Proof that gaming STILL isn't mainstream entertainment

[FiftyDollarCurse]

Gaming is NOT mainstream yet, getting there though, gradually.

You know, now that I think about it, the last thing I want is for "video games" to become "mainstream". Because "mainstream", popular things are by and large, crap and no fun for a naturally contrarian and mercurial person such as myself.

And this is getting silly. Some video games are obviously mainstream. Wii Sports, Modern Warfare, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Brain Age, these are all mainstream entertainment franchises [that a random sampling of people will probably be aware of, even they aren't intimately familiar]. Canabalt, Katamari Damacy and 3D Dot Game Heroes are not. This debate needs more focus and thought. Hrmmmm.

[the7k]

You know, now that I think about it, the last thing I want is for "video games" to become "mainstream". Because "mainstream", popular things are by and large, crap and no fun for a naturally contrarian and mercurial person such as myself.

Any medium is, by and large, crap and of no value. Cartoons, comic books, movies, TV shows, books, art and just about anything else out there is composed of 95% crap.

The only exception is the sitcom. That's the only artform that is universally crap.

[GSZX1337]

The only exception is the sitcom. That's the only artform that is universally crap.

What about Married With Children, Frasier, or Seinfeld?

[Gamerforlife]

Gaming is NOT mainstream yet, getting there though, gradually.

You know, now that I think about it, the last thing I want is for "video games" to become "mainstream". Because "mainstream", popular things are by and large, crap and no fun for a naturally contrarian and mercurial person such as myself.

And this is getting silly. Some video games are obviously mainstream. Wii Sports, Modern Warfare, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Brain Age, these are all mainstream entertainment franchises [that a random sampling of people will probably be aware of, even they aren't intimately familiar]. Canabalt, Katamari Damacy and 3D Dot Game Heroes are not. This debate needs more focus and thought. Hrmmmm.

I know plenty of people who don't know anything about Call of Duty, GTA, Halo, Mario and Brain Age. No wait, scratch that, I think probably everyone knows who Mario is, but those other games aren't as well known as you might think. Keep in mind I'm not just talking about people in the age range of teens to thirty something and I'm not just talking about males, which pretty much are the target audience for games like that

Also, do you think the average person knows who ANYONE in the game industry is? You think names like Shigeru Miyamoto mean anything to the average person? Or Hideo Kojimo?or Itagaki, Cliffy B, Tim Schafer, Steve Wiebe, Peter Moore, etc. Now if you drop a name like Steve Speilberg, George Lucas, etc. The average person actually knows who the hell those people are. They know who writers like Anne Rice are, or Shakespeare, they know most of the big names in the music world, past, present and future. They know at least who a few tv celebs are. They know who Bill Gates is. The average person however, can't name one person of note in the video game industry. You know how many people can say they love Mario games and yet have never heard of Shigeru Miyamoto? And how many people there are who don't even know who the hell makes the Halo series and probably don't care

Gaming is not truly a big part of our culture yet.

[GSZX1337]

Keep in mind I'm not just talking about people in the age range of teens to thirty something and I'm not just talking about males, which pretty much are the target audience for games like that

So is The Simpsons not mainstream because older people don't know or care about it? What about Ben 10?

Rant about how people don't know big names in the games industry

There are millions of people who know about/listen to Metallica, Guns 'n' Roses, and Black Eyed Peas. How many of them know James Hetfield, Slash, and Taboo?

[Gamerforlife]

Keep in mind I'm not just talking about people in the age range of teens to thirty something and I'm not just talking about males, which pretty much are the target audience for games like that

So is The Simpsons not mainstream because older people don't know or care about it? What about Ben 10?

Rant about how people don't know big names in the games industry

There are millions of people who know about/listen to Metallica, Guns 'n' Roses, and Black Eyed Peas. How many of them know James Hetfield, Slash, and Taboo?

A lot of those older people you're talking about may likely have at least heard of the simpsons. Most popular tv shows have a greater place in the psyche of most people in this country than popular video games do. I'm pretty sure more people in America know about American Idol than they do Brain Age or even Halo

You just mentioned a bunch of bands that people know of despite not knowing about individual members. How many actual game companies are known by most people beyond Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft? Since those companies that are making our games would be the equivalent of a band in music. I guarantee the average person can name a lot more bands than they can video game companies

[AppleQueso]

I guarantee the average person can name a lot more bands than they can video game companies

To be quite fair, there are a lot more bands out there than video game companies.

Another thing worth pointing out: Gaming isn't even really 3 decades old. It's a bit unreasonable to expect it to have the kind of presence that music and film do.

[Gamerforlife]

I guarantee the average person can name a lot more bands than they can video game companies

To be quite fair, there are a lot more bands out there than video game companies.

That's true, but that further proves my point really. The gaming industry is still young and hasn't had enough time to really penetrate our culture as much as other entertainment mediums. Yet I hear a lot of gamers talk about gaming like it's on the same level as tv, movies, music and books. We're not even close. The fact that big names in the entertainment world won't even knowledge games as art still is more evidence

[AppleQueso]

Well I suppose that for its age, gaming is about as mainstream as it could be, all things considered.

[Gamerforlife]

Well I suppose that for its age, gaming is about as mainstream as it could be, all things considered.

Maybe mainstream is not the word I should be using, but gaming is clearly not as entrenched in our culture yet as other entertainment. Interestingly, if you look up the word mainstream on wikipedia, the article talks about film, magazines, literature and music. Nothing at all on videogames

We just don't get as much respect as other entertainment mediums