The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that I have had a short break between articles here; this is not because I am lazy or have hit a wall or anything like that but because I have been taking stock. I have been wondering for some time about the continuing validity of this column; given the consolidation of the industry and the merging of games companies with other corporate entities my remit seems to have become smaller and perhaps less relevant. However, after my week of soul searching I have come to the conclusion that this is not the case – I believe that, even after the tragic events of September 11th that have trivialized computer gaming, along with almost all recreational activity, computer gaming is still a vibrant industry which has much to offer us in the way of entertainment and which will only become more important as technology advances and the boundaries are pushed backwards. I know this may sound obvious but to an extent the industry is in a period of crisis at the moment. The mood at the ECTS show in London was overwhelmingly pessimistic, with those attending worried about over-consolidation (big companies swallowing smaller ones and imposing their own values, therefore removing some of the potential for pushing boundaries and overcoming conventions), the raft of poor quality products (so what’s new? But they are right in thinking that there does seem to have been a greater volume of crap released in recent times than ever before) and the soon-to-be-crowded console marketplace which will undoubtedly lead to business failures.
For a period of time I bought into this skepticism (and I still believe that a degree of skepticism is healthy, especially when it comes to products of dubious merit) but I have reconsidered my position and come to the conclusion that I do not really believe all of this, for a number of reasons. First of all I esteem quality over quantity – for me at least the fact that there are many dud games does not matter when one considers the few gems that emerge (e.g. I have received great pleasure in the playing of Max Payne, Black and White and Half-Life and regard this as more important than the dissatisfaction caused by Streets of Sim City and the disappointment of Red Faction). Secondly I think we are entering what will be a profoundly exciting and interesting period for games development. The “console war” as it has been dubbed between X-Box, Gamecube and PlayStation 2 will have casualties but it will also make the industry much more vibrant and exciting than one in which there was no real development – better all change than no change in other words (and much more on Gamecube coming very soon). Thirdly in my opinion computer games will only become more relevant as they proliferate and effect peoples lives more profoundly (for instance, the role of computer games in the Columbine murder trial has fascinated many).
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