Gaming Popularization Due to Internet Revolution

Gaming has been around for over 30 years. So, why is it that it has only recently become popular in mainstream culture?

Household gaming began in the 1970s with the release of the Atari 2600. It sold quite well, but despite this, gamers were a relatively new and misunderstood subculture that was often ridiculed as “nerdy.”

Over time, societies have looked toward new sources of entertainment to ease their minds. From the radio to the movies, these shifts are often influenced by new social or technological developments. For the radio, it was World War I. For movies, it was talking pictures. For gaming, it undoubtedly has to be because of the Internet.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that the Internet became the massive tool it is today. Two developments — e-mail and the World Wide Web — spurred its rapid rise. They revolutionized communications, allowing people to instantaneously interact with others around the world. This meant the rapid spread of not only business memos, but also of ideas, opinions, and culture.

PC games would be the first to harness this utility. Online play let players compete against one another from the comforts of their own homes. Games such as Starcraft and Diablo regularly had thousands upon thousands of users online every day on Battle.net. Most importantly though, it allowed gamers to finally amass together.

With multi-player functions becoming increasingly vital, virtually all gamers were also Internet users. Through the Internet, they were able to form their own online communities and create their own culture. As more and more gamers consolidated themselves into these communities, the culture expanded, and from the online world it slowly trickled down into the real world.

For example, when Blizzard released Starcraft, there was no indication whatsoever that it would become as successful as it has in South Korea. However, thanks to the Internet, which provided a foundation for a player base to continuously grow, the game’s culture was eventually absorbed by the nation. Television channels, tournaments, and cyber cafes purely dedicated to the game popped up all over the country.

To fit this concept in an analogy, the Internet basically was host to one big party of players. As the party got bigger, there would be no way it could be confined to one house, so, it began jumping to other houses. Eventually, there would be no more houses to jump to and the party would be forced to spill out onto the streets, exposing it to the public.

Gaming continued to slowly make headways into mainstream culture as lines between gaming, movies, and television began to fade. Multiple movies based off games were created (unfortunately), and conversely, multiple games have been based off movies (also, unfortunately). TV stations concerned with technology and Internet culture, including G4, have also been able to obtain respectable ratings. Additionally, figures related to the station, Olivia Munn for instance, have turned into pop culture icons.

Hell, even gaming terms such as “noob,” “pwn,” and “fail,” have become popular slang terms, especially amongst the younger generations that grew up with the Internet. (Don’t lie to me — I know you have called your peers noobs).

Revelations like these revealed the Internet’s ability to sensationalize almost anything. As long as there was some sort of buzz associated with the idea or product, it had the potential to become a hit. Why? Because people themselves would continue to promote and circulate it online.

By the 2000’s, the Internet’s potential was fully realized and tapped into by developers, making them two inseparable entities.

PCs developed MMOs, creating online fantasy worlds for people to become immersed in. Programs such as Steam allowed for the distribution of games online, as well as allowing users to interact in one huge conglomerate community made up of multiple titles.

Consoles, lead by Microsoft, began embracing Internet functions to enhance gameplay and market their products. Microsoft’s first parlay into consoles, the Xbox, allowed their subscribers to play online through the Xbox Live network. This brought an intense competitive edge to Xbox games, mainly Halo, and it helped transform the Xbox into an instant hit, making Microsoft an instant competitor to Sony and Nintendo in the process.

Furthermore, Halo, having sold millions of copies alone, became a symbol of the gaming industry’s success. Not only had they begin overtake the movie industry in terms of profits, but they also began making major headways into society. There were Hollywood parties dedicated to launches of the sequels, and mainstream media covered the fanatical events occurring around the nation. The game’s hero, Master Chief, even became a cultural icon equivalent to comic book super heroes.

In more recent times, Guitar Hero and the Nintendo Wii have become cultural phenomenons thanks to the increased publicity. Yahoo! and many other popular domains, have created their own gaming sections. The expansion into these domains, in addition to already existing gaming specific sites, helped create the massive hype machine, surrounding these two products, especially the Wii.

Both though, backed by the online media, vastly expanded gaming’s demographics by deconstructing gender and age barriers. In fact, the Wii was promoted as a system that would make games enjoyable to everyone, specifically those who have never been previously interested in games.

When all is said and done, the Internet is essentially responsible for exposing and making games understandable to the public. Once myths about gaming were dispelled (not just a “nerdy” thing to do”),  barriers began to break down and new people were drawn into the experience.