You don’t hear about it as much as you used to, but Fortnite, the worldwide multi-billion dollar online phenomena, has left a legacy much larger than people realize. Trust me, I see Fortnite the same way as everyone reading this does – a game for children to obsess over. Although, there was a moment in time that everyone and their mothers were playing this game. 

Fortnite has professional athletes, Grammy-winning artists and celebrities, in their player base. This, combined with the fact that it was free to play, had everyone playing. It made video games mainstream on a level that it had never really seen. In my opinion, it was at this point that video games stopped being nerdy. People that bullied people for being nerds found themselves behind a controller during its prime. 

Fortnite’s legacy has impacted the way we socialize with each other online on a whole new level, especially in this digital age that COVID has put us into. Connecting with friends and family online has become so much easier and accessible thanks to where Fortnite has brought the market. 

The stage has been set for similar games to take their moment in the spotlight. Such as Fall Guys, Call of Duty: Warzone and Among Us. Everyone is connected, playing with each other and having a great time doing it. Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden has even gone as far as to promote campaign ads in the widely popular Animal Crossing game on the Nintendo Switch. 

It’s been incredibly interesting to see how this impacts relationships. When a relationship is formed and lives only on the internet, it creates a weird set of expectations for some. Life gets in the way a lot, and you’re not always going to be online. So maintaining some of those online relationships ends up proving difficult. 

I know for a fact that a large majority of people reading this have got into fights with their friends or family within one of these games. Shoutout to all my backpackers out there – I know your pain. You’d be surprised, but there are a lot of articles talking about romantic relationships that have ended due to obsessive Fortnite addictions, which is sad but kind of funny. 

Another perspective could be elementary-aged kids who become so obsessed with games like this that they disconnect from their family, making it hard for parents to connect with their children and ensure their social growth hasn’t been stunted. 

However, it’s important to note how much these games have made enduring the pandemic easier with everyone being confined to their areas. Besides, there’s plenty of studies that show video games improve coordination and make people smarter – at least I’d like to think that I can testify to that.

The Spectrum Enterprise SpectrumU TV webpage explains that the university-based service “enables colleges and universities to meet this expectation and provide more on-campus value by enabling students to watch TV anytime and anywhere.” Over 200 channels of shows, movies and games are available to watch from near any modern smart device or streaming device, anywhere on campus. Channel availability may waver if off campus while the program is in the early stages. However, this will change in the near future. 

“We will be working on new technology to expand SpectrumU services off-campus starting late this fall or early this spring (it’s currently only available on-campus). This will allow students to use the service from home and student athletes can view TV and movies while on the road at away games,” Stufflebean said. 

The service promises a smooth and efficient experience, as Spectrum states on their website. 

“[Rely] on our exceptional content delivery network to help students stay informed and entertained. Because SpectrumU is IP-delivered, it requires no on-campus equipment to purchase, power or maintain. That saves you time, money and effort while creating the reliability students expect,” the website states.

The introduction of the Speed Queen app, coupled with the new laundry machines across campus, looks to ease a common student complaint around campus. The app is compatible with college-provided iPads, along with other devices. 

“We know students have very busy schedules. This new service will be a time-saver. We hope it will also reduce students forgetting their laundry and occupying machines,” Stufflebean said. 

In addition to being notified of when your clothes are ready to be taken out of the washer or dryer or when machines are available, the app is also capable of detecting when machines need maintenance. Stufflebean promises that a technician will respond to said alert within 24 hours. 

“The new service provider will also service machines every two weeks. Well maintained machines with less down time will reduce student inconvenience and frustration,” said Stufflebean. 

Stufflebean emphasized he isn’t done improving the daily lives of students, stating that faculty, staff and administration will continue to listen to students. 

“Student input and feedback is an important part of our work in improving student life on The Hill. We are committed to affecting change where we can to provide students with an outstanding co-curricular and residential experience,” concluded Stufflebean.

But, it’s not like you’ll be able to watch any sport 24/7 for only $5. The content you’ll be provided for the monthly fee is restricted to:

MLB – A daily game, seven days per week, throughout the regular season, a total of more than 180 games that will include every MLB team.

NHL – Beginning with the 2018-19 season, a daily game throughout the regular season-a total of more than 180 hockey games.

MLS – the entire MLS LIVE out-of-market schedule with more than 250 games this season, as well as the local-market home for the Chicago Fire, exclusively bringing 23 Fire matches to fans in Chicago.

College Sports – Football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track & field, gymnastics, swimming & diving, lacrosse, wrestling, volleyball, golf and more.

Top Rank Boxing – Hundreds of live boxing matches, including 18 ESPN+ exclusive Top Rank fight cards throughout the year, all Top Rank on ESPN undercard fights, re-airs of all Top Rank on ESPN and Top Rank on ESPN PPV bouts, plus weigh-ins and more.

PGA Tour Golf – 50 days of coverage from 20 PGA tour events, including the RBC Heritage, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the FedExCup Playoffs and more.

Grand Slam Tennis – Hundreds of men’s and women’s singles, doubles and other matches from the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Cricket – Hundreds of Test, ODI and T20 format matches from New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Ireland.

Rugby – Hundreds of matches from SANZAAR Rugby, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series and Major League Rugby.

Canadian Football League – Nearly 200 games from Canada’s professional league.

English Football League – Approximately 200 total matches.

UEFA Nations League – Over 100 live matches from the newly created tournament.

United Soccer League – Approximately 450 USL matches this season. 

Some sports enthusiasts were bothered by the fact that ESPN’s press release made no mention of the NFL or NBA at all. Some even dared to say that ESPN+ will stream programming not valuable enough to appear on one of ESPN’s eight cable networks. However, you’ll still be able to access “TV Everywhere” if you are already an ESPN subscriber.

ESPN+ won’t be a groundbreaking app on the cord-cutting market. The company has been suffering from the declining number of viewers. This new app is not a way to recover those lost viewers but a compliment to an audience of cable subscribers who are interested in more coverage of less popular sports.

If you’re interested in exclusive content,  ESPN+ is available on ESPN.com and within a redesigned ESPN app for iOS and tvOS devices. For users of Apple’s TV app, ESPN+ content is supported in the TV app on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.