Chasing the dream: The Economist's take on gaming

[Varsity]

Gaming gets a boost this week as the internationally respected magazine and cultural force The Economist runs a cover article on its social implications in light of recent events. As you might expect from such a decidedly highbrow source, it takes a slightly more balanced view than that of most mainstream media.

Amid all the arguments about the minutiae of rating systems, the unlocking of hidden content, and the stealing of children's innocence, however, three important factors are generally overlooked: that attitudes to gaming are marked by a generational divide; that there is no convincing evidence that games make people violent; and that games have great potential in education.Read more at Economist.com! (http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4246109)

If there's one thing I don't like about these articles, it's the dominance of console games in them. Not so much because the PC is 'better', but because it tends to have a more grown-up culture that would give gaming a better image. No Dead or Alive here, thank you very much...

[Frogleg Special]

It's Western Console Games like GTA and its copycats that create gaming a bad image, not Japanese ones (well except for the hentai).

[FyrionX]

I subscribe to the Economist, very good periodical. It comes out every week, so there's a lot to read. If you're at all interested in international studies or politics you should pick up a copy and take a look at it.

[Paltry]

japanese games are just as fucked up as western games and vice versa... come on man

lets not start this

[MosBen]

I'd guess the focus is on console games mostly on account of the fact that it's a larger market. As to the "adult-ness" of it...hmmmm, playing online I'm not quite sure of that.

[Varsity]

That's because the sensible ones tend not to have MP. ;)

[Wonka]

The last time I checked, most of the controversial games were on both consoles and PCs (meaning those GTA games mostly). And all things being equal, consoles ought to have A LOT more offensive games simply because there are many more games produced exclusively for consoles than on the PC. I think that it used to be true that PCs had a more adult set of games than consoles, but that time was before Xbox. Now I think that the diffences between consoles and PC (in terms of what games are made) is getting increasingly blurred. Nowadays, there is very little mainstream PC stuff does not eventually port over to console land. The difference between consoles and PCs is even being deliberately blurred in the case of Microsofts XNA initiative. And, as someone who wants to play my PC types of games while sitting comfortably on the couch instead of hunched over my PC, I myself could not be happier with this trend. I also like the surround sound and wider screen of a home theater. And before anyone alarmist screams it out, NO I have no fears of PC gaming dying out. I think that its role has always been that it is the place where games get experimented with, and I think that MS wants to preserve that role for it (because it will give them an obvious set of advantages if they cultivate this into a MS centric relationship). So I see a niche role looming for PC games? Maybe. But there will always be a role there of some kind.

[mister_slim]

Well, everyone is at this point aware that a PC can be used to download copious amounts of porn, so a little implied sex is not a problem. With consoles, on the other hand, the jump from Mario or Aeris to Hot Coffee is too much for some people's fragile little minds.

[*Legion*]

It's Western Console Games like GTA and its copycats that create gaming a bad image, not Japanese ones (well except for the hentai).

Do you have half a clue what kind of games they have over in Japan, that they won't / can't reasonably bring over here?

[Zeal]

It's Western Console Games like GTA and its copycats that create gaming a bad image, not Japanese ones (well except for the hentai).

That's because the Japanese game industry has been creating the same games over and over for years now.

[Frogleg Special]

The difference between consoles and PCs is even being deliberately blurred in the case of Microsofts XNA initiative.


XNA won't be happening like turning your palm over. Microsoft still doesn't have a clue of what to bring to PC gaming, and much more so with the XNA. It's like WinFS and Avalon for the Windows Longhorn/Vista, my friend. It's either fucked up or further degenerated like what has been done before (ie Vista interface is more like a souped up XP). Vista is delayed. Indigo is delayed. SQL Server Yukon is delayed. Microsoft has a ton of things to do before they say "Let's do XNA".

As for the complete blurring the lines between PC and console gaming, only console gamers (read: esp. PC gamers turned Xbox gamers because of financial condition) want that. Why? No PC gamer with the right mind want to see Mechassault in a Mechwarrior. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance in a Baldur's Gate. Console gaming which is too mainstreamized will not add to PC gaming strength which is for niche, concentrated experience.

