“All men dream – but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity… But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.” From T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom – Uncharted 3
Video games have found their entrée into just about every household today. Close to 65% of American adults play video games, whether through their phones, laptops, or gaming systems. When broken down, 60% of people are playing games on their smartphones, 52% at their personal computer, and 49% with a gaming household. Even more, about 75% of Americans have at least one gamer in their household.
To put the $152 billion a year market in context, that is larger than the annual revenue from movie box office and music, combined (Kevin Chou, Forte, 2020) Furthermore, 2.5 billion gamers across the world, means 1 in 3 people across the world, games.
Video games are no longer the exclusive strongholds of teenaged fanboys.
Rather, with the advent of smartphones and tablets and the “anywhere, anytime” accessibility they provide, gamers span generations – millennials and boomers alike take part in this digital interaction. And yes, boys, girls, men, women, alternative lifestyle, and more, play games on their smartphones, tablets. Not to mention contributing user-generated content or UGC.: videos, reviews and more.
HERE’S a TRIVIA QUESTION. What do Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, Jake Gyllenhaal and Milla Jovovich to Rami Malek, Sarah Silverman, John C. Riley, Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Rodriguez have in common?
The obvious answer is that they are all current and former Hollywood A-Listers past and present. The LESS OBVIOUS answer is that they have all starred in movies which had started out as video game franchises, loved and played by millions of gamers on a range of gaming devices.
And more amazingly, video games are as part of pop culture as music, sports, and movies. If you need any more convincing, just look at the following list of popular movies about video games:
- Tomb Raider (2018)
- Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)
- Warcraft (2016)
- Assassins Creed (2016)
- Angry Birds the Movie (2016)
- Rampage (2018)
- Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
- Hitman Agent 47 (2015)
- Need for Speed (2014)
- Prince of Persia (2010)
- Ready Player One (2018)
- Resident Evil Retribution (2012)
- Wreck It Ralph (2012)
- Doom (2005)
- Mortal Kombat (1995)
- Tomb Raider (2001)
- Street Fighter (1994)
As gamers, we are part of a large, thriving and rapidly growing community. Of fangirls, fanboys, athletes, streamers, developers, artists, and as many of us have already known for many many years, celebrities, actors, actresses, and musicians among us. Game On, Game Proud.
