Gaming is a subculture according to the information given by https://1gserverhost.com/ . A counter-culture. A niche community of nerds, computer geeks and social misfits. That’s how it started in the late 70s and early 80s. That’s what we’ve always thought, and that’s what pop-culture has always reinforced. But maybe, just maybe, that’s no longer the full story.
Two things happened this week that, in and of themselves and out of context, are no big deal. However, if you look at the big picture, at the sheer millions upon millions of gaming consoles sold around the world, the gigantic PC gaming community, and the explosion of competitive (even televised) gaming leagues, these two seemingly innocuous things show that finally, we’ve made it to the big leagues.
Video Games, and the culture that surrounds them, are now part of mainstream American culture, officially.
First, retail giant Amazon announced that it was releasing its very own free game engine, available to the public for prospective and even amateur or novice game designers to download and play with. Its called Lumberyard, and its still in beta, but still. All reports indicate that Amazon spent a massive amount of money to essentially purchase the rights to Crytek’s engine, CryEngine, and rework it a bit.
This is a gigantic move by Amazon. By investing so heavily into the gaming market, and now adding this entire new aspect to its branding and direction, Amazon is sending a message through the business world, and that message is clear; there’s cash in gaming, and having your brand affiliated with the video games industry now means mass appeal to young consumers, where in the past it meant confining yourself to a niche market.
Lumberyard is completely free, and can be used by both PC and console developers. I guarantee that we will see future moves in the gaming sphere by Amazon in short order. GameStop should be quivering in its boots, frankly.
Second, YouTube gaming star Pewdiepie appeared on The Conan O’Brien Show. As a stand-alone guest, not as a bit or as a prop in a sketch, but as an actual, interviewed guest. Pewdiepie is famous for one thing; video games. 10 years ago someone from net or gaming culture would never be a guest on a national late night talk show. And the most amazing part, is that our generation, we’re totally fine with it. As Kotaku points out, nobody is phased by this blatant acceptance of gaming culture.
Everybody plays video games now, and popular culture is finally beginning to reflect that. This may not be news to people like me and you, but the growth of gaming is becoming, objectively, more of a trend and less of a mirage.