[Wonka]

As for the complete blurring the lines between PC and console gaming, only console gamers (read: esp. PC gamers turned Xbox gamers because of financial condition) want that. Why? No PC gamer with the right mind want to see Mechassault in a Mechwarrior. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance in a Baldur's Gate. Console gaming which is too mainstreamized will not add to PC gaming strength which is for niche, concentrated experience.

Actually for me it was mostly that I got older. As an older man, I have other responsibilities in my life than my aging PC. The next time that I upgrade, I will buy a PC that is pre-made. I don't have time to mess with the PC anymore, and neither do any of my friends. I have also found that an expensive and time consuming platform like the PC, does not allow enough of my real friends to play with me. It's not that they can't afford a new graphics card: it's that they have to justify it to their wives. And oddly enough, the part that is hard to justify is NOT even the financial cost (although that CAN be considerable), so much as the afternoon that is spend ripping the PC apart... Still other friends of mine use Macs, which introduces a bunch of other new problems. But these problems simply do not exist in the console space. Very many of my friends DO actually have the time to plug in an Xbox once a week, so Xbox LIVE! ALLOWS us to keep playing. And this was never really a viable option with PC games.

For me, my family and friends were ultimately more important than being "hardcore" or having the best resolution possible, and this has led to my choice of Xbox LIVE!. Well, that and it also allows me to have another use for that home theater setup.


I offer the following "gamer lifecycle" pattern for your perusal:

approx. age 5-18 = The child stage: generally plays consoles.

approx. age 18-25 = The adult and single stage: generally plays consoles and PC games based purely on personal taste/income available. Money and especially TIME are abundant at this age.

approx. age 25+ = The married stage: either you give up gaming, or you work it out with your spouse. Your friends will be in the same boat. Generally, consoles are a MUCH MUCH easier sell to the opposite sex. This is because they have a lower entry/maintenance cost, and the built in VOIP on LIVE! makes it obvious that this is a social activity. Also, it's generally well understood that keeping in touch with friends is a GOOD thing, even if it means playing videogames.

Of course, all the ages represented here are very approximate.

My advice: pray that people start making the games that you like on consoles, because like it or not, if you are a PC gamer, they are probably in your future...

[Frogleg Special]

approx. age 25+ = The married stage: either you give up gaming, or you work it out with your spouse. Your friends will be in the same boat. Generally, consoles are a MUCH MUCH easier sell to the opposite sex. This is because they have a lower entry/maintenance cost, and the built in VOIP on LIVE! makes it obvious that this is a social activity. Also, it's generally well understood that keeping in touch with friends is a GOOD thing, even if it means playing videogames.

Of course, all the ages represented here are very approximate.

My advice: pray that people start making the games that you like on consoles, because like it or not, if you are a PC gamer, they are probably in your future...

Not for an ASP/VB.NET programmer like me. I'm 28 years old and I still love PC gaming, other than having PS2 and Xbox as my consoles. I can handle the complexity of a computer. If you can't, then tough - you're missing unique PC games and most importantly, their communities which are thoroughly commited and focused to respective genres.

[Cuba]

26 years old, never owned a console, total lifetime console playing time: ~1.5 hours. PC all the way.

[Wonka]

Not for an ASP/VB.NET programmer like me. I'm 28 years old and I still love PC gaming, other than having PS2 and Xbox as my consoles. I can handle the complexity of a computer. If you can't, then tough - you're missing unique PC games and most importantly, their communities which are thoroughly commited and focused to respective genres.

