I wrote this paper for a Media Studies class I am taking this semester. We had no real prerequisites for the paper save that it dealt with media and analyzed something critically. This revision implements a few changes suggested by my professor. I wanted to do a cursory glance at the history of video games while focusing on the modern term. While I paid some attention to convergence (combination of old and new media) I wanted to look at the players within gaming from an objective standpoint. I start with talking about arcades, social gaming and the rise of console games as a legitimate competitor to arcade games. I spend some time talking about Apple's iPhone as it's interesting example of a convergent product as well as user-defined content. I also mention Nintendo, particularly with respect to stereotypical gamer portrayal, and how they and Apple sidestepped some problems faced by other gaming platforms. This is by no means a comprehensive look at anything, but rather me exploring areas I'm interested in.

Anywho, have a read and let me know what you think.

Thanks to makingmusic for looking over my paper prior to posting. <3<3

Introduction

            The rise of video games over the past 30 years is something that has been explored thoroughly already. People have looked at what has allowed this medium to broaden from something marginal to something that has taken over taken even the movie industry in yearly sales[1]. There has been a massive cultural shift over the past 15 years. This requires looking at the modern state of video games industry to fully appreciate the dramatic change this represents. All the 20-somethings like me are a generation that basically grew up with Mario and Sonic. This is not to say that we are the first to grow up as video game consumers, but in our generation there has been a substantial increase in the size of the industry relative to other industries such as film and music. Based on this, we are really the first generation to have the technologies to consume gaming content to the extent that we do. Older generations were limited by technology where we simply aren’t. Our interaction and ensuing proficiency with video games at a young age has led to a commitment that lasts a lifetime. The industry has exploded in the past 15 years. Funded first by our parents and later by us, we continually demanded more content and new gameplay experiences.

A Short Survey of the Industry

Of course, video games have not arrived to where they are today without the failures of many game companies, in addition to a massive video game crash that shook the industry back in the 1980s. Arcades are the original place where video games were played and early video game culture was established. Because the technology needed for arcade games was expensive, home video game systems did not gain much popularity until the 1980s. Various establishments were either dedicated to video games or had video game machines as a part of their business. This has changed dramatically. Arcades in North America have declined to the point where they are now extensions of existing establishments, such as movie theatres, with standalone video game arcades becoming obsolescent over the course of the past ten or more years.

The introduction of more powerful home video gaming consoles such as the PlayStation in 1995 narrowed the gap between the gaming experiences available at arcades and what could be played at home. Even games such as Dance Dance Revolution that featured specialized controls had popular iterations made for the PlayStation. Sony also went on to capitalize on their position as a new entrant in the video game industry by developing a better relationship with third-party developers than Nintendo had. The rise in popularity of home-based video gaming allowed longer games. These games allowed more attachment to in-game characters with RPG (role-playing games) and adventure games that could take dozens of hours to complete thus being unsuitable for an arcade environment. These types of games are therefore incompatible with the arcade model of gaming. For example, the RPG Final Fantasy VII was one of the highest selling PlayStation games boasting an estimated 10 million copies sold as of 2005. It is a popular example of a game that simply wouldn’t work as an arcade game [2].  As such, Sony effectively destroyed the business model of arcades by delivering a better, more convenient experience than arcades were able to provide. At the same time, Sony and Nintendo were fostering the image of a type of gamer who would be represented in the media as an obsessed, emotionless individual. I seek to cover the relationship between arcades, home consoles, and the social acceptance of gaming as a whole.

This reorganization is one of many that shook the industry, forever changing the social context of how video games are played. What’s important with this change is that games went from being primarily enjoyed in the public sphere – at arcades with spectators – to one where even portable entertainment devices are still primarily used for gaming at home[3]. An estimated 40% of gamers in Japan, the nation with the highest per-capita usage of mobile gaming devices in the world, still use these devices primarily at home. While people play a gaming device on the bus or at school, it’s still largely a private engagement.

Convergence in Video Games

The PlayStation marked the beginning of convergence within home consoles in addition to contributing to the decline of public gaming. While it was sold primarily as a machine that played video games while rivalling the experience available in arcades, it also played compact disc audio. This was the dominant music medium when The PlayStation launched in 1995 [4]. Even those who had no interest in video games could find a use for a PlayStation as a music player. In addition to this, the ability to listen to audio CDs intersected with gameplay due to the ability to remove the game disc for some games after it was loaded, allowing the user to listen to their own music while playing. I see this as the beginning of the obvious extension of user defined content in consoles that was previously only available in video games in the form of level editors and certain user-defined options. This fused both music and gameplay experiences defined by them. Contrasting with other media forms in which no interaction takes place, this is a change from the traditional relationship between content producer and consumer and is a trend that Sony continued with their following consoles and PSP handheld, while Microsoft took the same route with their Xbox and later Xbox 360 consoles. Sony found immense success with this model with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, as they increased the peripheral functionality of their console to include DVD movie playback in addition to functionality found in the original PlayStation. Video games are paramount to the PlayStation 2, but DVD movie playback was a differentiating factor between it and competing consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft and even Sega who was pushed out of producing video game hardware with the failure of their Saturn and Dreamcast consoles.  

