Introduction: Video games are GOOD. NO!! Video games are BAD!!

Are video games good or bad? That is the question that is always brought up in media. Does it promote violence? Is it making our kids dumb? Is it making us less proactive? In this blog I’m not researching but more of relating the gaming culture to many other interests that we have in our lives and comparing the two in a way. I’m not going to go through many different researched articles and gather a conclusion from that but rather just give you an insight on my firsthand experience through the experiences that I have had with the people in my life. Video games are good. They make us feel good and bring joy to many of our days. Video games serve as a stress reliever in some cases, allowing us to escape from the real world and have some healthy competition with our buddies or some random person we met online. Video games also are bad. Video games like playing cards are bad when you’re using them for gambling purposes. Video games are bad, in my opinion when they are keeping people away from searching for jobs to which is needed to care and provide for themselves and their families. They are bad when they don’t promote productiveness, but video games are good when they are used for exercising and online to help kids read and comprehend and learn new languages. Video games are just like everything we come across in today’s society. Just like you can find the good and bad in a person, you can also do so in the gaming world. Like the saying “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” video games are relational. They relate to each individual differently. I do agree that video games that encourage violence introduce those behaviors to people but I don’t feel like they are the leading cause to violence among us humans. There’s something deeper than a video game that triggers and individual to react a certain way. Throughout the blog I’m going to introduce the extent of the gaming world to some, and explain how much money could possibly be made in the industry from the most popular games that are sold. Also look at how much we put ourselves into the video games, whether that’s our time and money or whether we physically try to put ourselves in the video games physically with avatars and character naming.

Gaming World

If you are a football fan, imagine going to the biggest rival game of your favorite team and the feeling you get when you are around your fellow fans before during and after the game. Image the love that you all feel and share. If you are a music lover, imagine going to see your favorite artist in concert. That rush and feeling that you get finally seeing them in person as you sing every lyric to every song. Now, if you are a video game lover imagine going to the Electronic Entertainment Expo also known as E3. Imagine being surrounded by not hundreds, but thousands of people who share the same love that you share about video games. E3 is owned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and is the world’s leading trade show for video games and other media related products. E3 this year took place in Los Angeles Convention Center where Tens of thousands video game professionals met up from over 100 countries around the world. This is a huge event in where many people get first look at new video games, share ideas and interests. Take a quick glance at the world inside of the expo in the video that I have attached.

If you want to take a deeper inside look for yourself, and are maybe thinking about registering to attend the expo yourself I encourage you all to check out their website at www.E3Expo.com

Top Selling Money Makers

 Like movies and cartoons, video games and motion pictures represent a special certain style of art. This form of art takes time, and money to build and is now becoming one if not the most popular form of artistic motion pictures around. The video gaming industry is an expensive one. Between mobile services, retail, the sale of certain game accessories and distribution the gaming industry brings in about $105 billion dollars worldwide each year. This is a total combination of games played and ordered online, as well as games that are produced and sold directly into video game stores. Out of the $105 Billion that is spent worldwide on video games, Americans spend around $25.3 Billion on video games contributing to the large input. According to an article from yahoo the top 5 best sellers of 2013 are starting with number 5 is Tomb Raider, with a new fantasized Lara which is the main character, and the story line and new and improved graphics Tomb Raider brought in $3.4 million copies in the first month. 4th on the list we have a video game called Injustice: Gods Among Us, this Mortal Kombat style fighting game introduces your classic hero characters into a new light. Number 3 is NBA 2kl3, this EA Sports video game has lost fans in the past but with a come back in its graphics and credibility within the EA series this video game has managed a come back coming as as 3rd on the list of best selling video games. Coming into the number 2 spot is the video game Bioshock Infinite. This out of all the video games in the top 5 as a person who does not play video games often was a video game that i have never heard of. Bioshock Infinite is a continuation of the 2007 series of Bioshock. The talk and stir up of the release of Bioshock Infinite was so popular that it was no shock to anyone when this video game made the top 5 bringing in a total of 3.7 million copies in the beginning. Topping off our top 5 best selling video games coming in at number 1 we have Call of Duty:Black Ops II. This game allows you to interact with other players online, while engaging in the realism that the new updated graphics provide. With such a high income in the sale of video games these days many wonder what causes such burst of interest. Now although billions are being spent on buying these video games, we must also think about how much money is being used to make these video games, compared to those from 10-20 years ago.

Escaping life through video games.

Everyone wants to escape reality at times.  Many people have their different ways of doing so. You may find your way of escaping from reality through dancing or singing, while others find their escape through video games. Who’s to say that one form of escape is better than others? Just like the love for sports, the arts, or food, the love for video games can be almost addictive if not. It is usually easier to find friends when you all have mutual interests. The bond that is created through gaming to some may seem strange, but to others it's an important part of their social life especially virtual games where you can chat and communicate and connect with players online from all around the world. Video games allow you to experience some of your wildest and farfetched dreams. Sadly many people who are deeply invested into video games lack on their communication skills with the real world and have a hard time separating their realities. Extremely serious gamers are not totally aware of what is going on around them. Who finds wrong in doing something that you love? This video that is attached is hilarious, and I think represents many people who I know and their reactions towards playing the popular game World of Warcraft. Many people fail to realize that they neglect their relationships, or are not aware of how unproductive they are even though to them they are being very productive. The bond between two avid gamers is different from what we would call a normal friendship. The way that I am referring to a normal friendship is by actually knowing the person from an experience outside of electronics, webcams, and video games.  In the gaming world these friendships are brought apart very differently because two people can never talk to each other in person, but when it’s time to play the game they communicate and interact with each other as if they have known each other for years. All of this is just escaping reality through the virtual world. Since I am not a huge video game fanatic I truly can’t say that I understand the passion behind my brother for instance who loves video games with his whole heart. Similar to the wife who has to sit through her husband’s conversation about football, video gamers have the same passion about their virtual reality. Video games as discussed before can be healthy if treated appropriately. Like any other passion many people have to learn how to monitor their love for their “escape.”

Putting yourself literally out there, in the gaming world.

When given the choice to create yourself in a video game, who doesn't get excited? Creating an avatar, a character of yourself instead of playing with the standard player helps you become more invested into whatever video game you are playing. Spending time picking the right skin tone which could be hard because there vary on many different games and it’s hard to find your perfect tone. Your hair style which could be as crazy as a Mohawk to as calm as a basic cut with any color you want, this is where you can be outrageous and try that purple hair you always wanted but just was not brave enough to pull it off in real life. Your type of style is a very important aspect of creating your avatar. Although the limits of options are scarce you are sure to find which accessory or clothing fits your personality the best. You can browse through different types of jeans, shirt, and sneakers adding whatever you want to do add onto your character or better yet yourself to become the best player in the video game making that feeling so worth it when you go out on your first task of the game. For Example, i didn't know that a friend of mine had created avatars for our group of friends until i have played video games with him one day. That day he was playing baseball, and i noticed i was up to bat. As a spectator watching him play as my character made me root for him to hit the ball more than me watching him play as any other character. The fact that he had my name, and my high top and was similar to me, made me root for him so much more than i would root for the other avatars in the game. The thought of you playing against the other characters of the video game makes it much more possessive. You are more involved into the video game, literally. If every given the choice to create your own character even if it’s not you, do it. Whether you believe it or not that special attention in detail that you put into that character gives you something to look forward to every time you play. Many parents say, well my mom at least “You never know how much you worry about someone until you’ve had a child.” Same goes for the video game; the avatar is your child, or yourself. Have fun with it and invest more time into it.