The “real world” journalists, no great prizes as a rule either, have at least noticed that the BIG news in gaming the last few years are:
1. A revolutionary new game control method
2. A gaming system using that method that is bringing in, and back into gaming large populations of non-gamers and lapsed gamers.
3. The new system has sales that indicate that innovation and fun are more important than pixel counting.
4. A gaming system that is actually tackling real world problems like lack of exercise and fitness with innovative new ideas.
5. A gaming system that has brought actual fun back to gaming and is so compelling that it is being used in hospitals, and retirement homes to encourage people to be more active (even if Sony has no interest in them, apparently by policy).
6. True life stories like:
The head of the Rheumatology department at the major teaching hospital where I am employed personally thanked me for acquainting him with the Wii which he has used with great success in his practice. This includes a young patient with severely disabling arthritis, which activity would benefit but movement was so painful that the patient could not be induced to get out of his wheelchair voluntarily after several years of attempted therapy. Like most people he found Wii Sports irresistible and it not only got him out of his chair but he now plays regularly and has achieved a significant improvement in mobility and reduction in pain.
These are things I consider IMPORTANT gaming news but magazines like Game Informer lack room to cover because of the really important announcements like”
1. Madden 2009 is about … Football, Again.
2. Halo has this fascinating character called Master Chief … oh you’ve heard that one before?
3. Hey Hi Def TV has, ah, higher definition; bet you didn’t know that?
4. Hey guess what, Grand Theft Auto is about driving around committing pretty much gratuitous violence. It’s very popular overseas … yeah like we need to give more people a highly negative image of our country as a place of uncontrolled violence,
5. Important philosophical debates like is Metal Gear Solid; is it a video game with feature length cut scenes or is it actually a feature length film with interruptions for actual game play.
Well as long as they have their priorities straight.
