The Future Begins Now…

[Gaming reaches critical mass]

Another one of those E3′s have come and gone… the ‘important’ ones, the ones where it is expected that all the major players of the industry will reveal which direction they will pursue for the next five years. Although it may sound cliché, this is a period of vital importance for the videogame industry. Sure”¦ every year it’s the same deal, gaming has gotten bigger and bigger, bigger than movies, siphoning the coveted 18-34 year old demographics away from their primetime TV shows, and making itself known as an industry. This time it’s different.

Gaming has reached critical mass, its about to crossover. Don’t kid yourself, up until now”¦ gaming has been the 9th grader of the entertainment industry. Growing, but not respected. Step out of your gamer shoes for a while and look at ‘gaming culture’ from the mainstream American view. It’s still a rather silly diversion, something attacked for being excessively violent, something only a limited demographic of the population do avidly, something that is to be outgrown. This is changing. Go onto a college campus, look past the guys playing Smash Bros., the frat brothers playing Halo, and look into the classrooms. Gaming is beginning to be discussed, analyzed, and picked apart not unlike film but unique in its own ways.

This is where the Revolution (no pun intended) begins. This is the point in time where, 50 years down the road, you can say you were there in ‘the early days of gaming.’ This is where gaming becomes serious. No doubt those steering this ship of gaming determine its future. In the coming weeks it’s my goal to try and provide insight into Nintendo’s vital role in all of this. Hopefully through my thoughts, and more importantly our discussion, we can begin to talk about where Nintendo is going, and what effect, if any this direction is going to have on the future of videogames.