Gaming Industry Development - Research Paper Example

? The Gaming Industry Outline The gaming industry plays a vital role in the growth of the youth’s minds. Passion for a better gaming environment Extremely powerful method of control Computer simulation allows one to explore various subjects according to the level of competence in a particular area The gaming developers do not see the harm they are causing to the younger generation The gaming industry is a mature one and thus it also has an impact on teens and adults. Heavy investment is made in the latest games such as the PlayStation, Nintendo, and Microsoft etc. Even gambling and casino are considered part of the gaming industry fueled by adults who are retired and want to invest in earning more money. What is condemned for the children and teens is acceptable for the adults which lead to chaotic scenario of the modern age. Several intellectuals have benefitted from the gaming industry just as the public has faced the dangers. There is too much violence in the recent games especially killing involved to reach the final level. Fighting against the war of terror can lead to adverse effects. The Gaming Industry Ever since the rise of technology there has been an endless competition in the making of the best software or something unique to be provided in all areas of life may it be education, politics or entertainment. The gaming industry plays a vital role in the growth of not only the youth’s minds and their passion for a better gaming environment but also aided the adult firms in gambling and the social media. It is multi-faceted and has both its advantages and disadvantages. No one can deny its benefits but they cannot also disagree with the massive explosion it has caused in the global war against terrorism. The human mind is capable of imagining beyond its own strength. Hence what video games and recent casinos have to offer are mere fragments of humans’ imagination and there is lot more in store that yet needs to be materialized. Internet and computer are means to access video games that are in more demand especially among the teenagers or even kids as young as two. The gaming industry has become an extremely powerful method of control and manipulation throughout the different courses of life. The Childhood Years: The gaming industry has its own ways to approach each stage of life. In the childhood phase it is rather too attractive to distract a child from his main focus; learning about life and his surrounding nature. For the IT professionals it is not difficult to claim that they are struggling day and night to bring the latest in the gaming industry. Most of the games are violent in nature leading to sadistic behavior at a very early age. It also depends upon how long the child spends on playing these games because the longer he does the more chances of him getting brutal. It becomes difficult for kids to decipher between the world of gaming and the world in which they live. They end up committing crimes which they consider to be very normal for no reason (Kutner & Olson 2008). Something changes their brain waves and directs them to do things which are inappropriate otherwise. “There is no doubt that UK developers over the past three decades have worked hard to put the country in a very strong position and it is a platform upon which we can build to ensure computer games have a rosy future for the next 30 years and beyond.” (Kingsley 2012). These developers however fail to realize the impact they have on the younger generation. US history has witnessed many stages in the development of gaming industry which includes gambling. The political and social dynamics surrounding the gaming industry have far reaching effects. It only depends on how power is used at a given point in time to manipulate the system into believing how important it is for the people and their enlightenment (McGowan 2001). “Computer simulations historically have been used in specific scientific disciplines (engineering, bio-sciences) and for high-risk occupational training (military, aviation, medicine)” (Jackson 2004). Jackson also adds that there are various organizations that play a pivotal role in accelerating the process such as the military’s use of “war games” in the 1950s. Similarly flight simulators aid the commercial pilots including the NASA astronauts in their training. “These organizations and disciplines know simulation accelerates learning, enables knowledge transfer, allows extraction of meaning from myriad complexities, and provides manipulative experiences unavailable in the normal physical space of a classroom environment.” (Jackson 2004) In the positive sense of the term, gaming industry is academically utilized to train the new professionals to settle down in their respective fields. The simulation and game environment allow pupil to acquire transformative learning. These games allow, for instance the US Army recruiting branch in inculcating the “missions in the War on Terror”. Games are thus used as “simulations for learning”. The game application has the potential to reach to almost areas of study (Jackson 2004). People enjoy playing games. This is an undeniable fact. Today games are available for free and can be accessed on the internet. The Teenage Years: During the adolescent phase there is a strong urge to engage oneself in video games as a source of ultimate pleasure. The gaming industry has become a mature industry, with games becoming a commodity. The penetration of games, in the US, is over 92% as compared to computers, which is only 80%. The total size of gaming industry was $28 billion in 2003 and was expected to grow by 13% every year. (Beck & Wade 2008) The gaming industry has become an important industry for electronics companies. This is the reason that brands like Nintendo, PlayStation and Microsoft are investing heavily in introducing new, advanced products and their marketing. Americans now spend more money and time on playing games, as compared to watching movies. (Beck & Wade 2008) Online gaming websites, which charge an annual fee, have become increasingly popular with children who can play games with counterparts sitting hundreds or thousands of miles away. While the gaming industry in the US is driven by children and teens, the market condition in Europe is slightly different, with the industry driven by young adults. Although the American gamers are usually kids or teens, their interest or attraction in games does not fade away as they grow up. (Beck & Wade 2008) They become more involved with more sophisticated games, whether played on computers or gaming consoles. For those individuals reaching their forties, gaming may have never been an important part of their life; but for those in their twenties or thirties, gaming must have affected them in their younger days. The young ‘game generation’ has spent millions and billions of dollars and hours playing games in a virtual world. Therefore, they are expected to be different than the earlier generations in many