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Games Entertainment

Game Over Author On the Future of Gaming 24

Posted by Zonk from the closet-chris-morris-fan dept.
Gamespot has an interview with Game Over author Chris Morris on the future of the gaming industry. The Game Over column is a regular thoughtful commentary piece on the industry, and is well worth the time to follow. From the article: "The growing trend toward legislation is certainly the biggest issue retailers are facing. Lawmakers want to dictate where games can be placed on shelves and hold retail clerks legally accountable for checking IDs (when, for instance, people who sell movie tickets are not). The legal fees spent fighting these bills are going to be enormous, I suspect. Digital distribution may very well start to have an impact as we move later into the cycle."
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Game Over Author On the Future of Gaming More

Game Over Author On the Future of Gaming

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  • I personally think the government should not dictate things like where video games can be sold, or holding stores responsible under LAW for I.D checks in relation to the games being bought.
    • Current law holds theaters, not employees, liable for checking the IDs of its patrons.

      In most states, stores AND their employees, are legally liable for checking IDs of patrons purchasing tobacco or alcohol.

      Which case is more similar to the video game industry?

      • Re:man... (Score:1, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Neither.

        A case that would be "more similar to the video game industry" would be the sale of movies (VHS, DVD).

        Who you distribute it to is up to you (can't do that with a movie ticket) and it's not a legally defined drug/controlled substance (tobacco, alcohol).

        Existing laws for the purchace of filmed/passive media should be expanded to that of interactive. If IDs are not required to buy a rated R movie, then rated M video games should get the same distinction.

        Adults Only (AO) rated games should be tr

  • Legal concerns (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Miros ( 734652 ) *
    These legal concerns are way exaggerated. These are politicians trying to score some easy "family values" points, but little if anything will actually come out of this. In the end, computer games are like cable TV. Sure, bad stuff gets broadcast, but it's so woven into society that nobody will be foolish enough to rub it the wrong way.
    • Agreed. But, complacency is a bad road to walk down... eventually, draconian measures may be enacted under the radar if we don't constantly fight for our rights.
      • Fight. yes, i agree. But i would also say alarmism should also be carefully avoided.
        • I have to disagree a bit. Alarmism is one of the best ways to bring something to the attention of the masses. Loudspoken advocates on the fringe can slowly shift "centrist" perceptions and values towards that fringe, which is what I believe has been happening with social politics in the US over the past few years.

          My politics have remained pretty constant over the past decade, but where I used to be considered a moderate, my values are now considered quite liberal. Especially with regard to censorship.
          • Ah, but at the same time if you go too crazy raising attention, you risk being simply branded and dismissed, especially in an area like this one. If you're dealing with anything that could be branded a "family values" issue, the last thing you want to be seen as is arguing the other side a bit too strongly. It's one thing to aim for productive discussion, it's another to cry censorship too fast. Historically, there has been little that has kept congress from effectively censoring things in the past, so r
            • You are right about the effects of being on the fringe to one's credibility. And I agree that no (or possibly slow, thought out) action by Congress would be a good thing in this instance.

              But, I would much rather that I am branded and dismissed for a far-left opinion, than someone else's just-left-of-center opinion being branded and dismissed as being a wingnut liberal.

              Unfortunately, people are often swayed by what they hear the most. So if we don't speak up against censorship, then it will eventuall
              • I agree. What would have happened in europe with the patent directive thing if they had just sat back and done nothing?

                People act like you can't fight against a family values plea, but that is exactly what they want. They want you to shut up. They want the politicians to hear their side and not yours, because they know they are in a heavy minority.
                • I agree. Although, I would point out that fighting against patents is very differnt from fighting against censorship. It's easy to see why software patents are a bad thing, and as far as the average citizen is concerned, it's hard to for them to take a position on the issue before they hear from the experts (who thankfully were arguing on both sides). But with something like game content, it doesnt take much to make parents wary of a product that they think will poorly influence their childreen. Rememb
                  • I see your point, we do not want to fight this battle on their terms. We definitely don't want to fight it with their sensationalist labels.

                    The spin machine makes it very difficult to fight this at all...
                    The key I think is to make enough noise framing the question the right way, so that our labels supercede theirs. Rebrand it from a Family Values (tm) debate to a Personal Rights (tm) debate.
                    • The key I think is to make enough noise framing the question the right way, so that our labels supercede theirs. Rebrand it from a Family Values (tm) debate to a Personal Rights (tm) debate

                      Very, very, difficult to do when talk of "personal rights" translates to "I want to beat th living shit out of a prostitute!" in GTA:San Andreas.

