Video Games Go Boom

Video Games Go Boom

• Part 0 - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

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Video games are about to go boom. It's inevitable, it's happened before, and it might get ugly. Some gamers know it and are already taking cover in their basement with stacks of old SNES games. Some industry employees see it coming and are taking their holiday pay as we speak. Everyone else just goes about their business, unaware that their lives are about to be invaded.

The first video games boom happened shortly after a big crash. Everyone knows about the horrible years in the early 80's that almost killed the industry. But Nintendo came along with the Nintendo Entertainment System and won over everyone, including non-gamers. A little video game mouth-to-mouth and boom, here come the games.

But now what? There are more games, more systems, more options -- but less gamers. Lots of companies hopped onto the video game bandwagon and immediately began pushing games out the door. Their target audience: the small group of loyal customers called gamers.

And for a time, all was good. Gamers had games, developers had money, and all marketers had to do was worship one demographic. If the gaming customers dwindle, so will the games. An audience of casual gamers is waiting to be enticed by an industry obsessed with increasingly complex devices. Here's a one word solution to everything: simplicity.

Video Games Go Boom

Video Games Go Boom is a series of articles examining the phenomenon of video games and where they fit in our society. We will look at video games from many perspectives, especially that of avid gamers and non-gamers. We will also take a look at the video games industry and the big players in that field: Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

This is an opinion article that will give one writer's insights into a growing world business. Patterns in the development of any field of knowledge emerge over time. Video games are a relatively undeveloped industry, allowing us to reference growth patterns from other fields to see where the games industry is going. Patterns are, after all, patterns.

You will learn a lot about the games you play, the people who don't play games, and why oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are so good.

Ok, maybe not that last one. But anyway, sit back, grab a drink and get ready for the impending boom.

Article Navigation

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• Part 0: Introduction
• Part 1: Gamers and Non-Gamers
• Part 2: The Video Games Industry
• Part 3: Sony
• Part 4: Microsoft
• Part 5: Nintendo
• Part 6: Outroduction