ways. Individuals from the young game generation think, work talk and act differently; they even have different dreams and goals in life. Being brought up in this virtual world of gaming, where they were at the center of the world, individuals from the game generation are rebellious and love to make their own way; they believe that they can only be successful and satisfied by having a central role in their work; they grow up believing that they can switch from one thing to another, just like a game, when their life becomes boring. (Beck & Wade 2008) Parents are usually found complaining that children have become disobedient and ill-mannered in current times. They also complain of not spending time with their children, since a child spends a huge amount of time playing games that parents don’t even know how to play. The Adult Years: It is hard to admit that adults are equally involved and absorbed in the gaming industry. It is a vicious circle and gives people a chance to argue as to why they should not be gambling at this age. Gambling and casino are their all-time favorites. Although this aspect of gaming is considered to be the most crucial because it seeks for a justification on behalf of the group of adults who are using this gaming industry as a form of escape from the real problems such as governing a state or a region. However these adults condemn young children to gain access to video games because this might lead to a sadistic behavior which would lead to abnormal social conduct. Although leaders of the gambling industry are secured against the controversies that the alcohol, tobacco or the gun industries have to face they are on the verge of being accused for major economic decline at the political level. At the young age children are merely involved in the virtual world which they somehow manage to escape but the adult gaming industry pushes them to take actions in real life events which can be very lethal (McGowan 2001). The rise of smartphones and tablets has enabled various means of investment and many retired generals find it comforting to initiate a gaming industry for people of all ages since it has a promising future to give to their families. Gamers dismiss the notion that the video games give rise to violence in behavior. To adults games are a source of freedom. They believe that games allow them to face reality and play with it rather than fear it and remain losers for the rest of their lives (Beck & Wade 2008). Parents often worry about the infant and adolescent phases of their children. They fear that they may not recognize the family values with the coming of modern technology especially the age of gaming. They also fear that their children might end up engaging in false realities of life such as the sexual revolution whereby teens consider birth control pills an easier way out to their problems. What has the gaming industry got to do with all this? Adults do not seem to make a connection between the changing times and the exposure to the high-tech world of computing. Games have the same effect of the adults as it has on the younger generation. If an adult is impulsive he is likely to develop a habit of making hasty decisions for himself and his dependents. The older generation has always worried about its next generation mainly because it fears that what they have repressed is going to be uninhabited by the new cohort (Kutner & Olson 2008). The gaming industry is a manipulative and vicious trade. People from all strata of life and from all age groups approach it for the reason of entertainment and learning. The simulation it offers is no doubt commendable but there are curtain loopholes which leave it at the edge of the cliff to be either thrown or secured by the coming generation. So far ever since its creation no one has dared throw it away. Each new age comes and saves it from falling and adds a new concept to its fierce network. The challenge does not lie in the way the games are played but the way they are made and delivered. Each new method shuts down doors to the one previously successful in another part of the world or within a country (Kingsley 2012). Games, may they be video (Atari, Nintendo, PlayStation or Xbox), computer or online, including casino and gambling, are solely created for the purpose of entertainment. But as reinstated earlier they do have a scheming impression on nearly all the generations. Learning can either be subdued or engendered. Gaming has attempted to function in both the directions. “The Digital Media Collaboratory (IC2 Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 2003) at the University of Texas at Austin is engaged in several projects that aim to elucidate the invisible and unknown through sim/game learning environments. A nano-visualization project allows students to arrange and build molecules in 3D space; a career exploration project for low socio-economic status (SES) kids provides experience and exchange of social and cultural artifacts…” (Jackson 2004) On the contrary adults have considered games rather too carefree in terms of using gaming as a means to escape from the actual troubles of their lives normally raising a proper family. There are several ways they can employ to avoid such negative influence of the gaming industry to control their lives. Controlled environment can set things into their proper places the way they have been centuries ago. The familiarity with the gaming arena in no way signifies that a person or family belongs to a civilized or cultured background. It merely indicates that people are equipped with the changing face of this world and the recognition of the advantages and disadvantages allows one to acknowledge that human mind has a tendency to get carried away by its own creation. Hence the manipulative nature of the gaming industry and the fear of losing the family values with the changing times. Many intellectuals have confessed that they have benefitted from the latest gaming and computational gurus. They are thankful to the new features that have been offered to them in the form of these games which allow them to remain in touch with the latest in the world of technology. Simultaneously the academia also condemns the adverse usage of the industry and its desire to thrive at any cost. (2048 words) References Beck, J. C., & Wade, M. (2004). Got game: How the gamer generation is reshaping business forever. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Jackson, M. (January 01, 2004). Making visible: using simulation and game environments across disciplines. On the Horizon - the Strategic Planning Resource for Education Professionals, 12, 1, 22-25. Kingsley, Jason (2012)Viewpoint: The UK video games industry faces difficult changes. BBC News Technology. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18456747> Kutner, L., & Olson, C. K. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do. New York: Simon & Schuster. McGowan, R. (2001). Government and the transformation of the gaming industry. Cheltenham, U.K: Edward Elgar. Read More