Dear Reader:
Nintendo is the only one getting it right
Carl Howe has posted on an NY Times article that discusses the image problem with video games. Apparently it still isn’t cool to say that you spent part of your day playing video games. The example they use is…
“Think about it. If someone asks you what you did this weekend, and you respond, “Ah, I was kind of tired and just hung out at home and watched a bunch of movies,” that’s normal. If you say, “Ah, I was kind of tired and just hung out at home and watched a bunch of sports on TV,” that’s normal. But if you say, “Ah, I was kind of tired and just hung out at home and played a bunch of video games,” that is simply not a normal adult response in most social circles.”
I don’t know that that is entirely true, but that is an entirely different conversation. Based on that article, Carl Howe (Blackfriars Communications) wrote up a piece stating that he believes Nintendo is on the right path to make gaming more accepted by the masses.
“Nintendo has the right idea in re-inventing the game controller to focus less on “twitch” button reflexes and more on the types of motions used in real-world activities. And innovative new games like Dance Dance Revolution have proved that other genres can succeed. The question is whether the gaming industry can evolve its marketing to address more than the niche it grew up with. So far, the answer to that question has been no. Let’s hope that 2007 is the year when the answer becomes yes.”
I have two questions for you guys. First up, do you believe in this mass negative stigma that the NY Times is talking about? Second, do you believe that Nintendo can permanently change the landscape of gaming for the better?