Consuming Video Games

The rise and increasing popularity of computer gaming as a contemporary leisure phenomenon has become a significant part of many people’s daily lives. PC and game consoles as leisure technologies changed significantly during the last 20 years from simple games with basic graphics to intermediates between reality and fantasy, making it hard to distinguish what is hyperreality and what is not. Graphically ingenious (see Figure 1), with scenes and stories accompanied by realistic music and sounds, nowadays’ games contain 3-dimensional graphics of highly complex content and details, depicting natural human settings and expression of characters with utmost realism. Different platforms and gaming genres, integration of gaming technologies into portable devices (including mobile phones) made it a massively popular form of entertainment. Only 200 million video game consoles were sold in 2010 (VGChartz, 2010), let alone other devices for playing games. Interestingly, most research done on video games playing is mainly focused on the negative aspects of computer playing, such as aggression, addiction and social isolation. I, however, will try to look into video games from both sides of the coin. Arguably, psychological, social and consumption aspects of video gaming do not carry pure disadvantages, but also have a broader context underlying them.

The industry is experiencing continuous growth (see Figure 2), attracting new vendors as well as new consumers into the market every day. This immense market obviously calls into question the demographics of the market. Although the masculine stereotype continues to be prevalent, the market is made of only 60% of male players, and this number continues to drop (ESA, 2010). For instance, 46% of...

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...ng and behavioral studies and should be researched in contexts other than those of aggression, violent behavior and other negative psychological meanings. My personal opinion is that it has the potential of being used outside of the domestic context. It should be accepted as a new technological phenomenon, and its opponents should accept that it affects even bigger slices of population each year. Without any doubts, as any other activity, over-consumption of video gaming leads to negative consequences, and it is up to parents and person’s relatives to make sure that the he stays within the accepted limits. Good, bad and ugly, the gaming industry has created thousands of jobs, spurred the economy while managing to entertain and relax millions of people around the world after a hard day of work. It should not be considered too seriously. After all, it’s just a game.