What does 'video game' mean, anyway? (CNN)

[Complex]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming....ex.html?hpt=C1

The shift has made for many bleak months of retail software performance. Most recently, sales of games for PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 and popular handheld consoles slumped a whopping 15 percent to $531 million in June, according to market research firm NPD

Interesting take on the industry. Definitely worth a read.

[Misfit]

Re: What does 'video game' mean, anyway? (CNN)

The Video Game Industry was able to avoid a lot of the perils caused by the recent recession for awhile, I think it is just catching up to it now. The Wii bubble has essentially burst. The freshness and the appeal has worn off and all of those "casual" gamers have moved on. Of course, there is an issue out there today with over-saturation. America has become a nation of short-attention spans and a lot of people are turning to other forms of entertainment as opposed to a game that takes up a large chunk of time. More people are content to stick with Call of Duty style games that focus on quick multiplayer matches that are being supported with additional content on a regular basis. I hate to give the industry more ideas to milk us of our hard-earned cash, but some games are supported by the publisher for too long giving the consumer little need or incentive to purchase a new game. I'd like to also think that people are getting sick of the same old stuff as most games are sequels and if they're not the gameplay mechanics are usually familiar. Madden however is likely to null that theory when it sells a million copies next week and consumers will continue to spend on sequels and re-makes.

As for the question of "what does video game mean?" I pondered that myself recently following the controversial blog entry by Roger Ebert where he declared that video games can never be art. Agree or disagree if you wish, but I noticed his opinion was based on a certain concept of what a video game is where he often used the phrase "win the game," or something similar. This lead me to believe his concept was something along the lines of an old-school Space Invaders where the object of the game is to rack up the highest score. Or maybe he was referring to Mario, where you go right, stomp the bad guys, sink the dragon and save the princess. His opinion was not based on a modern video game where objectives are less clear or absent entirely. A game like The Sims has no real objective, the player is supposed to just play it for enjoyment endlessly. There's no high score, no evil wizard to fell, no ending credits. Video games today are more like interactive films. Some are still games of skill where the old label still applies but a growing sector would probably be better defined as interactive media. I'm fine with the broad classification of "video game" though and I don't think the industry needs a re-branding to move content. It just needs to weather the storm. Movie attendance is down as well, but you don't hear of Hollywood trying to come up with new genres. When people have more money to spend and are less fearful of the economy they'll come back. They always do.

[daflyboys]

Re: What does 'video game' mean, anyway? (CNN)

I'm not going to read this, but coincidentally, I was thinking about this the other day and thinking how somewhat outdated the term "video game" is today. Maybe more of a misnomer. Not sure what else to call it. "Virtual" has been overdone. I got it: Visual Effects Game or

VEG !