Video Games: Just Another Leisure Industry
I was going to start this post with the phrase “there was a time” but then it struck me, that sounds like the opening gambit of a power ballad, so I decided against it. Instead let’s keep it simple. I’ve always played video games. But overtime my relationship with this activity evolved from just being an amusing diversion into a major hobby that I became enamoured with. Two factors contributed to this change in perspective. Moving from console to PC gaming in the late nineties and playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) circa 2008. By 2010 I was regularly writing about gaming, immersing myself in the culture and participating in the wider community. I naively thought for a while that video games were a unique and exceptional manifestation of pop culture, compared to music, film and literature. However, ten years later, although it is clear that video games can at times be true art just like those other mediums, they also suffer from all the endemic failings and iniquities that exist in the other leisure industries.
The production of mainstream, so called triple A video games is a textbook example of how contemporary capitalism works and a microcosm of all its shitty foibles. Game developer’s may well have artistic visions and creative aspirations. Those that bank roll them seldom have such lofty ideals. Video games are products to be monetised, sold and used as a means to continuously generate revenue. This business necessity is not something bolted onto a game once it’s completed. It is something that directly shapes their creation. Hence we’re sold a base game; a starter pack as it were. If you want the complete experience, then you pay more. And despite the massive development costs, these products are intended to be ephemeral. The moment the ROI drops they are abandoned and replaced with new products. Therefore the short attention span of customers leads to the brief life cycle of premium games and perpetuates the treadmill of continuous new product culture.
The buck apparently doesn’t stop with Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft
Sadly, the video games industry has sadly proven itself to be as predatory, exploitative and emotionally dysfunctional as music and cinema. Employment rights, working conditions and pay are poor. The industry’s management structure attracts the usual suspects with their borderline sociopathic traits. Bullies, racists, misogynists and those with a penchant for sexual assault act with impunity. Such individuals like to cultivate an image akin to rock stars, vicariously claiming to work in a hip, modern and creative line of work. But instead it’s just the same, seedy, entitled, spoilt middle-aged white men who seem to think the rules don’t apply to the. A malady that runs throughout modern life in western culture. Whenever such individuals are held to account and scrutinised, they quickly show themselves to be the modern equivalent of the wealthy mill owner from the 19th century. And in their misplaced vanity they always see themselves as the victims.
But there are other factors contributing to the negative state of the video games industry. The first is marketing, which like contemporary politics doesn’t wish to engage in any sort of discussion to justify itself. It merely wants unfettered access to multiple platforms and to be able to make statements unchallenged, irrespective of their veracity, integrity or legality. Hype culture, the wane of quality journalism along with a decline in critical thinking among consumers have contributed to the current hubristic stance adopted when promoting a new triple A game. And this insidious approach by sales and marketing enjoys a curious symbiotic relationship with that other Achilles heel of gaming, zealous fandom.
An all too common aspect of fandom these days
Fandom has become increasingly fundamentalist, binary and bellicose in recent years. It is tribal and at times devoid of reason. Criticism, commentary and analysis are rejected and any differing of opinion is seen as a personal attack. Fans continue to erroneously equate enjoying a product with having some sort of ownership of it. They’ll even pick a side and go to war over titles they haven’t even played yet. Such is the depth of emotional investment made. Furthermore, if a game falls short of expectations that gamers have created themselves, it is seen as an act of treason and a violation of one human rights. Again, you’ll find no difference between ardent video games fans and those of popular TV and cinematic franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek.
I used to enjoy my “love affair” with gaming. It was a new creative endeavour, that unlike pop music, TV and cinema had grown up over the course of my life. I was proud to be part of a writing and podcasting community that shared my affection. That community is still there and remains active but it has diminished. Many, like myself, have had their eyes opened to the unpleasant underbelly of the industry. An industry that does not reflect the diversity of its customers. An industry that is often immoral and unpleasant. An industry that refuses to take a stance against those fans that wish to usurp it and set its course. An industry that wants to have its cake and eat it. So ten years on, I still enjoy games. But I don’t have any illusions about their provenance. Many mainstream games are built upon the blood, sweat and tears of others. Just like cheap clothes made in developing countries. Or TV shows that purport to be about giving people a shot at fame but are really just the modern day equivalent of a Victorian freak show. The video games industry is exactly like all other industries and that is not in any way a compliment. Cognitive dissonance can only keep me tacitly supporting such things for so long. At some point they’ll be a parting of the ways.
