After so many years of video games becoming a viable form of entertainment they are still ignored and largely dismissed as a kids toy.

I think we can all agree here that the stereotype that video games are afflicted with is highly inaccurate. I've played video games that have delivered more emotion and drama than the typical films that win Oscars. I've seen worlds and scenes that could never be recreated on film.

And while our capitalistic society has taken notice of gaming because it, once again, out profits the movie industry; no one respects it.

Perhaps it's because female characters in games are hardly ever treated with dignity. Maybe it's just a generational thing that will eventually die out when the 80's generation starts running the world.

Video games aren't quite as treated as poorly as comic books or the porn industry but they aren't nearly as respected as the music industry (which I don't even understand that one) or the film industry.

Thoughts? Will video games ever become more than a hobby for nerds? Has the Wii made society take notice of video games?

I think that's your answer. I was born in 1985 and from what I know, video games didn't get really popular until around then. It was a kids thing back then. IMO, once that generation gets older and is still playing video games it will be considered a serious form of entertainment meant for all age groups.

DEATH TO THE DEMONESS ALLEGRA GELLAR!

Who knows, I think once the generation in front of me (born in the mid-70s or so) is at the top of the food chain, they'll be more socially accepted.

That's what I believe will happen. Most people over 30 years of age are still in the mentality that video games and Nintendo are synonymous. Back in the 80s, video games and Nintendo were synonymous. Ie the phrases "Let's play video games" and "Lets play Nintendo" meant the exact same thing basically and both were commonly used phrases.

Some people today are still stuck in that mentality and therefore see video games as being for kids only. Look at all the tv shows and movies that still use Pong and Pac-man type sound effects for video games. Everyone instantly recognizes those sounds, because to most people that is all video games are.

Most people under 30 grew up with video games and have kept playing video games into adulthood. Most of them will probably keep playing until the day they die. Even if they don't, they will still have memories of video games other than Pong sounds effects. As these people take over the world and the older generation dies off, then video games will become accepted.

I think they're starting to. I think when you see the merging of mainstream film and television entertainment adapt interactivity (which it has started to a la American Idol voting), there'll eventually come a time it is accepted. Of course, it won't be the same as we play now.

Games like Rock Band, WiiSports, and the like have helped a lot. I'd never had my family over for a night of Halo or Super Mario Brothers, but people who otherwise wouldn't play now want to get involved.

Exactly. The older generation always does this throughout history. They can't handle change and they hold on to outdated ideals too long.

Just think our generation will be doing this crap when we are in our 50s and 60s.

what? Nintendo didn't invent the videogame business. Arcades were huge before 85 (NES) and of course there was that little known flash in the pan system:

In about ten more years thats when gamers will be in office.

Videogames are not mainstream like the movies and music. Men and women like movies and music alike. Videogames? I don't know the exact percentage but it's more like 80/20. Of course that's going to be changing when they create more games that appeal to men and women the same, but right now most of the appeal on videogames is for men.

Nintendo didn't invent video games but they certainly brought it into more homes than any previous gaming system.

man fuck society. *goes and plays DKC*

I'm still angry at those damn video games replacing all those wonderful pinball machines

I gotta say that eXistenZ probably did a better job making the video game/ virtually reality game people look bad than the Super Mario Bros., House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark movies combined. Sweet lord that movie was shit.....and yet I feel compelled to own a copy.

I wholeheartedly believe that if a ridiculous game like football or a repetitive "sport" like NASCAR racing can be accepted in our culture......video games can't be far behind. With online games keeping people connected and the Wii helping families interact together there will be a huge surge in the video game "fad".

Arcades and Atari were no where near as popular as the NES was when it showed up. And i'd say arcades became more popular in the Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter age. I think his statement is fairly accurate.

Gaming, not cinema, is the medium of dreams, which is why they will long outlast the ignorance of society until everyone looks back and laughs at those prior, silly ancestors like we do today about ours'

On the Letterman show for example they were talking about robots the other night and it was joke after joke of nervous laughter about people having sex with life-like robots in the future. It felt primitive --- of course there will be a huge industry for this, common as porn I'd bet. I guess they're only laughing to cover up their fear that value systems historically shift generation to generation, and that theirs' will soon be obsolete.

Maybe the wii is a step toward more interactive gaming... I can't wait until new generations push it further. Imagine when we're old and shrivelled, suddenly lucid dreaming into focused, strategic real atmospheres in young, strong bodies. It'll be a new freedom and second life for us bored oldies before we bite the dust. I'd love to be Frodo for a bit

People still associate video gaming with nerds and people who have "no life." I think this is far from the case now, everyone my age plays video games now-adays and it isnt really just the people with no social life. Video games have become a form of entertainment almost anyone can enjoy, much like DVD's. I think its only a matter of time before it starts becoming more widely accepted.

Plus, Jack Thompson really doesnt help much.

I'd say from that statement that you weren't around in the time of Atari, or
were too young to comprehend how big it, or arcades in the late '70s/early '80s
were.

Nor do a few of the posts in the HD forum right now. Seems we're apparently to
blame for gloating and adolescent shinanigans in the WB goes Blu thread due to
the PS3 being a gaming machine, 'cause you know who buys gaming machines...

Sorry for the mini-rant, I just wanted to say something as the comments I read
came off as stereotypical over-generalizations and rubbed me the wrong way

I have not even come close to this. As fun and enjoyable as some games have been, they have yet to suck me in like good-to-great movie/book/tv show can. When I hold up what I find to be a great story found in a videogames next to other great stories found in other media, the videogame story doesn't usually stack up well.

However, the experience of playing the game is what counts, and that is something you can't really convey to people who don't play. And that will change as they die, as has been stated. Just taking a slice of COD4, Bioshock, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Beyond Good and Evil, or anything other great game might not be all that impressive, but when you look at the totality of those things can you begin to be blown away.

Yeah. Pac-man Fever by Buckner and Garcia sums up arcades in the 80s.

This is a great post and i completely agree.

As to an earlier poster, i also blame video games for the death of pinball machines.

Thats because despite all the silliness of the themes and plot, it's still actually a well made movie, even the stiff acting by the NPCs is spot on. I love it.

But regardless, yes, in due time.

I don't see a lot of video game disrespect, but I don't hang out with a lot of old people, either.

You can tell the movie industry doesn't think much of games since every time a kid is playing a video game, they still use standard beeps and boops from Pac-Man and use Atari joysticks.