everything, ”recalls Hamza.
“It was there that we started to really play in a team, to seriously challenge each other. Some cafes even organized small improvised tournaments, ”he recalls. But this era is no exception to its own challenges: capricious Internet connections and sometimes rudimentary equipment. “Yes, there were lots of technical galleys, but we didn’t care. We were so passionate that we always found a way to play, ”adds Hamza.
The birth of a gaming community
Despite obstacles, a structured community emerges in Morocco. The first local competitions are organized in cybercafés or during improvised rallies. The players gather around a common passion and manage to go beyond social and economic barriers. It was also during this period that Aubisoft installed its antenna in Casablanca in 1998, a strong signal for industry. But in 2016, after 18 years of presence, the French giant closed his studio and ended at an era. “When Ubisoft left, we all felt it as a huge loss,” says Hamza.
“But somewhere, that forced us to ask ourselves questions: did we want to remain simple consumers or become creators?”, He adds. Ubisoft’s departure left a vacuum, but it also paved the way for a new dynamic. Local studios like The Wall Games, carried by former industry, have emerged. Government and private initiatives, such as the “Video Game Creator” program or the creation of specialized hubs in Rabat, today testify to the desire to transform this passion into a real industry. Long considered a simple playground for foreign players, Morocco is asserting itself today as a real creator of the video game universes. Carried by a new generation of talents, he draws the contours of an industry ready to conquer the international scene.
