Shooting games, violence, and the Arena

Virtual Arena Gamers should know by now that the third rule of the Virtual Arena is: "No physical violence allowed! Only virtual violence is allowed at the Virtual Arena."
I've been quoted in various interviews that I wish that sentiment extended into the real world. If there was nothing but virtual violence in the world, it would be a much better place. Just think if wars or contentions were settled by a Halo tournament or a game of Madden?

At any rate, one might wonder why, if I'm so against physical violence, my game library consists of so many shooters? To answer that question, I'd like to bring up some interesting facts about the video game industry, particularly the last two years.

According to the ESA reports of 2007 and 2008 - a combined report consisting of several studies including sales data and other surveys - the shooting genre made up only 12% of ALL games sold in 2007. And that number actually DROPPED to only 10.9% in 2008. Games rated 'M' for Mature (ages 17 and up) only made up 15% of the games sold in 2007 and 16% in 2008.

So, what's the deal? Someone might guess that the Arena has mostly shooting games because that is the most popular genre of video games right now, but that data contradicts that theory. If anything, shooting and 'M' rated games are a pretty small minority of games sold. (Someone pointed out to me that not all shooting games are rated 'M' - many 'T' rated games are also shooters. But if you add ALL the 'T' rated games and ALL the 'M' rated games, shooters and everything else, that's STILL only 28% 'T' rated + 15% 'M' rated = 43% of ALL games sold in 2007.) So why AM I carrying so many shooting games at the Arena?

The answer is simple: I'm trying to provide an experience that most people can't get at home.

Most of that other 57% of games sold are going to be 'E' rated or family games - that families play together at home. If only 12% of games sold in 2007 were shooters, that leaves a whopping 88% of games that are NOT shooters - and those will probably also be played at home. Games like one-player adventure games, puzzle or action games, you don't really need to go to a LAN center to play. I do carry some of the one or two player games, but I like to emphasize the BIG multi-player games, the kinds of games that 10, 12, or even 16 people can play at the same time!

As it turns out, few games besides shooting games support 16 players at a time. I think I'll write another blog about why shooting games are so entertaining, especially in a multi-player environment. But, for what it's worth, there is my answer for why someone like me, that's actually opposed to violence, carries so many shooting games in my game center. Thanks for reading!

Welcome Virtual Arena Gamers!

Here it is, in all its generic glory, the place for fellow Arena Gamers to hang out and discuss our favorite hobby: video games!

The website, I feel, should be more objective and informative. I sometimes interject my opinions in about certain games, but for the most part, I like to keep my opinions off the website.

So, if you really want to know what I think about gaming, check out my blog!

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the growth of the industry and how far its come since I was a little boy. So look forward to a deeper analysis soon!