On Videogames Part 1

"Videogames." What kind of connotations does this word carry? For a long time, I thought the answer was simple. Videogames are for nerds. They're for people who like to stay inside all day, and don't "have a life." In the eyes of parents, they facilitate mental deterioration. In short, videogames are at best a simple diversion, and at worst an addictive, useless waste of time.

This rather extreme perspective has lessened over time. Videogames have made remarkable headway in becoming a respected force in the entertainment industry. One could argue that this trend has largely empirical roots. As the gaming industry has aged, so too has its audience. The median age of a gamer is now 31 (Source). Gaming as an industry has become bigger than Hollywood and music. Popular games sell millions of copies in days.  

There are people studying the benefits of video games for learning and health. There are books acknowledging and analyzing the huge role video games have played in the shaping of our collective culture.

Thus the image of gaming has slowly evolved beyond its early condemnation. One might even think that such a view should be antiquated. 

Indeed, modern America has come to tolerate a lot of things. 

But it still doesn't tolerate video games.

Yes, I know that I'm making a pretty radical statement here. No, I don't have any studies to back this one up. But even though I'll be the first to attest that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data", this is one case in which I think an anecdote provides some apt insight to my case for those who are still dubious.

The following excerpt is taken from a young lawyer's post on a gaming site, Kotaku.

"On another occasion, I had a really cool co-worker and his girlfriend over for dinner with me and my wife. Sitting in the living room, waiting for the taco meat to finish simmering (yay tacos), he saw an Xbox 360 controller on the coffee table. His reaction?

"I didn't know you have kids," he said smiling, gesturing to the controller.

"I don't."

Buh-bye smile."

I've seen variants of this story play out in my own life and in others countless times. Despite gaming's huge audience and influence in modern culture, the social stigma attached to it remains just a watered down version of the view I presented in the first paragraph.

I realize my tone has become a bit hostile towards this perspective. That was not my intended purpose. Rather, I hope this post has organized and presented my understanding of gaming as it stands today, both in an economic and cultural sense. Indeed, I wouldn't necessarily say I even condemn this view.

But as for my full own opinions on these matters, perhaps that is best saved for another post.