                    • I'll try this again, and pray I hit the "Preview" button first....

                      The key I think is to make enough noise framing the question the right way, so that our labels supercede theirs. Rebrand it from a Family Values (tm) debate to a Personal Rights (tm) debate

                      You can't do that when talk of "rights" translates as "I want to beat the living shit out of a prostitute!" in a home video game. The crude, button-mashing, sexual action in Hot Coffee isn't adult or mature in any ordinary meaning of the word, but rathe

  • No Govt Censorship Yet... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Thursday July 21, 2005 @12:16PM (#13125985) Homepage Journal
    I think the bigger challenge to the future of games will be fostering creativity in the face of pressure to make formulaic "hits", rather than a legal crackdown and censorship. The reason I think censorship is not the big worry is that legislated censorship of games opens a door to censorship of movies, tv, and books. Once that door is opened, why stop at games? It wouldn't, and for that reason, despite all of the noise the politicians are making, we aren't likely to see any laws upheld that would censor and regulate games for content. Big media has enough money and clout to make sure that the door to censoring their products is not going to be opened. And there's that little thing called the U.S. Constitution standing in the way too.

  • Bigger problems (Score:3, Insightful)

    by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Thursday July 21, 2005 @12:24PM (#13126078)
    While attempted legislation of content in the game industry is a big issue, I feel that there are bigger problems out there. Legislation, while not the biggest issue by itself, will more than likely contribute to the larger problems.

    Personally, I believe that the gaming industry is setting itself up for another fall as seen before Nintendo arrived on the scene. The next generation consoles are expected to be more expensive than ever with the PS3 expected to debut for $400, which is interesting because it supposedly costs over $500 to manufacture. The Xbox and Revolution will probably be more reasonably priced, but will still come in costing a little more than gaming consoles generally cost in the past. Game prices are also expected to rise from $50 to $60. Granted that games have been priced at $50 for a while now, but inflation has been slowly reering its ugly head. Whether it's fair or not, consumers are not going to like it.

    Additionally, small studios seem to be getting gobbled up by larger companies like EA. Game designers are generally being overworked and underpayed. How long before they decide that they've had enough and go on strike or quit in droves? Massive strikes or large upheavals in the industry would lead to even more delays than we're used to seeing currently. With the software sitting on a computer uncomplete and not in a store for people to buy, developement costs would technically go up as the income from sales becomes non-existant. Additionally, it seems that the industry has turned into Hollywood. There are always a few sleeper hits that creep out every now and again, but it seems like the industry has become sequal driven. As the cost of development rises, companies can't afford to take bigger risks. At the same time consumers are getting sick of being fed the same rehashed games over and over again.

    Another factor is the industry's obsession with graphics and power. The dick measuring contest the PS3 and Xbox 360 have gotten into is ridiculous. Gameplay is put on the backburner while developers see how many more polygons they can squeeze in or how much more realistically they can get breat jiggles to be. 3D games have looked great and have wonderful worlds to explore, if the camera isn't busted beyond usability and the controls make you feel like your character is drugged. Companies have been mandating HD support in all games when many consumers don't have HD TVs capable of displaying resolutions that high. Additionally, making prettier graphics only increases the development costs. At a certain point they have to realize that the graphics that will only look marginally better aren't worth the extra cost.

    The game industry has enough problems internally right now without worrying about what Congress is doing. Given their general track record, the government is the last thing that the game industry has to worry about, at least for the time being. If you're worried about a few nuts whining to their Senator are going to tear the game industry apart, perhaps you should step back and see that the industry is already doing a pretty good job of doing it by themselves.

    • I agree with this comment, however I think what will happen is the general masses will still be wooed by pretty graphics and colors regardless of gameplay or controls. Most computer people, regardless of whether they are a game developer or not are overworked. It seems to have fit the trade, and is accepted by most people in the trade. However its not all doom and gloom for the gaming industry. There is still freelance work going on out there, as well as smaller companies who work under an ideal, not ju
  • I thought that Greg Costikyan's comments on this issue were sort of interesting:

    Somebody Bitchslap Rockstar [costik.com]

    Basically, I get the impression that he is irritated not by the content, but by R*'s, "let's incite a moral panic [wikipedia.org] as a publicity stunt" approach to marketing.

    It's actually difficult to say how big a moral panic this is, whether it is TV Violence bad (I have to pay for a V-Chip) or Comic Book Bad (unless you were a big fan of Scrooge McDuck, and who isn't really, comics books sucked for years an

  • ...that eventually Video Games will be as difficult to obtain as Pornography.

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