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I'd like to see a return of pinball, especially since video games have evolved to the point where making arcade hardware for new video games is cost-prohibitive. It was different when the arcade could provide a superior experience to the Atari or Nintendo systems of old.
I'd like to see a return of pinball, especially since video games have evolved to the point where making arcade hardware for new video games is cost-prohibitive. It was different when the arcade could provide a superior experience to the Atari or Nintendo systems of old.
You and me both. Pinball was my first love,before video games.
I don't think it's going to happen,though. I was doing some reading up on it,and was shocked to learn,that there's only one company still making them. Stern.
Bally,Williams and Gottleib,are out of the silverball business.
You and me both. Pinball was my first love,before video games.
I don't think it's going to happen,though. I was doing some reading up on it,and was shocked to learn,that there's only one company still making them. Stern.
Bally,Williams and Gottleib,are out of the silverball business.
I'm not even sure Bally and Gottlieb exist anymore, and I read somewhere that Williams is out of pinball and video games completely and is producing gaming machines (think video poker).
Problem with bringing back pin is there are no real places for them anymore. Most arcades are history, in the US anyway. Pinball machines are bulkier than video game cabinets and can be rather high maintenance, which is why you didn't see them as much in non-arcade settings back in the day (like grocery stores). There's a vintage/antique store near where I live with a working Galaga machine that I still go in and pump a quarter or two into when I'm walking around in the area and need a break.
The last "arcade" I went into was in North Carolina (where I used to live) and it had a couple pinball machines and a small handful of video games (like Donkey Kong and a combination Galaga/Ms. Pac-Man) along with Dance Dance Revolution and that kind of stuff. Pretty weaksauce.
Can people still be pro-active gamers well into their 30s, 40s, and so on?
I mean, I'm a young professional gamer. If I was enployed, I still might be a gamer (little time for it though) even if I was past 40.
You are talking to one..I've been video gaming since the days of Space Invaders..Some years more than others, but this is definitely something I still enjoy even at age 43 and it is an escape of sorts. As mentioned above, I was also an avid pinball player at one time.
I have a PS2, original XBOX and a 360 now. I also have a GBA for trips. I don't consider myself an "expert" at gaming nor do I care to have a flawless collection of rare games or consoles. I don't even like playing online for some reason, as it's just a solitary activity for me. It's simply something I've been passionate about for a long time.
I do like the fact that there are games that appeal to a wide audience and many are geared towards adults.
Many people enjoy playing cards, poker, board games, etc, I simply get my entertainment from video games.
The last "arcade" I went into was in North Carolina (where I used to live) and it had a couple pinball machines and a small handful of video games (like Donkey Kong and a combination Galaga/Ms. Pac-Man) along with Dance Dance Revolution and that kind of stuff. Pretty weaksauce.
I remember when the arcade used to be both the gaming and social centers in malls and other places long before most people had consoles at home. Now, the few arcades in existence today are really nothing more than a stark reminder of how far video gaming has come. I will say some of the best games I have ever played, though were in arcades and MANY quarters, lol.
I hope to keep gaming as long as possible, but I'm only 18 and I've already seen a huge drop-off in the amount of time I play games. The only games I've played at all recently are Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero, and I also played Half-Life 2: Episode Two. I got about halfway through World in Conflict's campaign and I'm slowly making my way through Final Fantasy X, and one of my friends has Rock Band, but otherwise I've seen a very depressing drop-off in the amount of gaming I do.
But I will probably always have a subscription to PC Gamer magazine.
I'm 26 and I consider myself an active gamer. I really don't see a reason to NOT play games anymore. Video games come in a wide variety these days. They're no longer just brush off simplistic games to play when you're bored, or kid-friendly stuff that isn't for adults. Storytelling is a big part of gaming now, and only becomes bigger and better as time goes on. Two of my favorite series are the Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill games, two series which are both story and plot-driven, and emotion heavy. Gameplay is almost secondary to the story, music, setting, and characters.
Certain people can't wrap their heads around video games as a legit form of media or entertainment, and that's a shame. They still see games as toys for kids and nothing more. Here's what I don't understand - pretty much everyone watches TV. And TV is a passive form of entertainment. You sit there and you watch your stupid CSIs and Paris Hilton's BFF and whatever the hell else, and it's not a mind-boggling designed for MENSA members. Yet those same people who will sit their fat asses down to a bag of Doritos and a Friends marathon will dismiss video games. I'm generalizing, obviously, but games are as much an entertainment medium as anything else. The Silent Hill games are more horrifying, more disturbing, and more psychologically centered than most horror movies I've seen, save for a few. And besides, when you're playing a video game, you're actually doing something. You're not just passively watching a screen and going "Huh, that's funny."
