Seth Schiesel, a writer for the NY Times, recently put up an article about the image problem with the videogame industry and how it was, for the most part, its own fault. An attendance at the recent Ziff Davis Electronic Gaming Summit provided the inspiration for this piece, which talked about the state of gaming and its effect socially. Stating that gamers are often outed as socially inept at the mention of enjoying video games, the writer claims that even given the financial success the industry has seen, its still not the mainstream and widely-accepted activity that we all think it to be. Seth noted that Nintendo was the only company who seemed to "get it."Enter Carl Howe of Blackfriars Communication, who agrees that the industry is not innovating like it should beyond first-person shooters and becoming the entertainment power house it needs to be. Carl sees hope, however, in a company who decided that the standard controller just wasn't cutting it and that people don't just want flashy graphics on their handheld. They might want to teach a puppy to sit or see how quickly they can solve 100 math problems. And Nintendo is going to be the one to reach out to those looking for entertainment beyond plasma grenades and rocket launchers, to casual gamers who might be curious, but aren't looking for a free-for-all deathmatch where whoever gets the sword first wins.
We can still have those games, but we want something new, something fresh, something that will once again make our eyes open wide and our mouths fall to our chest, something that will make that small stretch of hair on the back of our necks straighten and cause a chill to run down our spine. We want to experience the feelings we did when we first got into gaming and if anyone can make that happen, it's Nintendo. Maybe then your dad won't laugh at you when you say you've been playing a game for the last few hours, instead asking if he can give it a whirl.
[Via N-Sider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-16-2006 @ 9:18PM
Wii said...
Does image really matter? I mean its not the Mom and Pops of the world that is gonna support the Industry but rather us gamer.
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8-17-2006 @ 2:10AM
0100101010010 said...
That episode of Seinfeld is cool, but the again all episodes are.
All industries have bad images, Movies, too much violence, Music too much derogatory phrases e.g Fucking Kill you Niggaz. News Media, well that's just plain evil. And I ain't even mentioned how those industries love to rip off consumers employees and clients all for more moneys. Infact the gaming industry seems like the cleanest of all the industries, solely cause there is less drug use, or public known drug use in the gaming industry.
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8-17-2006 @ 2:38AM
ed said...
did you even read the article? drug use has nothing to do with it, and you bringing it up is laughable.
simply put, it has everything to do with the types of games that are being made, and who they are being marketed to. that's what needs to change.
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8-17-2006 @ 3:34AM
John said...
Couldn't agree more, Nintendo is the company that 'gets it.' Wii will outsell all other systems because they will sell it to gamers and non-gamers. Nintendo will sell it to those who like games but are not technology friendly. Just like Apple has sold iPods to those that like music but are not familier with techology.
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8-17-2006 @ 3:40AM
Waccoon said...
Interesting. Nintendo has been around for 20+ years and they haven't fixed the image of gaming, yet?
From a usability standpoint, I think Flash has had more of an impact. People will spend hours browsing web sites with collections of hundreds of simple Flash games. Of course, they're all free and disposable, and there's no marketting involved, so even though lots of people play them, they don't get much media attention.
In the end, it's not all about the games themselves, it's all about the marketting. I hear people complain the Honda Fit is a car for bratty teenagers. Well, duh... have you seen the ads for that thing?
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8-17-2006 @ 3:43AM
Waccoon said...
John: "Wii will outsell all other systems because they will sell it to gamers and non-gamers."
It's arguable, though, how large that market is. Maybe the reason why non-gamers don't play games is because they don't like to waste time. My mother and sister are that way. I couldn't get those two to play Tetris.
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8-17-2006 @ 2:27PM
hepme! said...
@Waccoon: I bet they watch plenty of daytime television, though. :)
I'm extremely curious to see if nintendo really does pull in the non-gamer audience. Say my mom and dad go over to a non-gamer friends' house for dinner and they happen to have a wii. They convince them to try out tennis or something simple, and get completely hooked. I can see the wii becoming popular just by word of mouth, thus shedding the negative connotation of videogames, or at least nintendo. Plus, they have the whole excercise thing going for them too, which will be a big help for those who think gaming is for the lazy.
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