| WereKitten said: Game genres are so different between them that it's not even like comparing drama and comedy in movies. It's like comparing movies with documentaries, tv shows, and journalistic reports. |
I'm not sure I agree that the genre split in video games is bigger than in movies, but it's interesting to think about.
Honestly, I suspect that this generation is the first to really admit a wide gulf between game genre audiences--the supposed hardcore vs. casual split... before then, most gamers seemed fairly united, and someone who loved "video games" was expected to love any great game (with maybe a couple of exceptions).
I don't know.
I also don't know that I agree that you can't compare movies to documentaries, tv shows, etc. I think that such comparisons depend on the criteria that are being used, and yeah, I suspect that there exists criteria general enough to make such comparisons intelligible. (Could literature be compared to cinema? Cinema to paintings? Possibly so, though I certainly wouldn't have the expertise to do it.)
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Saying "National Geographic makes the best aired content" is quite naturally begging for an answer like "well, I suppose that's true if you're only into documentaries". |
Well, to answer your question honestly, if someone said that National Geographic makes the best aired content, I would feel that this sounds like a thought-out position; doesn't seem like an off-hand comment. "Aired content" means that they're inviting the comparison to movies; so yeah, I'd expect that they, themselves, would at least think the comparison makes sense. As to whether they're a movie buff or not, I wouldn't make an assumption either way.
I also wouldn't dismiss their claim out of hand... maybe National Geographic does make the best aired content? I would want to see if they could explain their claim, and then I'd assess it on its merits (or lack thereof). If they say, "well, I just like it the most--I don't care much for fictionalized stuff," then I'd take it for what it was worth. On the other hand, if they come up with some sort of reasonable means to compare documentaries with other media, it might be worth thinking about.
| To put it into another light: saying that "Nintendo makes the best games" you're basically downplaying everything that Nintendo games lack and that some gamers need. You're saying that no matter how interesting the characters and story of Grim Fandango are, or how atmospheric and haunting Silent Hill 2 is, that's beaten by Nintendo because they perfected the art of the Mario platformer or Kart racing. |
I disagree. I don't think holding something up as "the best" means necessarily denigrating anything else. When Miss Rhode Island wins the pageant, that doesn't mean you think Miss Arizona is ugly.
To again bring us back to my movie example, if I were to claim that The Godfather is the greatest film of all time (which I wouldn't, but just for argument), I'm sure that someone could say that I'm downplaying everything that The Godfather lacks and that some moviegoers need. That, no matter how comedic Adam Sandler is in his films, or how strange the direction of David Lynch, they're beaten by The Godfather because it has perfected the mob movie.
I suspect that really we're arguing about comparison as such--that you feel it doesn't hold to compare unlike things, while I would argue that comparison only makes sense because things are unlike.
| I'll respect your personal opinion on that, but I won't call you someone who really cares about point and click adventures or psychological horror games. If you truly were, you wouldn't have made such a cross-genre generalization. |
And again, this is where I insist that you're mistaken. Because someone thinks that Nintendo makes the best games, that does not necessarily mean that they have cool feelings about genres that Nintendo doesn't traditionally cater to, anymore than the man who loves The Godfather above all else can't also appreciate Sandler's films or David Lynch's. People of eclectic taste exist, and so do people who can abstract and compare quality across genres.
I believe that a person can love FPSs and yet believe that Nintendo makes the best games. Since you want to be "harsh towards sweeping generalizations," I feel I must point out that I believe to conclude otherwise--that anyone who thinks Nintendo makes the best games must not really be into FPSs, etc.,--is, itself, a sweeping generalization, and ought be dealt with harshly.