I'll probably play video games until I don't feel connected to them anymore. But they're obviously not a flash in the pan, and they're here to stay. And if you're an adult, you shouldn't feel ashamed that you play Bioshock or God of War. They're designed for adults, not children.
I'm 26 and I consider myself an active gamer. I really don't see a reason to NOT play games anymore. Video games come in a wide variety these days. They're no longer just brush off simplistic games to play when you're bored, or kid-friendly stuff that isn't for adults. Storytelling is a big part of gaming now, and only becomes bigger and better as time goes on. Two of my favorite series are the Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill games, two series which are both story and plot-driven, and emotion heavy. Gameplay is almost secondary to the story, music, setting, and characters.
Certain people can't wrap their heads around video games as a legit form of media or entertainment, and that's a shame. They still see games as toys for kids and nothing more. Here's what I don't understand - pretty much everyone watches TV. And TV is a passive form of entertainment. You sit there and you watch your stupid CSIs and Paris Hilton's BFF and whatever the hell else, and it's not a mind-boggling designed for MENSA members. Yet those same people who will sit their fat asses down to a bag of Doritos and a Friends marathon will dismiss video games. I'm generalizing, obviously, but games are as much an entertainment medium as anything else. The Silent Hill games are more horrifying, more disturbing, and more psychologically centered than most horror movies I've seen, save for a few. And besides, when you're playing a video game, you're actually doing something. You're not just passively watching a screen and going "Huh, that's funny."
I'll probably play video games until I don't feel connected to them anymore. But they're obviously not a flash in the pan, and they're here to stay. And if you're an adult, you shouldn't feel ashamed that you play Bioshock or God of War. They're designed for adults, not children.
EXACTLY...but in their quest to suppress the competition created by video games, other forms of media (primarily Television/movies) have done a superb job of implanting in the minds of the impressionable, that the only people who play video games are either 12 year old adolescents or 41 year old men living in their mothers basement.
This sort of propagandist type portrayal by popular media has lead the impressionable masses to fall right in line with those beliefs. However the public at large doesnt even know its being used as a pawn by the media. Why do you (not you directly but the proverbial "you") think the movie industry is so vocal in blaming its lackluster sales and dismal theater attendance rates on video games like Halo? They know that when people are given the option to exercise control over/interact with their chosen form of entertainment or sit on a cushion and be spoon fed information through a "PROGRAM" <<<(keyword), people will almost always choose to interact with their medium. Thereby creating a near insurmountable competitor. Trust me if, through media depiction they could prevent people from engaging in sports as a hobby they would, because popular media wants all of people's time. But since media makes money from broadcasting sports anyway, it behooves popular media to allow a fair and accurate portrayal of sports enthusiasts..
The movie/television industry's counter-product to the increasing video game phenomenon was supposed to be the inauguration of the DVD. That was supposed to surreptitiously introduce a more interactive form of movie watching to audiences without it being a straightforward video game. But while DVDs are certainly popular, it did nothing to abate the rise in video game popularity.
Last edited by solytaire; 10-10-2008 at 10:54 AM..
I can assure you that there are a LOT of people out there who are at least casual gamers who do not fit into either the 12 year old boy or 41 year old weirdo in his mom's basement category. Most of my friends are gamers, albiet not as much as I am, and we're all normal, functioning 20-something year olds. We have girfriends, we have fulltime jobs, we go out to the bars and clubs, we have our own places...
Video games have come a long way in the way they are presented, especially in the past few years. Look at commercials for games nowadays. They look like movie previews. They have sweeping, epic music, quotes and review from critics, huge action sequences, all of that. It's serious, and it's a real, legit business. It's not just kid's stuff anymore. Look at the new Ghostbusters game that will be coming out (hopefully): It was written by Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis, and stars ALL of the original voice cast from the old movies. They're treating it like the third part of the Ghostbusters franchise. And look at the Metal Gear Solid series: David Hayter, the voice of Solid Snake, co-wrote the screenplays for the first two X-Men movies, the only two X-Men movies that are worth a damn, by the way.
Things will come around. They already are. Things like the Wii and Guitar Hero are bringing casual audiences to gaming. They're bringing in mothers, daughters, fathers, and grandparents. Adult-oriented games like Bioshock and Mass Effect are making people realize that games can have interactive storytelling and be compelling on a whole different level. And Grand Theft Auto, Madden and Halo are pretty much all words that most people are at least familiar with. Either way, no matter what anyone else says or does, it's not going to change my opinion on games, or how often I play them.
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