Thenewnewmedia

Video games, a multi Billion dollar industry, play an odd role in today's media. The role it seems to play is...what category do we put them in? A big issue here is that there IS no category to fit video games in to. Many other forms of media overlap but this odd source seems to take on a life of its own. This one incorporates other media sources rather than simply occupy one which makes video games quite unique. The New York Times has an online edition but World Of Warcraft leverages the internet for game-play; record companies can have artists stream their concerts but Grand Theft Auto has have music specifically written for it; and movies have live actors in them but Jet Li is physically recreated and his voice lent to Rise to Honor. As you can see, this medium is not simply cartoons with stars and special music which can access the internet as well. It’s much more than that.

Video games, once considered a fad by some (and a waste of time by lots of our parents), seem to have become a form of media in and of themselves. If these components have converged to help make millions of frat boys happy (EA Sports Madden Football) and nearly billions of sci-fi fans bond (the entire Final Fantasy series) then I say the world needs to recognize this industry a bit more. It sure isn't print, music, or television. So I am proposing video games be included among other media sources (if someone else hasn't made this not so profound observation) as its own new media source.

I agree video games are a media source, an under-recognized and silently powerful media source. Video games provide a SOCIAL media entertainment experience. We can meet and interact with new people having similar interests. So people become naturally drawn, not just for passive entertainment, but for active social connections.

As we all watch in amazement at the growing popularity of user-generated video content, the gaming industry was there first leveraging our growing network environment.

What’s the business model to exploit? Just about every past and potential future business model starts with the number and quality of captured eyeballs. And the gaming industry has captive eyeballs.

Funny that you mention World Of Warcraft, which my company is quoting to localize for Chinese market. We found out that there is a huge following for this game in China and the Chinese government is even sponsoring the website for this game. It has the largest following in the world and captivated the Asian market. Fascinating!

http://www.wowchina.com/