Every Friday, during my lunch hour, I walk through downtown Tampa to eat at my usual restaurants. Passages from The Old Testament are read out loud by a man with a megaphone. Digressions are randomly inserted into his public sermons claiming new technology is a device of The Devil used to tempt the souls of Men. The scene is ironic; he has an iPhone. It’s taken me months to figure out what he’s saying because I mostly ignore him so I only receive bits of information every time I pass him. I believe every person should be allowed to express their own view, whether I agree with them or not, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking his insecurity is louder than his amplified voice. The fast progression of human technology is shattering his World and it terrifies him. So, to him, new technology is a disaster of Biblical proportions. A similar voice can be heard from enthusiast gamers with the way they address 3-D gaming and motion controls. In a way, most, not all, video game enthusiasts are becoming psychotic street preachers.
Gaming’s Bubble
Since their original conception, video games have existed in their bubble. A landscape where where a couple of pixels could represent an alien invasion or a fantasy world in grave danger and could only be saved by a group of unlikely heroes. Recently, the bubble was shattered, revealing a new world of video games and their ambassadors, motion controls and 3-D gaming. From a marketing perspective, if video games are to stay relevant in a growing demographic they need to break out of their isolated community and reach out to new markets. Using 3-D and motion controls is a catalyst for the transition. Almost every box office hit movie is accompanied by a 3-D version. The most dominant platform, from a sales perspective, is the Nintendo Wii and DS. The, arguably, fastest growing market in games is the digital distribution platform for Apple; all of these devices exclusively serve touch devices, a form of motion control. These features carry unwelcome baggage for the pre-bubble burst gamer. Social and casual games are viewed as an invasive force out to take over the previous landscape of video games and fill it with lands full of Farmville and fitness games.
Apocalyptic Wasteland of Facebook Games
This vision of a post apocalyptic wasteland of Facebook games is completely unsubstantiated. The Wii and DS lead the sales charts, but it has not stopped developers from creating pre-bubble burst games. The closure of traditional studios and purchase of casual focus companies is true, while unfortunate, it seems like a tragic event, not a trend. In fact, most of the enthusiast press has labeled the past couple of months, 2nd Christmas, because of the strong release schedule. A more appropriate term would be prolonged Hanukah. Just like how 3-D gaming and motion controls are inappropriately named as gimmicks, it makes more sense to call them market expansion. Christmas and Hanukah exist alongside many other religious Holidays, the new and old video game market can exist in the same way. Crazy people say Hanukah and Christmas cannot coexist, the same demographic can be applied to those who label 3-D and motion controls as the new threats to what gamers perceive as real games.
Gaming Landscape is Huge
Every couple of months a lawyer, politician, or study suggests games are harmful to society. Gamers meet them at the gates; bring out every cliché, “You don’t understand my hobby” argument, like something out of Will Smith’s Parents Just Don’t Understand music video. Yet when it comes to 3-D gaming and motion controllers, gamers are the insecure side, declaring social games are taking over the video game landscape. This process starts to look like the Ouroboros. No signs in the market points to a takeover of social games. Video games do not exist in their bubble, not anymore. They have expanded into broader markets and with it come new technology and interpretations of how to play games. It doesn’t spell doom of traditional video games.
