1. Mass Media and Society
Chapter 10: Electronic Games
Feb. 24, 2014

2. Chapter 10:
Electronic Games
• The evolution of electronic
games
• Influential contemporary
games
• Games’ impact on culture
• Controversial issues

3. Game evolution
• Pong: 1972
• Arcade games: coinoperated in public
establishments
• Consoles arrive in 1972:
Magnavox Odyssey; Atari
2600 first big success
• Cartridges developed

4. Crash and evolution
• 1983: Video game market
crashes thanks to
lackluster “Pac-Man,”
“E.T.”
• Nintendo Entertainment
System and “Super Mario
Brothers” revolutionize
console gaming

5. Innovation in 1990s
• Sega Genesis challenges
NES
• “Mortal Combat,” “Street
Fighter” establish higher
levels of violence
• March 2007: Sony sells
102 million PlayStations

6. Shooters and
online gaming
• First-person shooters like
“Doom” prove popular and
controversial
• MMORPG (Massively
Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Games) genre
established (“World of
Warcraft”)

7. st-century
21
games
• PlayStation 2 (2000) and
Xbox (2001) ramp up
console wars
• Portable gaming
(GameBoy) grows in
popularity
• Late 2000s: Market for
video games is steadily
increasing

8. Home consoles
• PlayStation 3 (2006),
Xbox 360 (2005), and Wii
(2006) give way to today’s
PS4 and Xbox One
• Wii pioneered motionsensitive systems; other
platforms follow

9. Influential games
• “Grand Theft Auto”:
violent, satirical “sandbox”
(open-world) game;
hugely popular
• “World of Warcraft”:
MMORPG pioneers social
gaming, economics within
game

10. Influential games
• “Madden,” “FIFA”: big
sellers, niche games;
popular among athletes
and sports fans;
dedicated online
communities
• “Call of Duty”: big sellers;
pushes envelope on
violence

11. Impact on culture
• 2007: 72 percent of U.S.
population played a video
game that year
• Gaming culture:
competition, immersion
• “The fifth network”: video
game influence rivals TV
networks

12. Music, education
• “Rock Band” and “Guitar
Hero”: participatory and
focus on artists
• Video games used in
classrooms, learning
settings
• U.S. Army uses video
games for recruitment

13. Controversies
• Violence: Entertainment
Software Rating Board
(ESRB) rates content
• Phenomenon of video
game overuse or
addiction
• Sexism: Women less than
12 percent of industry

14. Mobile games
• Angry Birds, Candy Crush
Saga; tend to peak and
fall quickly
• Industry has seen major
growth tied to increase in
smartphone use
• Expected to reach $24
billion in 2016 (up from
$12 billion in 2013)