Hey now whippersnapper, there is no need to make absurd ad hominem attacks. And I can "handle" a computer just fine. I am a programmer and a scientist. Not that any of this matters. I could be a janitor and my point would still be true. Someday you likely get married, and if this happens, there is a better than average chance that your gaming habits, and the amount of spare time you have to spend on them will have to change to be a lot more "streamlined". Odds are good that this will mean you will not have time to play a lot of in depth focused PC games, or spend time researching and upgrading your PC. This is just life. I don't really have to convince you of this, time will show you for me. ;)

[Frogleg Special]

Someday you likely get married, and if this happens, there is a better than average chance that your gaming habits, and the amount of spare time you have to spend on them will have to change to be a lot more "streamlined". Odds are good that this will mean you will not have time to play a lot of in depth focused PC games, or spend time researching and upgrading your PC. This is just life. I don't really have to convince you of this, time will show you for me. ;)

I realize that and when that time happens, I will still be playing PC games with lesser frequency than now. It's better to play a few deep PC games rather than playing lots of airheaded console games. As a programmer, why do you shun the idea of upgrading since Windows Vista and newer CPU technology will be much productive to coder than ever? The life of technologist is keeping his knowledge updated with anything new - if you get tired about the idea, then disengage from the bandwagon.

[netcraazzy]

As much as I like being able to sit on a couch and hold a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse I just can't give up PC games. The main reason is that a lot of the games I like are only on PC. I'm a huge fan of the SimCity series and although there have been some half-assed conversions of some of those games to consoles the PC is still where you have to be if you want to play Sim games. The same holds true for RTS and MMOs which are the other two genres that interest me. I'm also a PC hardware junkie, I like to upgrade and tweak and mod and you just don't get much of that with a console. So, I think for some people it does not matter how much time you have because the PC still has many redeeming qualities that you just can't get on a console.

[net7runner]

I've just played PC games for the last 8 years, mainly because I just didn't own a console. Now, I've inherited a PS2 from an uncle who doesn't want his anymore, and I have to say, I'm finding it hard to stay interested with it.

After playing a bunch of games lent to me by a friend, almost all ended up feeling...shallow. Amateur. Hokey. There were some obvious exceptions, of course, but most of the time it seemed like console game X had tacked on a generic, boring story with generic acting as a kind of last minute addition to the gameplay.

Example: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Basically Diablo II + 3D + Forgotten Realms backdrop. It's not fair to compare this to the PC BG games, but even against the (fairly shallow) Diablo II "immersive" effect it was just plain pitiful.

Example: Shadow Heats Covenant. Fun as hell to play...and I admit that they gave an admirable try at storyline and acting. There are flashback sequences where we get to peer into the inner workings of the main characters' mind...but most of them still end of feeling forced or fake. In one such flashback (sorta) the main character appears in a mysterious graveyard, which is pleasantly spooky, only to ruin the feeling by saying "This must be the graveyard....of my soul! Gee, mister!" Okay, I added that second part, but that's what it felt like.

I've played about 7 other games and haven't really been impressed by any of them except with regards to pure gameplay. I don't know, they just seem...half finished. Not quite polished. Have I just run into a "bad" set of games? (don't get me wrong, they're very fun, every time I have to see a depressingly bad cut scene I die a little inside). I've played a few games, such as Halo, Metrod Prime, and Resident Evil, that don't have any of this feel, so maybe that's the case...

[Wonka]

I think maybe your taste is a lot different than mine. I like to play games with my friends. For me, gaming is both playing games AND staying in touch with people who now live too far away to regularly visit. Of course I can upgrade my PC (although it's a chore that I simply don't want to do anymore), but also most of my friends are not interested in all that extra work, and my wife is certainly not interested in the extra cost. Also, the kinds of really deep games like you describe take far too much of a time commitment to finish. If you only want the most convoluted deep single player experiences, then yes you will probably only find that on PC. I just question whether you will be able to always invest the time needed to enjoy those kinds of games. I would reccomend that you sit down (this time with a friend) sometime and give Baldurs Gate DA another try only this time use the cooperative gameplay. It's another game entirely in that setting (although you may still find it a tad shallow on account of your friend has to wait whenever you root through your inventory).

[Frogleg Special]

Diablo 2 > BG II DA. This is a view of a person who has played both games extensively coop.

Shallow games -> Waste of time.