Virtuality

Well, I've been inspired by some blogs that I've been reading lately to talk about (yep, you've guessed it) video games! At least a little bit about the history of video games anyway.

The earliest example of anything remotely like a video game was produced in 1947, and used a screen similar to that of a radar to simulate the effect of playing tennis. Arcade games came more into fashion in the 70s, especially with the release of Atari's "Pong".

Video games have never been flawless and people have always managed to hack into the system of them to cheat in the game (maybe by giving themselves unlimited lives or money). Games also have technical glitches also built into them (although not deliberately) that can sometimes affect the mode and method of play. The most recent example I can think of is in Okami, where little green arrows come above people's heads if they have some good info. But on one of these people, you can't do anything and he just says the same thing over and over even if you complete the task. Annoying, but not threatening.

The age group of video games now is expanding, apparently. More people between the ages of 25 and 40 are playing them, and more women are inclined to play thanks to the release of platforms such as the Wii. It has also been said that multiplayer gaming is a good way to build up social skills and teamwork. Massive online multiplayer games also allow the player to interact with lots of different people from all over the world.

So I guess the video game has always been popular but now more and more people are playing. I wonder just how many people out there actually own the latest consoles.