Average Gamers Please Step Forward: Article Analysis

Video games have become as pervasive an aspect of our society as television, with many people spending more time playing video games than watching television. There are many perspectives with which to gauge videos games’ effect on society, from a functionalist, conflict or interactionist perspective. (Schaefer, 2011) Each of these sociological theories can provide a different view of video games, how they affect society and the subcultures that develop around them.

“Be a Gamer, Save the World,” written by Jane McGonigal, is an article found in the Norton Reader 14th Edition. Video game critics are often quick to dismiss playing video games as brain numbing and a waste of time. McGonigal challenges critics of video games by discussing the benefits of playing video games. She makes a valid point by stating that video games make players more optimistic and help create better social bonds. These emotions can encourage people to desire working for the betterment of the world. McGonigal believes we can solve some of the world’s most difficult issues with the use of video games. The author makes a valid point, especially considering the advancements in technology and the

“According to data recently released by The NPD Group, in 2012, U.S. video game software sales reached $6.7 billion (174.8 million units) and computer game sales were $380 million (13.2 million units)” (Improving Economy). To many, the violent video game industry has turned all adolescents into mass murderers. However, they’re absolutely wrong. Very seldom do adolescents who play violent video games commit acts of violence, and the ones who do usually have a mental disorder. Instead of blaming the tragedies that occur on violent video games, the news media should explain to people that a large percentage of young males play violent video games, indicating that the two are uncorrelated. They should alternatively research other possible solutions to the crisis. In lieu of negatively affecting people’s lives, video games could potentially improve their lives!

As video games become more and more popular, we will inevitably see an increase in amount of video games being produced. The growth in popularity of video games is facilitated by the creation of a website known as Twitch.com. This website allows gamers and content creators to stream themselves playing video games online and interact directly with a live audience via chat. This new platform makes gaming both more accessible and more acceptable. The social stigmas that accompany video games are diminishing; in fact there has been an increase in competitive electronic sports as well. Logically, the growing interest in video games encourages programmers to make more and more games. Melinda Burgess et al presents an interesting perspective about video games. She explores the prevalence of racial stereotypes and how their effects are detrimental to society as a whole. In Burgess’s essay, “Playing with Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Video Games”, she provides fantastic commentary on how top selling video games show “overt racial stereotyping” (Lunsford et al 551) and negatively affect how we think. By providing statistics and data about the videogames that she is critiquing, she effectively shows that there is may be a correlation between video games and how we think and interact with the world around us.

Though gaming has its drawbacks, it also has many benefits to cover them. If controlled, gaming is extremely useful and with the amount of gamers in the world today, it proves that it is not just for children or for teenagers. There are millions of adult gamers that understand the importance of gaming in the under the existing circumstances of the world. Individuals that have studied gamers believe that gaming in today’s

Content analyses show that 89% of video games have some violent content. Half of the video games on the market have extreme violent actions toward other characters. Games, today, are allowing players to not only connect with the game physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. In essence, the player becomes the character. According to Nielson Media Research, at least 45 million households in the United States have at least one video game console (Markey & Charlotte, 2010). The average age of video game players has increased to age 34, and 60% of Americans play interactive games on a regular basis. However, researchers believe that younger children are more susceptible to the negative effects of playing violent video games compared to older teenagers and adults. Furthermore, games that include violence have raised serious concerns among

Tom Bissell presents an article in 2010, to college students of which is “Why Video Games Matter.” Bissell isn’t intending for the argument to be about video game criticism, the history of the gaming, or an assessment of anything. On the contrary, he wants to articulate his own opinions and thoughts on what playing games feels like, why he plays them, and the questions they make him think about. Being a gamer myself, I have also endured the struggles of what being obsessed with a video game feels like. It is understood that when first purchasing a video game, all one thinks about is getting home and popping it in the console, disregarding everything else that is happening in the vicinity.

Sternheimer, Karen. "Do Video Games Kill." The Journal of American Sociological Association Winter Contexts (2007): n. pag. Print.

