The current popularity of videogames
 

I have noticed that videogames have become exponentially more popular in the past 5 years (approximately)...there are now tv channels, award shows, tons more commercials, etc than there were in the days of psx and n64 and earlier--

at the times of release of consoles over the years, they represented the newest advances in technology, so i dont see psp, 360 or ps3 as being any different...

i think most of us would agree that in the past few years, gaming has gotten a lot more widespread and culturally acceptable. you wouldnt have been able to get samuel l jackson and 50 cent to show up to a fuckin award show for toys, so what do you think is behind all this?

i think it might have to do with an increased sense of escapism worldwide, maybe as a result of the economic bs that all started after 9-11...do you think im drawing too vague a conclusion?

I dont think your conclusion fully encompasses why video games have become so popular. If I were to give a reason for it I might say that growing popularity in interactive media and technology is on the rise. Video games fall into this category, and at one time only offered a slim selection of genres, but now offer something for almost everyone. Also graphically speaking, video games have also taken a leap forward and this might draw more people that at first werent interested. Also childrens increasing laziness and parents increasing desentization and lack of contact from there children may also be another explanation.

When I was growing up, a lot of parents didn't want their kids sitting in front of the tv in a vegetative state playing video games. This was an entirely foreign concept. They actually encouraged their kids to go outside and play as they did growing up. Personally, I can remember leaving the house in the summer after breakfast and only coming back in to eat. We would play baseball, football, ride bikes, build forts, all that good shit. That's not to say that kids weren't into video games. They just weren't as widely accepted or available for that matter. I can remember atari and intellivision and that's it. However, kids would hang out at the arcades feeding their life savings into games like qbert and galaga.

Now, the kids who grew up at the beginning of the video game era are the parents and don't think twice about buying video games for kids. I think this is the simple explanation. The internet and on-line gaming doesn't hurt either. I think the economy and 9/11 might be a stretch.

I think the graphics and better presentation overall have brought in a lot more people. Take the Madden NFL games for example. I have been playing Madden since '91 or '92, and back then the presentation was limited to John saying "BOOM!" every once in a while. Since the PS2 era of Madden games, the graphics have managed to accurately duplicate the look and feel of football, which makes it far more interesting for fans of the game to see their favorite player recreated in a video game as opposed to the early 90's. That was a time when the player models were nothing more than beefed up stickmen with helmets.

[img]http://www.the-nextlevel.com/features/developers/looking-glass-studios/john-madden-football-93.gif[/img]
That's Buffalo and Washington, for those who aren't too sure.


People will say, "But for the time, that was good graphics." Perhaps, but it's still cartoonish and not accurate to real life. Compare that picture with this one:

[img]http://www.futuregamez.net/ps2games/madden06/madden063.jpg[/img]
It's a lot easier for fans to be intrigued by the atmosphere and graphics that current games can present, and this is still Xbox/PS2 graphics.

I think the reason is that games are much more realistic now because of technology and research, and thus make it a lot easier for the general populace to be interested in playing such a game.

Interviews ive read said the number of people playing games has went down over the years. Theres more attention on gaming by the media these days though, usualy along the lines of "omg gta made my son rape my cat" oOo:

That could be possible, I remember with the Xbox/PS2 launch Christmas season the game stores in the malls were packed to the walls (OMG phat rhyme dawg). There was a huge buzz over games like HALO, and almost every kid and parent wanted one so bad because the previous generation of consoles didn't have very good graphics so people were excited to see these new graphics. Over the course of the Xbox/PS2's lifetime, I think people have realized with each year that a game can still suck even with the great graphics, and while the Xbox360/PS3 both look outstanding, I don't think people are jizzing their pants as much as they did with the previous console launch year.

[quote="Chronic Diarrhea":d24c5]I think the graphics and better presentation overall have brought in a lot more people. Take the Madden NFL games for example. I have been playing Madden since '91 or '92, and back then the presentation was limited to John saying "BOOM!" every once in a while. Since the PS2 era of Madden games, the graphics have managed to accurately duplicate the look and feel of football, which makes it far more interesting for fans of the game to see their favorite player recreated in a video game as opposed to the early 90's. That was a time when the player models were nothing more than beefed up stickmen with helmets.[/quote:d24c5]
That may or may not be true. I can remember spending hours playing this.

[img]http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Coleco/Coleco-H2HFootball.jpg[/img]

There were no graphics, just red lights. Maybe it was the novelty of a hand held video game, I don't know. To me, graphics are less important than game play.

I think so far the "next gen" of gaming comes down to one console, and thats the revolution. All xbox and ps3 are offering is more power and thats it, both companies seem more concerned about spouting bullshit about theoretical maximums of polycounts and flop performance which the consoles will most likely never acheive in games.



Revolution is offering a totally new way to play games. Nintendo is the only real innovator in the industry, sony and ms seem content with their "omg more power" tradition. More power and better graphics are nice but when its all said and done you're still hamering away on a control pad same as you were with your last console and the console before that.

Nintendo are the only company with the balls to take on this kind of gamble, sure it could be a failure but theyre at least thinking outside the box, not every innovation a company comes out with is going to be a success.

true, my assumption my not be true. In fact, I played video games a helluva lot more when I was a kid. I probably played NES and SNES far more than I have played my PS2, but that's attributed to age and the fact that I am studying for grad school.

ed: ed: ed: ed: OMFA!!!!! Parents used to be such slave drivers!!! How dare they force their kids to get exercise, breathe clean air and use their imaginations!!! Those bastitches!!!


;)

Games have gotten worse...so people like them more...kinda like mainstream rap and rock music.

I played videogames more when i was a kid...and less now...i enjoy both times...but games were definally funner before...

only games that i truly have a blast with now is dead or alive 3 on xbox against other people and hockey games.

You guys are forgetting the times we are in. As time progresses from the 1950's (and yes, i know all you guys were kids in the 1980-90's so this doesn't matter), soceity becomes less beaver-like. No longer can kids go out all day and then come back without their parents caring where they are. Certain videogames supply that safety for parents that as long as their child is at home under their watch, they won't be personally exposed to drugs/alchohol/kidnappers/etc. However, this kind of thinking breeds emos and anti-socials, which kinda shows why the emo-craze has picked up in the past 5 years.

Video games were just as popular when I was a kid in the 80s. It's just that we didn't have the Intarweb to log into and bitch and complain about Chopper Command or Defender.

My dad fought tooth and nail for my Atari 2600. He was at Canadian Tire at 6:00AM waiting to pummel old ladies and everyone else who stood in his way. Dad was a correctional officer for 27 years. He knew how to choke out a bitch who wanted the last copy of "Dodge 'Em". biggrin:

good thoughts guys, i dont know about the number of gamers decreasing at all...i have heard those stats in the news, sounds like bs to me

i also remember my mom bitching about me and my lil bro playing videogames all the time, to the point where we were limited to like 1 hr each per day, it was murder.

where do you guys think itll go from here? how much more realistic do you think it can get?

i can almost see it getting to be like a total recall kinda thing, or like in minority report where you are so immersed in the entertainment, you dont know whats is real and what is simulated. given the insane progression in videogame technology in just 10 years (just look at chronics example pics), i dont think its that far off...

LOL, "Is Zoner's Dad gonna have to choke a bitch?"