Recently I have been thinking about the cultural process whereby something that initially is perceived as dangerous to society ultimately becomes a part of the cultural mainstream. New is often perceived as threatening.  Its newness is not understood, so if it can’t be understood and fit into the status quo then it must be bad. 

This thinking was triggered several weeks ago when reading an editorial in The Economist about the need for an age-rating for video games similar to the age ratings of the motion picture industry.  The thrust of the article was that something new is not necessarily bad and in need of banning, it just might need some social rating system.    The article mentioned some past cultural innovations that were initially regarded as bad or even evil.

In the 18th century there was something that began to get wide acceptance that alarmed those that populate the status quo.  It was thought that it would poison the mind, corrupt the morals of the young, letting them immerse themselves in dangerous worlds of fantasy.  What was it?  The novel. 

In the early part of the 19th century, waltzing was condemned as a cultural phenomenon that encouraged promiscuity.  In the early 20th century motion pictures were called evil and destructive of social interchange.  Those of us who are baby boomers can vaguely remember when Rock and Roll was something that would turn young people into “devil worshippers”.

As a parent I remembered all of this as my son grew up through his teen age …

In a post two days ago I suggested that the Wii Video Game console from Nintendo was the clear winner in the new console competition with Sony’s PlayStation 3.  I based this on the fact that the Wii was an innovative product that both opened up the gaming space to new participants and was highly desired by experienced gamers.

Since that post I have come across sales numbers that emphatically point to the fact that consumers have embraced the new, innovative vision of the Wii.  The PlayStation debuted on November 17 and the Wii on November 19 and the November sales figures for the PlayStation were 197,000 while the Wii sold 476,000.  Of course the lower price point of the Wii helped in these numbers, but the buzz has not been about price, but about the radical new and innovative approach the Wii has taken, described in the earlier post.

A new product in a competitive marketplace that is completely innovative wins.  When the price point for this innovative product is lower than the price for the competition, it wins big.  As mentioned in the earlier post, innovation in such an influential field as video gaming will inevitably flow into other areas of our lives in the near future, and that is a very good thing.

It is sad to see Sony on the back slope of the innovation curve. It was Sony of course that created the ‘personal music player’ market with the release of the Walkman in 1979.  Where were …

In the last ten years, video gaming has gone from being a peripheral social phenomenon for young and teenage boys to a central factor in today’s media and entertainment.  Movies based on video games have been produced. TV executives talk about bringing the interactive gaming experience to television programming.  Advertisers create games for brand positioning of their product. Advertising in video games is growing at a faster rate that almost any other medium today. The sales revenue of the video game industry is greater than theatrical movies.  Virtual worlds, one of the biggest things in today’s Internet world can be traced to video games.  Simply put, gaming is a major part of today’s media and entertainment.

As all gamers, and anyone consuming media today knows, there is a new console war going on.  Last year Microsoft came out with the Xbox 360, the most powerful, integrated game console ever.  With global on-line connectivity, it allowed gamers around the world to play and compete together.  It was embraced and deemed a huge success.  Now a year later, the other two major players in the console wars have introduced their products.  Sony, the winner five years ago with its PlayStation 2 came out with its much anticipated and delayed PlayStation 3.  The same week, the number three player, Nintendo, came out with its radically different Wii.  In a surprisingly short time, a winner has emerged, and it is the Wii.

The PlayStation 3 was a year late, made promises it did not deliver on …