So, I’m going to change things a bit. Instead of just talking about dates and numbers, which can be boring; I’m going to give this a little casual twist. So, in order to start the history let’s get a few facts out of the way. Let’s talk about gamers, mainly because I’ll be using the term a lot; gamers are people who spent a lot of time playing videogames. The Average gamer playing video games has spent twelve years playing them. Adult gamers have an average of fourteen years of playing videogames, guys have an average of sixteen years, and girls have an average twelve years. Speaking of girls did you know that 47% of gamers are girls? I would have never guessed that, but it’s a fact. So, as of 2013 49% of all people who live in The United States owns a console. All of them that own a console have at least two of them. Me, I own eleven… I think I may have a problem. Anyway, now that some of the facts are out of the way let’s start, THE HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES! Now before I start I want to talk about all the most important events in the history of videogames, as I call them eras. Each era is very important because they shaped the videogames we know and love today.

According to several sources around 42% of the American population plays video games, and around 1.2 billion people worldwide play video games today. Gaming has become an increasingly more popular hobby since its creation. As such the medium has obviously attracted a multitude of different people and groups, all consisting of diverse backgrounds, body types, sexes, races, nationalities and the like. However, contrary to the numerous demographics video games have come to attract, it is very evident the vast majority of them do not seem to be marketed toward many of them via game characters, and their importance, if any, in a game. Video games show an overwhelming amount of white male characters, despite the many demographics they reach. Of the characters that are not white, or male, that are represented, are often represented poorly. For example, many black characters represented in video games are often characterized as vulgar, and violent. Women represented in games are often characterized as support characters, or objects of sexual desire. Considering forms of sexism, racism, and other such types of prejudices are still prominent in modern society, and these representations obviously do not help how people see these marginalized groups. Ultimately, these representations, or lack thereof, affect people in society in a number of ways, by perpetuating prejudice and harmful stereotypes.

An argumentative essay titled “Stop Blaming Videogames”, from an online source argues that violent video games do not increase aggression in adolescents. The author also insists that gaming is a solitary activity and encourages social interaction by bonding online friendships. This raises many controversies over whether or not gaming should be regulated for minors.

Annotated Bibliography Robbins, Brandon, M. “Games and Violence: Games, Gamers & Gaming. LibraryJournal. 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013 In this article which was written a few months after the Sandy Hook school shooting the author talks about the effects that the media portrays video games having and the effect they portrayed video games having during the Columbine school in 1999 and how the media pointed out in both instances that the shooters enjoyed video games.

The author says that, nowadays, a lot of people label video games as “violent, addictive, childish, and worthless.” On the one hand, these people are somewhat right that video games have a bad influence on the younger generation, but they miss “the big picture” in another way. As Wright says, “…watching someone play a game is a different experience than actually holding the controller and playing it yourself.”

Wingfield initiates his essay by including Anita Sarkeesian’s experience to hook his readers and to get his audience to understand the intensity of this issue. Wingfield then transitions to explaining the campaign of #Gamergate and how the attacks of women stem from things that had previously happened by saying “They arise from larger changes in the video game business that have redefined the audience for its products, expanding it well beyond the traditional young, male demographic” (5). Wingfield uses this quote to provide his audience with the history of where this behavior is coming from and as a cue to his audience about his main point, which is discussed later on in his essay. Finally, Wingfield concludes his essay by including a quote by Kate Edwards, “an executive director of the Game Developers Association” referring to males in the gaming industry: “The entire world around them has changed, whether they realize it or not, they’re no longer special in that way. Everyone is playing games” (21-22).

Other researchers have utilised the theory of geek masculinity, rather than hegemonic, to examine and interpret gaming culture, most recently to understand the events of Gamergate (Salter, 2017; Massanari, 2017; Braithwaite, 2016). Rooted in an outdated stereotype of games culture when gamers were seen as reclusive and socially inept nerds, geek masculinity is a gender identity that encompasses elements of hegemonic masculinity while simultaneously rejecting others, such as athletic and sporting prowess (Golding & Larsson, 2015, p.7; Taylor, 2012, p. 111). However, Krowert at al argue the ubiquitous nature of videogames in contemporary society has eroded the concept of geek masculinity in gaming culture, a point maintained by other recent