Video game research coms 472 Essay Example for Free

Video game research coms 472 Essay Video Game and Harassment: The medium that will be used is through video. The narrative format will resemble half way between a TED talk and a report. This will enable me to criticize the current state of online gaming and the constant harassment that occurs for women gamer. I am attempting to schedule some interviews from women gamer in order to receive feedback on the topic. At the same time, I’ve organized a couple of interviews of friends that easily fit in the higher percentage of ‘hardcore’ gamers (+ 10hrs of gaming a week), that were testers for different genre of gaming. I will also utilize documentary footage and videos from various youtube channels in regards to state real statistics about gaming, as well as my own research when applicable. Segment I: Video Game Industry at a glimpse (~2-3mins) The aim in this section is to present the importance of gaming as an industry. Doing so will further the importance of female harassment that occurs within the medium. The origin of video games is highly debated among gamers. Some consider the birth of video games in 1961, when MIT students created Spacewar! Others believe the birth of video games, through the creation of an actual video game company, placing Atari and Pong as the soul founder of video game culture, in 1972. Regardless who stemmed the culture, the success of theses few games snowballed into the arcade age, where many arcade games such as Pac-Man, Asteroids, and Space Invaders were seen in malls, movie theaters, and even grocery stores. Unfortunately, Atari made a fundamental mistake. Believing they had struck a gold mine by creating a new market, they quickly produced multiple games with no regards to the quality of the individual games. Though gamers created a viable business for companies, they also were picky about what they wanted to play. Most of theses games did not create a turnover and forced Atari to go Bankrupt. In 1985, Nintendo came out with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and moved the arcade to home entertainment system. It was bundled with Super Mario Bros and quickly became a huge success (Herz 20). During the 1980s, the video- game market became more and more popular, and the budget for the creation of video games increased as well, as more and more publishers and fans bought into the craze. It is at this time that the first console war occurred. Indeed, in 1989, Sega came out with the Sega Genesis, and Nintendo responded with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Next came the Sega Saturn, and the Sony PlayStation in 1994 and 1995. Then came the Nintendo 64, in 1996 selling more than 1. 5 million units in just 3 months. By the end of this era, Sony had become a leader in the video-game market, while Sega had fallen behind and was not doing very well. Today video games (across all platforms) are a 101 billion-dollar industry, almost more then film and music combined (= 88. 3 +15). The GTA V from the Rockstar franchise has surpassed 1 billion dollars in revenue, and will most likely keep growing with a new release on recent platforms (PS4, XBOX 1). The budget for the recent Activision shooter title Destiny was near the 500 Million dollar mark. Nearly half of all US homes own one game entertainment system, and 23 percent own more than three, according to Nielsen Entertainment. Furthermore, the average age of the gamer is now 30 years old. It is not simply a hobby, but a clear culture, with different levels of gamers within it. Segment II: Who are the gamers? Where do women stand/rank? (5 mins) This segment will enable me to explain the importance of the female demographic and where they stand as a group. This segment will introduce certain interviews or comments I will capture during the 5 a 7 at the Concordia TAG center. (All stats from entertainment software association) Today from the way video games are marketed, anyone could think that the majority of gamers are men. Recent studies have debunked this myth by presenting an impressive 40% to 47% of the gaming population are actually women. Typically, the common response to this statement is quickly pushed aside; stereotyping girls to only certain genre of gaming, including limited relaxation/board games and cell phone games. Within that mindset it could legitimize the reason why certain games are only catered to men. But once again certain instances prove otherwise; in 2009 the most popular xbox game for boys/men was Halo 3, also the favourite among women! Furthermore, the top 8 favourite games on PC that year were the same among men and women! Women do play theses games, in fact there is close to 84 Million female gamer in the US alone. The issue not being addressed here is the way theses women are being treated within that culture. Segment III: Dark side of the gaming culture (5mins) This segment will enable me tackle head on the biggest issue that occurs within the gaming culture. It is not the sexist representation of women, it is not the violence depicted through different games. The biggest issue, and it solely could explain the gender divide among hard-core gamers (ratio is 1 to 7), is the recurring harassment. In this segment I will include small interviews of close friends that have been testing games for a while, and will have a critical view of the industry based on their experience. Out of all female gamers 68% of them have revealed to experience harassment from playing video games. It is a constant experience that is easily catalogued through different blogs. This is why women hide whom they are playing online, just to be able to indulge in North America new favourite pass time. There are many instances of theses accidents reported, and even gaming celebrities (Aris Bakhtanians) have shrugged the issue, explaining that it is what the culture has been built on and will not change. (â€Å"Sexual harassment is part of this culture†). Another instant is reporter Anita Sarkeesian who was harassed about her comments on the portrayal of women in video game and fundraiser attempts to raise awarness. She was forced to shut down all social media accounts due to recurring threats and phone calls threatening her. (A game was created with the simple purpose to beat this woman up). What we have here is a fundamental problem across all levels of the video game culture.