By what sign will we know (video) gaming is mainstream and 'normal'?
- Thread starter donquixote
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Try soemthign like that in the US..... we need a good strong game pop culture here to show jsut how fallen it has becomeArauna said:
By the time I've retired - in...hopefully...thirtyish years - gaming will be second nature. Hell, at the rate technology is progressing consoles and controllers will be considered archaic. Kids will look at the current console generation with the same vague confusion and contempt that kids today reserve for LPs and black & white movies.
And then I'll be compelled to bring out my, then, old PS2 and play Kingdom Hearts, Phantom Brave, Chrono Cross, and others, laughing while my brother's kids and grandkids look at me with confusion. I'll then continue to laugh and, still, probably have not beaten all of Phantom Brave (the post game is seriously murder).hooliganyouth said:
It depends on the definition of "Mainstream" one uses. If one wants them to be common signifier of popular culture the way movies, TV, and music are, I think we're a bit far from that, and it may be impossible unless/until methods of media distribution and reception change significantly. But in general, I think "mainstream" as "accepted and non derided hobby" is possible and is not entirly there yet. So for that definition of "mainstream" let's posit that if some of the blow occurs, games are mainstream:
1) There is an award show for games that is almsot as big a deal as the Oscars, Grammy's, etc.
2) If a A list game producer, such as Sid Mier or Will Wright, is as common a household name or as big a celebrity, as, say, a B list movie star.
3) If the plot of a game is ever studied in a class and analyzed like the plot of a game or a movie would be.
4) When someone can work in the gaming industry and be as accepted as someone who works in the background for making a movie or a song. (to be precise, when reviewing games is considered as acceptable as reviewing movies, if perhaps not as "important")
5) When parents introduce their children to certain important games they way they currently want them to watch certain movies or books (this is beginning to happen as the main generation of gamers are now starting to become parents)
6) When playing games is as acceptable a way for a child to pass time as watching a TV show or a movie of similar maturity level and content, respective to the age of the child in question.
1) There is an award show for games that is almsot as big a deal as the Oscars, Grammy's, etc.
2) If a A list game producer, such as Sid Mier or Will Wright, is as common a household name or as big a celebrity, as, say, a B list movie star.
3) If the plot of a game is ever studied in a class and analyzed like the plot of a game or a movie would be.
4) When someone can work in the gaming industry and be as accepted as someone who works in the background for making a movie or a song. (to be precise, when reviewing games is considered as acceptable as reviewing movies, if perhaps not as "important")
5) When parents introduce their children to certain important games they way they currently want them to watch certain movies or books (this is beginning to happen as the main generation of gamers are now starting to become parents)
6) When playing games is as acceptable a way for a child to pass time as watching a TV show or a movie of similar maturity level and content, respective to the age of the child in question.
lets say with WOW,MMOs have become a sub culture the main stream pokes fun at, the more TV love/hates it the more TV adverts for it the more people talk about it the more mainstream it becomes but as it could be replaced by another sub culture to be made fun of.
Harry Potter:ccesarano said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6912529.stm
"A decade after the first instalment, the running total for Harry Potter book sales was already at 325 million even before the seventh novel came out."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 11m copies (2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US) in the first 24 hrs. Keep in mind not all localized versions are out yet. (China's release is this weekend, as an example.)
Halo 3:
An estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours.
You certainly don't hear about these numbers for comics. But then again, why is it so crucial to become 'mainstream' anyway? Anyway, thought I'd throw down some handy numbers.
krysalist,
With all the prodding at the industry to 'be more innovative', some would say that's already happening.
eggdog, they do ^__-
you'd be surprised how much of the 'games are geeky' stigma is actually generated by us gamers. as speaking to a wide variety of people, as long as you don't start rambling about raids in WoW, or bunny-hopping in CS, they generally won't consider gaming that far removed from the mainstream.
It's just that a lot of gaming is a niche thing, the mainstream titles are well and truly in the mainstream (look at halo 3 sales), however the games that interest most of us are not. The same applies to music and film. for example a lot of international cinema is considered quirky and well off the beaten track, and the same applies to music, which has a whole host of alternative genres.
The majority of people waiting for games such as "storyline intensive, and thought-provoking RPGs" to 'become mainstream' are essentially kindred spirits to those waiting for international cinema to 'become mainstream', which are also kindred spirits to those waiting for gabber or noise to 'become mainstream'
So just like all other media, certain aspects of video-games are well and truly a part of the mainstream. These games much like the mainstream of any other media are the games subject to the 'rinse and repeat' cycle of little to no originality, but with some broad aesthetic or cultural appeal, such as Halo. Because just as in any other media, games with funding like Halo will always have bigger fancier explosions, more obnoxious and shiny marketing, and ultimately more shelf-space than indie games like knytt (which in all its simplicity is at least as beautiful, and twice as fun as Halo, to the person willing to look past the shiny 3D graphics benchmarks, and propoganda telling you how wonderful it is.)
you'd be surprised how much of the 'games are geeky' stigma is actually generated by us gamers. as speaking to a wide variety of people, as long as you don't start rambling about raids in WoW, or bunny-hopping in CS, they generally won't consider gaming that far removed from the mainstream.
It's just that a lot of gaming is a niche thing, the mainstream titles are well and truly in the mainstream (look at halo 3 sales), however the games that interest most of us are not. The same applies to music and film. for example a lot of international cinema is considered quirky and well off the beaten track, and the same applies to music, which has a whole host of alternative genres.
The majority of people waiting for games such as "storyline intensive, and thought-provoking RPGs" to 'become mainstream' are essentially kindred spirits to those waiting for international cinema to 'become mainstream', which are also kindred spirits to those waiting for gabber or noise to 'become mainstream'
So just like all other media, certain aspects of video-games are well and truly a part of the mainstream. These games much like the mainstream of any other media are the games subject to the 'rinse and repeat' cycle of little to no originality, but with some broad aesthetic or cultural appeal, such as Halo. Because just as in any other media, games with funding like Halo will always have bigger fancier explosions, more obnoxious and shiny marketing, and ultimately more shelf-space than indie games like knytt (which in all its simplicity is at least as beautiful, and twice as fun as Halo, to the person willing to look past the shiny 3D graphics benchmarks, and propoganda telling you how wonderful it is.)
I couldn't have said it better myself. Most folks play games, and if they think about them, don't think about them too terribly deeply; they're just another part of their very full lives. Then there are folks who consider games An Important thing, and won't quite rest until everyone agrees, or at the very least acknowledges the correctness of that notion.firemonk3y said:
Reminds me of the record geeks I knew in school; or the literature geeks, or the car geeks, or the sports geeks ...
So, it's probably unreasonable to expect a majority of people to become obsessed with games. We probably have a majority of people already playing electronic games at a casual level.Russ Pitts said:
One way games could become even more mainstream is if they were as easy to start and access as switching channels on the TV, with little or no additional cost above standard cable.