Convergence as described by Henry Jenkins then must be identified as an ongoing relationship between multiple media forms. Since media consumers tend to migrate towards what they want, the reorganization of video games as something that is primarily done at home must be seen within the principles of convergence culture. Looking at the relationship between video games and other media forms is important to being able to understand the current dynamic that exists within electronic media. What people really want is new ways to interact with media. On this note, a modern day video game system is likely to possess many features that have no direct relevance to gaming. Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles are able to playback high-definition movie formats  [5] . All major modern home consoles are able to use Netflix for on demand movies. These provided additional uses for an existing piece of hardware and show what is meant by convergence. A video-game machine that plays back movies can no longer be seen as something isolated to one market or for that matter one type of consumer.  Mass appeal incredibly important as simply doing one thing well is largely insufficient for modern entertainment devices.

Apple and the Case for Convergence

Apple seemed like a fairly unlikely candidate to make an entry as a player in the video game industry. While they have found immense success with the iPod + iTunes, they have never been a formal player in the video game industry until extremely recently. Their Macintosh OSx platform has historically had fewer game releases than Windows, which is the primary operating system with any sort of game support. Despite a poor showing with their computer OS and no formal presence in gaming, Apple has made considerable headway in this area following the 2007 release of the iPhone and iPod Touch. This introduced their mobile platform, The iPhone OS, which was the differentiating factor between them and the herd of convergent mobile devices available at the time. At a glance the IPhone was similar to the swiss-army-knife mobile phones that prevailed around this time. However, each feature was tightly optimized for the phone itself, resulting in an easy to use and desirable product. Their app-development policies were strikingly open compared to the requirements to develop for any of the major gaming players (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft)[6]. Their app-store provided a number of options for developers and started an avalanche of inexpensive IPhone OS games, many of which were of low quality and sold for only a few dollars. This resulted in many repetitious titles. However, Apple used the ease of use of the IPhone and friendly approach towards App developers to foster a digital distribution network on the same scale as iTunes. Even successful rival Nintendo launched a digital-distribution enabled version of their DS console following the headway Apple made in 2007 and 2008. They are recognized as one of the best gaming companies of 2009 according to the gaming industry website Gamasutra after just two years following the launch of the iPhone[7]. Apple has recently announced the iPhone OS 4.0 which will add more gaming-specific functionality, such as leaderboards, in addition to the much requested multitasking. Apple expects the iPhone to lead growth for the company for the next few years.

I would argue that the iPhone is the modern manifestation of the brick and mortar arcade of yesteryear. Like the arcade, it favours more casual or simple games that are easy to pick up but very hard to master. It brings games out of the private sphere that dedicated portable and home console systems effectively created over the past 15 years. As I argued earlier, dedicated portable game devices are still used primarily at home[8]. Game consoles by their very nature are tethered to a television set and exist only at home. Arcades are the least flexible, as certain games only exist in certain locations at specific times of the day. An iPhone however is the sort of device that people will carry everywhere, and can play at any time. The culturally-significant music player gained prominence with use in public spaces[9] . The iPhone is a device that built off the cultural significance of its predecessor (iPod) and evolved into something that allows users to define their experience with it to a massive degree. As such, the iconic white Apple headphones and use of a convergent device in public in this sense is more acceptable than a dedicated device because its primary function is not gaming but a device that is interacted with in a similar manner regardless of how the device is being used.

The ideological shift out of being a gaming device first has paid out greatly for Apple in the mobile market. Contrasted with Sony’s entry into this area in 2005, the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and IPhone are completely different takes on mobile gaming. While the PSP tries to make console games portable, Apple and to a lesser extent Nintendo have their portable platforms geared more around accessible games that are well suited to pick up and play for short periods of time. The distinction I would make here is that Nintendo’s handheld offers a much greater variety of games for all sorts of people, but is a gaming device first and as such faces some restrictions on usage especially in public.

