Read just about any message board and you are likely to hear how the mainstream media haters gamers and gaming culture.  This is especially true around the release of a news-worthy title such as Grand Theft Auto or Manhunt.  It even seems to make sense.

After all, the mainstream media is filled with critical articles and opinion pieces on video games.  Video game are a new medium, and frankly they scare those entrenched in the world of old media.  Video games, simply put, are the enemy of the mainstream media.  Except, that isn’t true.

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A funny thing happened to Resident Evil 5 on its way to release, it became the center of a growing race debate in video games.  Of course, this is not shocking really.  Not only is one of the few titles to feature a large group of black characters, but they also happen to be the villains who are savagely trying to tear your character apart.  But wait, that’s a bit too simplistic of a description.

The fifth Resident Evil title leaves behind the Pacific northwest of the United States and dreary Spanish villages for the sun soaked continent of Africa.  In the process, obviously, there’s going to be a significant increase in black characters.  You could perhaps set a title in parts of Africa with a mostly white cast, but certainly that would be more than a little disingenuous.

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The Globe and Mail has an interesting column up by Chad Sapieha about the timelessness, or lack thereof, of video games.  Basically, his argument is that video games, unlike film and literature, are not timeless.  That a game played today will not echo with the same resonance ten years down the line.  He has a point.

The problem with such arguments is that many tend to dismiss any game past a generation old.  In other words, if it hasn’t been released in the past five years many will argue the title is irrelevant and, more absurd, no longer fun.  Seriously?  Why do people believe this?

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Bad games are everywhere. In fact, they seem to be more abundant in recent years than ever before. As the video game medium has increased in popularity, so have the number of releases and with that, obviously the number of bad titles. Still, what exactly makes a bad title?

Is it under funding? Is it a lack of development talent? Is it simply a bad idea from the ground up? Yes, sometimes to each and often to all three. Still, that doesn’t explain how even the most well funded and best development teams can make a bad game out of what sounded like a surefire hit idea. (more…)

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The Wii has been an unquestionable retail success so far. No one would have expected over a year after its launch it would still be difficult to find in stores, and it would still be outselling both the PS3 and Xbox 360. In the mindshare of so-called hardcore gamers, however, it has had a much rougher time. “Where are the games for us?” they cry out. The problem is that it’s rather difficult to see with both eyes closed.

The Wii has suffered through a drought of games on par with the PS3 and Xbox 360 in their first years of life. Not only those systems, but it has actually fared better than some classic systems such as the PS2 and N64. So, what is everyone complaining about? While the games are there, they aren’t exactly there the way many ways would want.

While Super Mario Galaxy was a true AAA title, many gamers were disappointed not by a lack of innovation or decent control, but instead by a lack of high-resolution textures. Similar criticism was leveled against The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Still, many hardcore players seem to miss the point that right there they have three AAA titles within the first year of a console’s release. The fact that the Wii is not the hardware equivalent of the PS3 or Xbox 360 is simply something they’ll have to get over, or miss quality games. This is the same as bringing one’s self to term with the concept that the DS and PSP will never be the graphical equal of their big brother consoles. (more…)

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Gamers, bizarrely, feel like a persecuted group. I say bizarrely not because they can’t find potential evidence, but because it’s fairly ridiculous for any group heavily courted by the media with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to feel too persecuted by the media. It isn’t like the media completely ignores gamers (like, say, the disabled), but instead that most major news stories involving gaming seem to lend toward the negative side. Is there a good reason why? You bet.

First, one must understand that without a detailed statistical analysis it is difficult to claim the mainstream media has a negative bent towards gamers. Any perceptions are just that-personal views shaped by anecdotal evidence. That, of course, doesn’t mean the perception is inaccurate, just not proven.

Second, one has to define what they mean by the “mainstream” media. For example, are magazines such as EGM, Maxim, and others that cater to large male demographics considered mainstream, or is the debate only concerning Newsweek, MSNBC, and The New York Times? If the former, then the argument that the mainstream media has it out for gamers seems much less defendable, as both these publications obviously feature gaming coverage and tend to sell well. If the latter, then one might have a better argument that such media outlets tend to focus on the bad rather than the positive. (more…)

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