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Videogames Doomed for a 'Comics-like Ghetto'?

Posted by Zonk on from the i-would-argue-comics-aren't-even-in-a-ghetto dept.

At the Newsweek blog LevelUp, journalist N'Gai Croal wrote this week about the sometimes-precarious position of videogames in popular culture. The frustrations of legislators, lawyers, and 'pro-family' groups aside, the popularity and record sales of the gaming industry would seem to indicate rising stock for gaming as an art form in the US. And yet, there are some folks who see gaming as just another fad, which in some time will be equal in popularity to comic books or tabletop roleplaying. N'Gai starts to form his response by noting that learning to play videogames is considerably easier than developing an appreciation for literature of any kind. He then goes on to note that the (oft-cited) lack of weighty subjects in gaming is more due to the 'pop culture' nature of the hobby than the medium itself. "Popular fiction generally outsells literary fiction. Summer blockbusters generally out-gross arthouse films. Is this any different from, say, Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat out-NPD-ing BioShock last year, or Madden doing the same to Shadow of the Colossus in 2005?" He discusses some ways to address that, but do you have any solutions? Or are games doomed to be the playthings of adolescent boys for the rest of the century? (And yeah, I resent the 'comics ghetto' label too.)

3 of 354 comments (clear)

  1. You know what the best games are?? by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: -1, Redundant

    Games are the funnest when you can get with a bunch of friends. No, not over the net, but in real life. We all get together, get some fun games and play for hours. Here's some what we play:

    Unreal Tournament original
    Total Annihilation
    Starcraft
    Super Smash Bros - emulated
    Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (and similar 2player fight sims)
    Quake3
    Magic The Gathering (yes, card game, but crazy fun)
    AD&D ed 3.0 - when we have enough people
    Wii multiplayer games - Best when we drink, the games get craAAaazy!

    It's fun when you're with friends. Other wise, it's all just grind. And that ain't fun.

    --
  2. 1st kill! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    Back to my adolescent hobby...

  3. Re:supply and demand by MindPhlux · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I agree! Life is just too short to think or wonder about things. No big deal, who cares?