Nintendo’s Ocean

Based on all of this, I would say that convergence is absolutely key to understanding video gaming in the present term. Video games are still an important part of modern day consoles, but the role that music, film and increasingly social networking play in these devices is important. Even the Nintendo Wii, a console that was completely underestimated by gaming analysts and even Nintendo themselves[10], found success by primarily doing things completely different than the competition. They went after those who for one reason or another never played video games by introducing a simple but intuitive motion controller along with complementary games. Nintendo therefore made gaming experiences that were more accessible and previously unavailable to consumers. They did this by making gaming more of social experience, again akin to the aforementioned obsolete arcades. Gaming with the Wii and iPhone is more about the immediate than it is about a lasting or particularly lengthy single player experience, as one may find with an adventure game or RPG. In this way, the games made for these devices are well tailored around the userbase. These can be produced for much less money than a typical game on other platforms. Of course, these sort of games still available Nintendo’s console. Just as Sony and Microsoft were preparing to launch consoles that were more powerful and more focused on single-player online games, Nintendo was going in the opposite direction. By making video games more accessible instead of pandering the existing dedicated fans of certain types of gameplay experiences, Nintendo broadened the audience with the Wii and Wii Sports. I would argue that Apple has made the most out of convergence while Nintendo has introduced more people into the gaming fold by providing truly new experiences with their devices in recent years.

At the same time, the Wii represents this first time that traditional media outlets have given a fair shake to a video game console. Typically, video games are covered in a negative light by traditional media outlets. The Wii is different than the stereotypical gamer portrayal because it is an inclusive device that supported the idea of the family gameplay. Indeed, many Nintendo advertisements show just that – a family or group of friends sitting on a couch having fun playing the latest Nintendo creation. So while a stereotypical PC gamer may be presented as a socially akward shut-in, playing violent video games in the confines of their parents’ basement, the Wii gamer is presented as a normal person who is enjoying themselves innocently in the company of loved ones. The iPhone user could fit within this definition as well, as it’s a more spontaneous, simple, accepted way to play games. After all, everyone needs a cell phone in modern, western society where a dedicated gaming device may be excessive for the needs of the user. By going against the typical conception of a ‘gamer’ with the Wii, Nintendo has turned the opposition found in the mainstream news media leveraged against gaming into support. The Wii has been presented or played in a positive light on different news channels, morning shows and even at the Oscars. By being more ‘normal’ and appealing to the sort of simple, social, wholesome fun that was once predominantly available at arcades, both Apple and Nintendo have sidestepped some of the social dogma surrounding gaming while carving out a bigger share for themselves in the market by attracting new audiences.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6852383/Video-games-bigger-than-film.html

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII

[3] Chan, Dean. “Convergence, Connectivity, and the Case of Japanese Mobile Gaming” Games and Culture 2008; 3; 13 p23

[4] http://www.exp-math.uni-essen.de/~immink/pdf/cdstory.pdf Page 3

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_definition_optical_disc_format_war

[6] http://developer.apple.com/programs/register/

[7] http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26243/Gamasutras_Best_Of_2009_Top_5_Game_Companies.php

[8] Chan, Dean. “Convergence, Connectivity, and the Case of Japanese Mobile Gaming” Games and Culture 2008; 3; 13 p23

[9] Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: NY University Press, 2006, p16.

[10] http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/games/story.html?id=1a9e8103-8f37-4cd2-9cb4-4265e4ef64fc

Tis quite horribly written. Who proofread this?

Edit:

Oh wait... =/

Looks great!


Surely could have a used a better editor.

I was reluctant to read this, because of the length, and I'm sure that this will put a lot of members off. But, I powered through, stuck to it, like gum to trousers.

My take:

You talk about convergence of mediums being important to the growth of the market, which I believe is true, but it must also be noted that, at least in this generation, the reverse is true for the individual consoles: the PSP has far greater functionality than the DS in this regard, and yet it's getting shat on. And the PS3/Wii/360 sales seem to be in the reverse of their cross-media feature set :P. Perhaps it should be noted that whilst convergence is of growing importance, it is still second to the final price sticker on the device.

----

Also, the PS1 could play audio CDs in-game? I was not aware of this! Looks like Sony took some steps back in regard to in-game music.

^ Thanks for your honest take on it. I still think that while convergence is important (ps2, iphone, even dsi), devices like the Wii show that convergence isn't necessarily needed, at least not in the sense I was describing. One may argue that Nintendo is converging in a different way, such as combining sports and video games in an intuitive way. Price tag is something I didn't really get into buy you're completely right. Social acceptance is part of it as well.

Only some ps1 games supported that AFAIK. You could eject the game disc once in game and listen to your music.