Mass Appeal
I think deep inside the heart of every hardcore gamer, there’s a hope that video gaming will become popular to the masses. True, at this point in the game there is a game for every one; the jocks have their Madden, the muscle heads have their Halo, the nerds have their Final Fantasy, and even the receptionists have their Bejeweled.
But what seems to be lacking is this unanimous belief that video games are an appropriate way to spend one’s time. While it’s more than acceptable for gangs of teens to go out clubbing on a Friday night, to the movies on Saturday, and reading a book on Sunday (okay, maybe that one’s a stretch), you’re still publically shunned if you admit to passing an evening at a LAN party, or on Xbox Live.
And really, I don’t care so much about what John Q. Public thinks about those who spend their social time gaming. If I did, I would have stopped playing games a long time ago. I’m just trying to figure out why gaming is often regarded to be a waste of time, while there are so many other pastimes that distract equally from one’s supposed productivity.
I suspect it might have something to do with the social aspect. People are able to watch movies together, and dance together, and listen to music together, but gaming is often regarded as a solitary activity. But that’s changed, and hasn’t been entirely so for some time. With the advent of multiplayer in games, let alone massively multiplayer, gaming is social. In fact, gaming is more social than watching a movie where everyone is just focused on the screen, or going to a club where it’s too loud to make conversation (though the ladies ARE sexy). There’s interaction in gaming; Conversation, teamwork, strategy, competition.
So why oh why is it so hard for gaming to be regarded as a socially acceptable pastime?
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I think it is an inevitability that games are going to go mainstream, its just a matter of time. With each generation, gaming is introduced at an earlier and earlier age, and the stigma behind playing games is slowly being washed away. This issue may not be as important to the general public as say class or racial equality, but to gamers, its an issue that we deal with all the time. I don’t like having to defend my choice to play a game with my buddy’s on a Friday night instead of going to a club. I don’t like being lumped into some stereotypical gamer persona when I say that its one of my pass-times.
One of the best indicators of this eventual shift into the mainstream is the growing number of female gamers out there. It further highlights the very diverse group of people that are into games, and hopefully a trend that we will see continue to grow.
You’re absolutely right – more female gamers does indicate that gaming is being accepted as a regular pastime.
But that can’t be the only thing. Look at sports. Usually, the genders are separated. If a guy goes out to play basketball with the boys, that’s nothing to mock. However, if a guy goes out to play DDR … well …
yeah but to be honest, I would be one of those people making fun of the guy going out to play ddr! hahaha
guess that makes a jock-asshole
No, in all fairness … I would too. Hahaha … but what about the games we actually respect? Like staying in to play some COD, or L4D … that still gets mocked by Average Joe.
Its just going to take time man. You can’t change the way people think about gaming over night. Its going to take years, but as gamers get older and become more powerful figures on the world stage, gaming is going to become mass entertainment on a scale like none of us ever thought possible.
The financials are there. Electronic Entertainment is still one of the fastest growing markets in the world even during this time of economic doo doo-er-y.
Patience is the name of the game my friend. Patience. If you build it, they will come…