Framing Questions (Video games)

I am excited to discuss the topic of video games this week. It is amazing how the industry has gone from a niche market to a juggernaut of platforms and content, and has helped to advance computer technology along the way. Some of the questions that I have going into this week include the following:

1. With the arrival of the Nintendo Wii, we have seen the traditionally young male-dominated video game industry become much more accessible to female and older gamers. Will we see more demographic shifts like this? Will the amount of older gamers continue to increase as some of the original gamers (Gen Xers) continue to age?

2. The game industry has been currently breaking down barriers of interactivity and creating more dynamic control methods such as motion control. Will we continue to see games become more and more “active” or is this only a fad and traditional control will eventually come back into the spotlight? Also if the current trend continues, what sorts of developments can we expect to see to make the interactive interface more intuitive?

Tags: interactive media, video games