Stars and Arcades

My PlayStation gathers dust in a nest of cables. Yes I'm 34 years old, but videogames are not beneath my dignity. I'm just not going to waste my scarce recreation time on games that I've seen produced time and again.

The gaming industry surpassed Hollywood in 2004 with over $10 billion dollars in total revenue. How much more money could they make if they could create games with deep appeal to wider demographics?

But movies also have advantages which result from the unique way they plug into our culture. Consider chick flicks, offbeat comedies, dramas that can be discussed with your date over dinner afterward. There are no equivalents with videogames. Friday entertainment for the family (all ages) can't be solved with the Xbox, whereas the right Pixar DVD might do the trick. And the lives of movie stars are infinitely interesting to many people - and the subject of entire sub-industries. There is no comparable glamor behind videogames.

Narrative, conflict, and drama will never go out of style. If videogames ever expect to grow deeper roots (and get deeper in our pocket books) - they are going to need those sophisticated elements. For now, if I have any extra time, I'm going to play Katamari Damacy, a game which apparently became popular last year. The premise is not complex, but it's deeply, satisfyingly wierd and Japanese.