• 22Mar 06

  Here's a Feature Story I wrote recently. Feedback is appreciated.

  Games for Everyone!

   

              “I remember that day when I first got a Nintendo Entertainment System,”  says Herman Dulay.  Mr. Dulay was only 11 when he first got his Nintendo.  “I became hooked.”

   

  There was a time when people among the mainstream audience looked at video games as a niche market.  A derivative form of entertainment that only appealed to children.  Playing video games was merely kid stuff.  However, as the years, passed, the “kids” grew up still playing video games.  As a result, the demographic of those playing games has shifted.

   

  Not only has the demographic shifted, it has also shifted the video game industry out of the niche market and into the mainstream.  Game publishers are trying to find new ways to appeal to adult gamers due to this shift in demographic.  They are no longer trying to appeal to children exclusively.

   

  Just last year, the video game industry raked in 28 billion dollars in global revenue, almost rivaling revenues of the movie industry.  Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association—the industry’s lobbying organization in Washington—has stated, “The outlook for continued growth looks extremely rosy.”

   

              “If people like me continue to buy software and new hardware every 5 years, of course the industry is going to continue to grow,” says Mr. Dulay.  “It’s an ever evolving medium and it will continue to get better and better as the years pass.”

   

              It is true that the video game industry has changed a lot during the last thirty years.  For starters, the first game to come out was Pong, which was a very simplistic game that tried to replicate table tennis.  It had 2 paddles on screen controlled by to opposing players.  A line that represented a net divided the screen.  At the time, Pong was cutting edge.  The industry has come a long way since then.

   

              Today, games have complex graphics engines that calculate real time physics and complex geometry in order to mimic reality as closely as possible.  However, in order to support this complex architecture and real time physics, the hardware had to be able to support it.  Today’s hardware, when compared to the hardware of yesterday, can calculate millions of calculations per second and can handle the complex geometry and algorithms.

   

              In turn, game developers are more readily able to create worlds that totally immerse the player.

   

              For example, in Bungie’s Halo, players are thrust into a war for Earth’s survival to thwart an alien invasion.  Yeah, it sounds like a simple idea, however it looks much better in action. 

   

  Another example would be the Grand Theft Auto series of games—particularly Grand Theft Auto III.  This series propelled video games into the mainstream by providing a mature and compelling story.  The characters and the story telling rivaled those of any Hollywood film (I say that very loosely).  In addition, the game was good!  The open-ended gameplay and ability choose what you wanted to do next was a huge draw for seasoned gamers and newly introduced gamers.  However, the game was also very violent as it depicted the Mafioso lifestyle.

   

  Players were able to take the main character and steal cars and subsequently, run people over with the car that they just stole—if they choose to.  The game provided a moral dilemma for gamers and the industry alike.  It was an excellent game that featured superb game design.  However, had Rockstar—the developers of the game—pushed the envelope too far?  Some politicians in Washington thought so.

   

  Some quick history before we progress.  The first instance of Washington taking interest in violent video games was in the early 90s when the arcade smash hit Mortal Kombat TM first launched to huge fanfare.  However, due to its violence, politicians and parent groups urged Midway—the developer—to pull it from arcades.  Midway refused.  Later that year, the home version of the game was released to the public with huge success.  However, people in Washington and parents were not too happy.

   

  To make a long story short, the ESA and politicians were able to come to an agreement.  The ESA would form the Entertainment Software Ratings Board which would be responsible for rating game content.  Similar to the MPAA, the board would be a self-regulatory organization.

   

  Returning to Grand Theft Auto, although it is currently rated “M” for Mature audiences (17+ rating)—similar to rated R—politicians believe that they must take a hands on approach in regulating the video game industry.  Even after they approved the ESRB as a reasonable means of self-regulation.  Politicians in Washington, particularly Senator Leiberman and Hillary Clinton, believe that these games should not be sold to minors.  Fair enough.

   

  As of press time, a Gamestop employee commented: “Whenever a Mature rated game is in the process of being purchased, we make sure to card the customer before we actually sell it to him or her.  If the customer does not meet the age requirements, we turn him or her away.”

   

  Also as of press time, a Best Buy associate commented: “We make sure to card anyone before they purchase video games that have a mature rating on them.”

   

              However, politicians are not satisfied with self-regulation. This comes to no surprise in light of the recent actions taken by Rockstar in last year’s edition of Grand Theft Auto.  Rockstar failed to mention to the ESRB the hidden content on their game disc, which involved a sex mini game.  The content, referred to as “Hot Coffee,” hurt the video game industry more than it helped sales.

   

              Dennis McCauley, lead editor of Gamepolitics.com stated “Hot Coffee crippled the video game industry politically and [the industry] will continue to feel the effects for the next few years because it undermined it as a whole.”  When asked about the future though, Mr. McCauley was optimistic.

   

              “I believe that the industry can recover,” he says.  “However, a couple things need to occur.  They have to convince the parents and politicians that they are on their side and prove that they aren’t just trying to make a dollar.  One way would be to have parent involvement in the ESRB.”

   

              In addition, Mr. McCauley states, “They need to explore a better way for parents to differentiate the difference between video games in general and games appropriate for their kids.  Just because it is a video game doesn’t necessarily mean it’s appropriate for kids.”

   

              This is completely true as gamers like Mr. Dulay, who have been gaming since the early days of video games, have grown up and are now in their 20s and 30s. 

   

              “In order for the game industry to continue to survive and maintain its audience, it must continue to appeal to myself as well as acquire new users,” says Mr. Dulay.  “In order to do that, the games that I play need to grow and mature with me.”

   

              However, I would take that further and state that the game industry continue to appeal to its consumers by maturing but it should also take into account not to push the content envelope too far as it can “lead to highly charged political dustups” as stated by Mr. McCauley in his opinion piece in Game Informer Magazine. 

   

              Regardless of all the complaints, video games have become a huge part of our culture and will continue to remain and progress despite political intervention.  So long as there is an interest, the industry will continue to grow.

  • Posted Mar 22, 2006 12:18 pm PT
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