Joe - Smart Casual
First off, sorry sorry sorry for the Easter drought, I just had so many other, better things to do. But that dream died two days ago so here I am to continue throwing thoughts.
I was flicking through the Guinness World Records: Gamers Edition the other day checking out all the high (or hi-, if you’re like that) scores when I realised that gaming will at some point get out of hand. Whereas cinema has taken more than a hundred years to mature, videogames have accomplished this much quicker, and seem willing to push the gaming boundaries faster each day. The music industry is being trounced by the money put into games each year, and Halo 3’s release was one of the biggest commercial releases of anything, ever. It won’t be long now till we see a spate of geo-synchronous games that require you to leave your home to play, or pedometers that record your exertions and convert them to in-game XP.
The casual market is growing exponentially and more and more videogame adaptations find their way into cinemas each year. Add to this in-game advertising, tournaments, TV channels and, I don’t know, Companion Cube plushes; you get a pretty good idea of where gaming’s going. None of this excites me as much as it scares me. I know…how do I have the audacity to put such a serious spin on a post with a Lolcat as a header image?
Right now I have a good grasp on games and the industry. I own the big three, and from my perch up high can comment on the daily happenings in the videogame world. But when the independent games companies rise, or when casual gaming is so integral to everyone’s lives that my sister could beat me at Halo 3, then I’m going to get in a huff. I like where we are right now, somewhere between commercial and niche; a hobby that’s a sport, but not ’sports’. If time froze, I’d be okay with that.
I sure hope I’m being overdramatic. Maybe I overestimate gaming. Perhaps its having a popularity surge as a very delayed reaction to the Matrix trilogy. Whatever the reason, I know some people will oppose my opinion: say I’m too proud or something of that ilk. But try and see it from this perspective:
Alright, so I don’t have a slant to put on it, but you get my gist.
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Unrelated but cool thing - Probably the best viral marketing ever: www.justin.tv/humanlabrat
As long as there are games that are far too complicated for the mainstream out, you’ve nothing to worry about. I don’t know how many casual gamers are going to go out and buy copies of Rainbow Six Vegas 2.
And I hope Halo 3 was a one-off. That game got far too much praise.