Sony: We “Legitimized [Gaming] As A Form Of Entertainment!

[Mr Khan]

Scoobes said:

mai said:

Scoobes said:

Games like MGS, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo, Syphon Filter etc.

Before MGS there were Metal Gear games, Metal Gear was NES. Sweet Home is an inspiration behind Resident Evil, Sweet Home was on NES. Silent Hill yet another horror-themed game, though a great one, there're dozens of them on NES and SNES, such as Laplace no Ma on SNES based on H.P.Lovecraft stories. Tomb Raider franchise heavily borrows from Indiana Jones themes, there were Indiana Jones games on NES. Gran Turismo is a racing game, so about what mature themes we're talking here? Didn't play Syphon Filter, can't say anything about it, though I doubt it'll add anything to your pretty much already failed argument you've made. Sorry =)

You must have missed the technology part of my post. It made a difference. I know those games were available on NES and SNES, but it doesn't change the fact that the technology wasn't present to really push them and make it "cool" to play these games. Adults may have played those games but were generally seen as geeks, and in many ways the view is still present for a lot of games and gamers today even with all the marketing.

My own personal example: I know a lot of the games I was playing back then (I was 5/6 when I started) were also for adults, yet I didn't know any adults that played games. When Playstation entered the scene, I notcied a gradual increase in the number of parents, cousins, uncles etc. that started to play.

The way Sony marketed the games was highly effective in pushing the games towards the 15-30 demographic. The fact that there was a massive gap between Metal gear and MGS supports the technology argument. It was the advent of 3D (not the steroscopic kind) games and Sony managed to cash in on the new tech and push it onto new gamers and a larger market. The inclusion of FMVs and 3D cut scenes in the games Sony had on PS1 helped to reinforce the idea that games were entering a more mainstream audience with direct comparison to movies.

The general view (before PS) was more that games could be played, but were really more for kids. How many adults heavily played console games before the playstation generation? It wasn't accepted as a proper form of entertainment for adults. It was very much niche in terms of adult entertainment. With Playstation it expanded the market to include those who didn't have children.

As for Gran Turismo, can you name me another racing simulation that made it mainstream before Gran Turismo? Console games before were more arcade titles.

But the 15-30 demographic that existed when Sony came in had been 5-20 demographic in the time of the NES. Bringing linear time into the picture changes the image considerably.