In my experience, video games tend to largely be viewed by the general public as toys for children, unworthy targets of critical analysis or scapegoats for violence.
As an adult gamer, I find myself stereotyped into a group comprising nerds, lazy lowlifes or just plain strange folks. Don’t get me wrong, I am a nerd and sometimes a bit strange. But I’m hardly a pariah.
If I sound jaded, it’s because I’ve been down this road many times.
So, let’s bring out the numbers to put some substance to this issue.
In 2015, the video game industry in the United States brought in $23.5 billion in revenue, a 5 percent increase from 2014, according to lobbyist group Entertainment Software Association. Compare that with last year’s North American movie box office total of $11 billion, according to industry estimates.
That’s pretty impressive, given video games are still relatively in their infancy by comparison.
With that large of a number, it would stand to reason video games have expanded beyond a niche product and become part of the current zeitgeist.
Two recent moves by local colleges impressed upon me just how much gaming culture is expanding.
This fall, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar began offering electronic sports, or eSports, as a varsity athletics program. You read that correctly. They’re even enticing players with scholarships.
As a charter member of the Collegiate eSports Association, SBU is starting out by competing in “League of Legends,” a popular online role-playing game pitting five fantasy characters on each team against one another.
SBU’s eSports head coach says the program was the result of hard work and preparation. Sounds like every other athletic coach interviewed.
“Gamers have existed for decades on college campuses, competing online and against each other in the solitude of their dorm rooms,” says Chris Allison, who’s also director of SBU’s Meyer Wellness and Sports Center, in a news release. “This new program will not only give us the opportunity to highlight the skills of our players, compete intercollegiately and create an on-campus community, but it presents us with the opportunity to offer scholarships to high-level players and provide them with an equally high-level education.”
That August announcement followed Drury University’s in March that the Springfield liberal arts school would launch a computer science degree in video game development.
A news released issued at the time cited interesting video game demographics from Neilson, Pew and the Entertainment Software Association, including that 81 percent of young adults ages 18-29 play video games; 59 percent of Americans play games; and 23 percent of seniors over 65 play games.
Clearly, the appeal of virtual worlds is growing, and I applaud these institutions for taking advantage of that fact.
As the industry continues to grow into adulthood, so too will the money that follows and the amount of players. And, I believe, the irritating stigma that surrounds them will gradually fade away.
Web Producer Geoff Pickle can be reached at gpickle@sbj.net.
