#oneaday, Day 149: Games are Cool

After spending the last couple of evenings covering E3’s press conferences for Kombo.com and discussing all things gamey over at the Squadron of Shame Squawkbox, I’ve come to a conclusion.

Games are cool.

Whatever you might think of Kinect, PlayStation Move, the Nintendo 3DS, the million-and-one first-person shooters on display, Assassin’s Creed, Child of Eden, Ubisoft’s DRM policies or fitness games, one thing is clear.

Games are cool. And they’re here to stay.

There’s always a lot of cynicism around at E3 time, particularly when new technology is shown off. Especially if said new technology appears to be somewhat gimmicky, or limited in its practical applications. But the flip side of all the more outlandish stuff we’ve seen so far is that it’s a symbol of the diversification of the “gaming” genre. Games are no longer the sole preserve of the spotty, overweight, greasy-haired teenage boy who would rather lock himself in his room than go out and meet people. Though those people still exist. I am one of them. Sometimes, at least.

No, rather, we’re getting to the stage now where there’s something for everyone. I was interviewed for a position at a major chain of games retailers today, and one of the things I was asked about was whether I’d be comfortable selling something like a Wii game – you know, those interminable collections of minigames. Babysitting Party, that sort of thing. I could answer with some confidence that yes, I would, because I know people that those games would appeal to. They’re not “gamers”, they’re not the sort of people who would be sitting around in their pants watching E3 press conferences (you know who you are) and they probably wouldn’t even consider themselves part of the gaming community. But they’re still there, and it’s great that they are. They might never “graduate” onto more “hardcore” games, but that doesn’t matter either. Who says you have to? If you enjoy reading but you find great literature tough going are you forced to “graduate” from pulp novels to Dostoyevsky? No. (Unless you’re doing an English degree.) So it should be that if you enjoy Wii Play with friends, you shouldn’t be obliged to end up playing Gears of War.

The barrier for entry to the world of games as an entertainment medium is now practically non-existent. Very little in the way of technical knowledge is required to get started, save the ability to plug things into the right holes in your TV. There’s no arbitrary rules to follow – Atari users will remember holding down the “Option” key while they turned their system on fondly, for example – and there’s no complicated things to learn. The experience is becoming more and more intuitive, and with technologies like Kinect, whatever you may think of its real-world applications, we’re getting closer and closer to a world where absolutely everyone, regardless of age, gender and technical ability can enjoy interactive entertainment without feeling stigmatised.

We’re not quite there yet. Games still do have a bit of a stigma to shake off. There are subcultures within the larger group who let us all down a bit. But they have just as much right to exist and enjoy what they enjoy as the sort of person who buys Job Island for the Wii.

Gaming is no longer a thing for just one specific group of people to enjoy. It is – or at least should be – something that absolutely everyone can enjoy on their own terms.

Games are cool. And if you close yourself off to that completely like some people choose to, you’re denying yourself a whole world of entertainment.