Video Games And Its Impact On Society

The increasing popularity of video games has raised some concern in society. The question as to whether or not this concern is justified has been raised a multitude of times. However, it is reasonable to believe that video games’ impact on society is not a negative one as there are many beneficial aspects to gaming, there is no solid proof of issue with video games, and they are enjoyable.

If you are a parent during this time of information and technology, chances are you have a child who has played, is playing, or will be playing video games. The video game industry is a rapidly growing market that went from being worth $100 million in 1985 to $4 billion in 1990 (Gartner, 2013). Prior to the 1980’s, there were rudimentary computer games, commercially sold coin-operated games, and home consoles. Shortly after the North-American Video Game Crash of 1983 the industry took a big hit until the Nintendo Entertainment System induced a resurgence in popularity that has only continued to grow (Cesarone, 2014). In the years since, the gaming world has expanded and divided into numerous categories. There are casual, serious and educational games in mediums ranging from console games to online RPG’s also known as role playing games to the most recent and flourishing market of mobile games. In 2013, the worldwide value of the industry totaled $93 billion (Metrics 2.0, 2007).

Video games are a big part of life in modernized countries. It is one of the biggest entertainment money makers and of the things people enjoy doing. They are now mostly played inside the comfort of your home, with a console or computer. But things weren 't always like this. About 40 years ago you would most likely go to the arcade to play. The consoles they had out were either expensive or not good enough to compete with the arcade ones. Classic video games were made with 4-bit pixels and in very low resolution than modern day games. Over the decades, game machines continuously evolved and become more and more powerful, capable of stunning visuals and graphics. In the 21st century, social media, smart phone and tablet technology entered the gaming scene. Casual games become the norm attracting previously non-gamers into the market. However, if those low-quality games were never made, the games would not have evolved into the games they are today. In this article, I will cover main game a platform from the 1970’s to present day explaining what they are, their key development dates, features and limitations.

Several years had passed and a Japanese company by the name of Nintendo decided it wanted to enter the market. Nintendo’s Family Computer, or Famicom, was doing well in Japan and Nintendo wanted to try and find success in North America. This proved to be difficult because America was still wary on the idea of game consoles after the crash. To try and avoid the skepticism that came with items labeled as a game console, Nintendo rebranded the Famicom as the Nintendo Entertainment System and marketed it as a toy. Believe it or not, this actually worked and Nintendo became a household name. In order to keep their success going Nintendo took steps to avoid another market crash. Nintendo would put developers under a contract that kept them on their console and would keep them from developing games for developers. Developers also had a limited amount of games they could release in a year as

Video games and computer games (from here on both categories will be simply referred to as video games for simplicity) have entered the domain of pop culture fairly recently. Although the first video game was developed in 1958 by William Higginbotham, their popularity didn’t occur until the seventies with the appearance of Pac-man and Frogger in the arcades (Computer and Video Games). If the younger generation of video game consumers would take a look at what was out there when the video game boom begun they wouldn’t be able to understand what was so attractive (and addictive?) about Pac-man and Frogger? The truth is, video games from over three decades ago share the same basic principles with the games we have

Nintendo’s emphasis on creative games and interesting story lines changed user perception of gaming. High quality of gaming introduced a new breed of consumers.” (wikipedia)

The dawn of Nintendo was when gaming evolved (Cobbett). Nintendo and others have changed the world of gaming (Cobbett). In 1981, Nintendo released the famous Donkey Kong (Cobbett). Still to this day, it’s a popular game (Cobbett). Nintendo revolutionized gaming by becoming the first gaming company to release a game that featured jumping over objects as a mechanic (Cobbett). This was the most revolutionary advance in gaming since the first Nintendo “EVR Race” (Cobbett).

Before the video game industry conquered the entertainment market, and before the gaming masterpieces of the modern day we know, video games earned their place in entertainment at public arcades. For classic games such as Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Mortal Kombat, and Galaga, the local arcade was the perfect foundation for the game industry to build upon, as arcades provided a cheap public source to play games. These low cost game corners drew in a community, the community that would become the first gamers, warranting the attention of game creators and their respective companies. Taking note of arcade games and their initial success, game developers began to place their focus on the newest form of entertainment. Companies such as Nintendo, Sega, and Sony learned from the success of arcade entertainment and set their sights on creating home gaming consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega

Video games have been commonplace in households for many years and development of these systems will only continue to grow and change. Video game systems could be found in households as early as 1972 and they have become even more accessible as time has gone on. Genres of games have as wide of a range as literature, with games ranging from war stories to fantasy adventures. With this large spectrum of genres comes a lot of uneasiness about what the people, more specifically the children, who play these games experience. For a long time there was very little discourse when it came to video games, most were very simple with no obvious violence. Then in 1976 came a game called Death Race. This game became a small hotspot for controversy due to

Video games are the wave of the future. Video games have been apart of american culture just as long as tv or computuers have; and just like everything else in life video games have adapted and changed with the times.

Video games have been a part of the American popular culture since the 1970s, when Pong was first invented. They have affected our society in many ways, some good, and some bad. An analysis of video game trends in our society will reveal their evolution over time, the affects they have on society, and the consequences they have on society.

As the time goes by, the technology become cheaper and available to the general public, therefore more and more developers start to develop game to fulfill the need as an entertainment purpose.

Violence in video games can affect ones mindset in so many different ways, where we don’t even realize it. For example playing “Grand Theft Auto” for a few hours will change your mindset. Even though it wouldn’t be in a tremendous way, but for a few minutes your mindset will think, “This game is so much fun, I want to steal cars, have police chase me, shoot at people, even steal helicopters”. According to Social scientists in the New York Times, Many studies have shown that this is becoming a major issue because of how realistic these games are starting to look. According to PBS Newshour, Another issue is, with all these major shootings, such as the Sandy Hook, The theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, The Newton Killer, Adam Lanza ; all show that they played many violent video games. But there can be other reasons as to why they made such a major impact to this world. It could have been depression, bullying as a child, feeling socially isolated, or even a certain state of mind, where they feel like they have to transform that game into real life.

In 1971 the video game industry was born. For over forty years, video games have been on the rise, now more so then in the early years when it was first introduced. Over the years as gaming corporation were continuously innovating new video game consoles and devices, consumers became more aware of what this technology has to offer. But in order for technology giants to wheel in consumers to buy their product, they had to present it to the general public, and give reasons why they should buy it. In order for video game corporations to stay in the game they will need to keep innovating and that is exactly what they will continue to do.

This year, in 2014, video game will turn 44 years old. The industry that started with a 1D computer space game has now turned into a multi-million dollar business. Over the years, video games have played a huge role and have undeniably become an integral part of our life and culture. But as the gaps of reality and gaming experience dwindle, this raises a question of whether video games, like films and music, could really be used as a valuable medium for educational purposes or is it really just the digital menace which potentially turns players into ferocious zombies. While the debate gets intensified, it has already been scientifically approved that video games do impose several psychological effects on human.