20 Years in Gaming
Popularity
You no longer have to refinance your house or sell a kidney for a chance to own a videogame system. They have become mass produced, easily affordable and instantly accessible. This is a major shift in the industry. Whereas before, one entire neighbourhood would have share an Atari system in an arcade or 7-11, now each family has a home console and every child has at least one handheld gaming system. In fact, statistics claim that 79% of American families (in 2010) play some sort of videogame.
Developers and publishers have created a stigma of glamour and social connection and has therefore attached it to owning the newest video game hardware and software. In 1982, when the video game systems had just moved into the home console era, video games brought in 1.5 billion (approximately worldwide). Nowadays, the industry’s earnings have increased exponentially. As of 2010 accumulative earnings were about 70 billion dollars! In just 20 years, profits have increased by approximately 7000%! Video games now create more revenue that DVDs and almost as much as the book industry!
20 years from the end of ww1 to the start of ww2.
A lot can happen in twenty years. Although I will spend the next twenty years paying off my student loans, the gaming industry moves much more quickly. Videogames were novel investments back in the early 1980’s, and had struck a phase of sheer popularity as a delicacy among teenagers. In arcades and cabinets across the world, these games slowly robbed each youth of their hard-earned quarters.
So let’s take a look at just how far the gaming industry has come: how has it changed and stayed the same in the past twenty years?
Creativity
There is no question that games with a core of originality are becoming increasingly rare. Most of the time, they simply don’t sell. Dare I mention cult classics such as De Blob, Okami and Cave Story? All of these games exuberated passion and joy yet failed to find commercial success. Seeing as a game’s sales don’t usually correlate to its quality, it is no surprise that franchises like Madden, Call of Duty and Mario Party are being beaten with a rusty stick in order to stir up profits. The real question is, whether or not it has always been this way.
Although shooters are a dime a dozen in 2012, in the 80’s, the platformers were just as rampant. Companies could clearly see that games such as Super Mario Bros. and Pitfall were raking in the cash, so everyone wanted a piece of it. They shoveled out crappy rip-offs that were worse than you could possibly imagine. The Home Improvement Video Game, the Great Giana Sisters (See image below) and every licensed Disney movie in existence at the time.
Looking at the facts, it would seem that developers (for the most part) have always been cheap bastards who care only about money. Hmm… who would have thought? But nevertheless, whether in the 80’s or 2012, each new IP or risky game could make or break a company—making it a hell of a lot easier to lather, rinse, repeat with a generic, proven formula.
The Actual Games
You can dress up a hooker as nicely as you want, however, underneath she will always be a hooker. In the same way, it doesn’t matter what technology is behind the building of a game, there are always core elements at its core. One of the core elements of any game should be fun. SHOULD being the key word, in 2012 it would seem that we have lost our joy in favour for immersion and depth. When you played Pacman, you never wondered why the damned colourful blobs were chasing you, you simply enjoyed the experience. Although the Mass Effects and the Elder Scrolls of the world are phenomenal, there must be a place to inject fun into our lives. Frankly, I would prefer a 5 hour romp filled with tacky fun than a 50 hour trek through a slow moving story driven RPG.
Based on how much I get yelled at on my mic while playing Halo online would absolutely prove that enjoyment is no longer the core objective. Instead, winning, gamer points and arbitrary prestige have defined us. This is a perfect depiction of how our society has descended to hedonism (I do digress; I will get back to that at a later date). Although complex story arches and thrilling narratives are a step forward, we must be weary not to lose the core of fun that should be at any gaming experience: because otherwise, there is really no point.
Forget about the code within the games themselves, even the way a game is presented has totally changed! Say goodbye to blowing on cartridges and replacing batteries to secure your last save point—the digital age is upon us. I’m not sure if we are ready to give up fancy packaging altogether just yet, but digital downloads of full gaming experiences account for 24% of games sales in 2010, a number that is on the rise. I certainly hope you didn’t think that Xbox 360 arcade was enough; the one thing the future needs is a hell of a lot of hard drive space.
What Makes a Gamer
You. That’s right, you, whoever is reading this article. What are you? Chances are you do not own a comic-book store or have a degree in computer science. Heaven forbid, you may even be a woman! In the last 20 years, the anatomy of the “gamer” has changed. Specifically Nintendo has made great strides with bringing in other demographics. Thanks in part to the Wii, the Nintendo DS and their resolution to broadening who videogames are for; gamers have become a diverse breed.
42% of all gamers are women. Wow, surprisingly not all of these gamers are here just for Wii Fit. Although casual games like Your Shape Fitness and Farmville may invite and entice players to enter into the video game fray, but often it will lead them to become gamers which we would refer to as “hard core”. To accommodate these new casual players of everyone from soccer moms to bearded fathers, games have changed to suit their needs. Most games are no longer created for the sadistically inclined, challenge acceptors of yesteryear (we’re looking to you Ghosts’n Goblins fans). This change from more mass marketable games has given every time of gamer possible his or her own way to play.
Games are no longer just for Saturday mornings for small children. In fact, the average age of the people who buy videogames is 41 years! That has almost quadrupled in the past two decades. There is no doubt about it; gaming is no longer an activity for the young and the weak. In this modern age, gaming is for everyone, both the hard core and casual audiences.
Although great strides have been taken in terms of the types of games and who is playing them. The exhilarating thrill of loading up a game will never be removed. Even 20, 30 years in the future, I am confident that video gaming will remain a pass-time that all people can share. Whether we are playing board games (after the nuclear holocaust) or playing on our Virtual Boys that are sure to come back into fashion, the future is bright for the video game industry.
Be sure to check out our soon to be posted predictions for the next ten years will have in store for videogames!
