Why Video Games Have Made A Shift Into Mainstream Pop Culture

Video games have become as pervasive an aspect of our society as television, with many people spending more time playing video games than watching television. There are many perspectives with which to gauge videos games’ effect on society, from a functionalist, conflict or interactionist perspective. (Schaefer, 2011) Each of these sociological theories can provide a different view of video games, how they affect society and the subcultures that develop around them.

Video games have become a key element of popular culture, because they have attracted players from many different cultures and age groups. Video games have come a long way since Pong and Spacewar. Since the first video games, there have been innovations in this industry nearly every year, always striving to defy the impossible. Today, the newest generation of gaming consoles are extremely powerful, and with this comes the ability to make games that are increasingly realistic and advanced. Because of this advancement in video game technology, video game genres have expanded to include racing, shooting, adventure, horror, and so many more. Many of the games today even feature a historical element. To the outside viewer, it may seem as if these

Though gaming has its drawbacks, it also has many benefits to cover them. If controlled, gaming is extremely useful and with the amount of gamers in the world today, it proves that it is not just for children or for teenagers. There are millions of adult gamers that understand the importance of gaming in the under the existing circumstances of the world. Individuals that have studied gamers believe that gaming in today’s

At a glance, video games may seem to serve the simple purpose of mindless entertainment with no relevance beyond that. In truth, video games are actually able to explain several sociological concepts. Video games are a massively shared hobby to the point where its own culture exists. Social integration is another key aspect of gaming. Many choose to play role-playing in games in which they essentially live another life outside of the real world. Lastly, there is no denying the impacts video games have on society as a whole.

Imagine for a moment, a world of death. For 200 years your family has been sealed away with a thousand other people, to protect you from the dangers outside. Now your father has disappeared, and it’s up to you to find him. After a harrowing escape from your subterranean home, you walk through a tunnel to the outside world, past dead bodies, stretched out in front of the door, as if to say “don’t leave us out here to die!” As you walk through the gate to the outside, and as your eyes slowly adjust to the sun you have never seen, a wasteland emerges before you. The world is devastated, destroyed and annihilated. Broken twisted hunks of metal lie next to a sign on the side of the mountain saying “scenic overlook” on your right, the broken

You're bored it's winter no ones available and there's nothing on TV. You love to experience a good story , but you don't know what type of story you want to see a video game or a movie.Video games and movies something nobody thought could happen 20 years ago, but video games have grown a lot and have more mature Audiences and they have a matured Themselves with amazing stories and complicated plots.Is there a chance that video games can take on megalith movies in terms of story.Movies are and have been a staple of entertainment for a century. It shows having worked its way into pop culture, but lately one video games have grown in power.Video games the once small form of entertainment made for kids has grown into a booming industry where new advancements in technology have lead to some really interesting video games stories with deep characters and plenty of plot.Because video games are getting better and bigger at filling themselves to the brim with content, but are they now better at telling a story

Video games have come a long way since Pong rid children of their quarters in 1972. In the past few years, a dramatic shift in the publics’ view of games has occured. What was once considered a kid’s toy capable of turning brains into mush is now enjoyed by the average age of 35 (Essential Facts). In recent times, another paradigm shift has begun for gaming: the road to becoming an art form. Today, museum curators from across the globe continue to accept video games into their collection, adding to its legitimacy. However, just as movies struggled to be considered art in the 1970s, the path for video games has not been smooth sailing. Many critics, such as the late Roger Ebert, have been increasingly vocal about their reasoning for why a

Video Games. Children spend countless hours each day playing games such as mortal Kombat and Call of Duty. Whether you agree with them or not, it's hard to deny that they have become part of our daily life's. This all started back with SNES with games such as Super Mario Bros and Donkey Kong. I have to add that these are not the first but are the most recognisable games. However, since they’ve been around they have also been the subject of scrutiny in the media due to violence, adult themes and racial slurs. Today, I will discussing both sides of the argument.

C. Thesis: Videogames have had the stigma of being for children or an unproductive activity but video games go deeper than what most people see or want to see.

Video games are one of the most important issues in today's world because of how they've rapidly influenced so many aspects of our daily lives, despite being completely undermined as an issue at all. With further research, more can be understood about the psychology of this technology through it's advances from pixels to CGI images as the world advances with it. If more attention is put to the debate of video games, good or bad, at least some focus

Video games first appeared in the early 1970's. It all started with a simple white ball bouncing back and fourth on the screen. In 1986, Nintendo introduced its first line of home video game consoles. With the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) on the market, the home video gaming industry surged and immediately became popular among children. Since then, not only have video games increased in popularity, but there have been vast improvements in graphics, game play, and forms of gaming. Today, video games have become the preferred choice of entertainment among children and teenagers. Research done in 1998 has shown that kids who own video games spend an average of 90 minutes a day playing them. Clearly the video gaming industry is a

Video games are the most popular entertainment media among children in America According to the Entertainment Software Association (2007)(Mou). In the US, 29% of gamers are under 18, which is approximately 43.5 million kids (Galarneau.) That makes up 90% of all the children in the country. According to CNN children ages 8 to 16 on average,spend 13 hours a week gaming, and more if the user is a male. (Harding) As shown videogames have a significant influence on society. Although it has become a social norm and is embedded in the media industry most tend neglect the

In society’s current era of technological advancement, video games have gone a long way since they were first created. Video games in the twenty-first century are no longer just toys or junk in the lifestyles of the youth. They have become innovative inventions that not only entertain its users, but also help aid the people in both the academic field and in jobs. The influences that video games bring about in the culture of the youth today are, in fact, not the negative influences that most people think. Video games are actually this generation’s new medium for educating the youth. The information they learn are also mostly positive and useful things that they may apply in their future lives (Prensky 4). In a generation that

Video games in general are becoming more and more popular with every year that passes by. A recent study showed that Americans, ages 8 through 18, play about 13.2 hours of video games per week ("The Average"). There is a total of about 5 million people in the United States that play video games for over 40 hours each week, which is basically equal to a full time job. Also, the average American will play 10,000 hours of video games before he or she hits the age of 21 (McGonial). The amount of time that Americans play video games is just appalling. But, there is a specific type of video game that is causing some concern: violent video games. These games have become evermore popular in today's society. The most played and purchased game in

A large gap exists between the public's perception of video games and what the research actually shows. The following is an attempt to separate fact from fiction.