Are the Gaming Industry's PR Wounds Self-Inflicted? |
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Jack Thompson is the one name that immediately brings to mind the public relations problems facing the gaming industry as a whole. Although most, if not all, of the negativity aimed at the industry comes from the uninitiated and ignorant, the too-cool-to-care attitude that many average Americans associate with the industry and gamers themselves does much to exacerbate the issue. By failing to adamantly reject these stereotypes, gamers have been cast by society at large as slackers, stoners, anti-social geeks and all-around burdens to society prone to Columbine style killing sprees. At best, the world sees gamers as aloof, aimless, nerds that talk funny.
A recent report in The New York Times touched briefly on the image of gaming. The article focused on how powerful forces behind the scenes are currently attempting to move, "beyond the boys in their bedrooms," to reach the mainstream masses. Unfortunately, the executives in charge of transforming the image of gaming are hardly the type of people that are capable of understanding and relating to "ordinary Americans."
At this year's Electronic Gaming Summit, an ultra-exclusive meeting of the most powerful 150 people in the industry, the topics discussed ranged from the death of E3 to methods for improving the image of the industry as it moves further into the mainstream. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of the EGS. This one is for the elite only.
It's a private (invitation only) event hosted by a marketing magnate at his vineyard in California to determine the fate of the industry, and it definitely is not meant for public consumption. In attendance were the heads of all of the major gaming companies, including: Peter Moore (Microsoft), Jack Trenton (Sony), and George Harrison (Nintendo).
Ziff Davis, head of the special interest media and publishing company that started the event, apparently believes that input from 150 rich, pampered executives is all that's necessary to lead the industry's charge to reach average Americans. We hope he's right, but the very fact that some of the top gaming executives on Earth believe that, "to run this business effectively there are really only 150 people that I need to deal with worldwide," points to a disconnection between industry insiders and the real world that will certainly hamper any image improvement efforts.
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Comments
1st post woo But anywho, why is this blogger so negative towards the gaming summit? Go start your own *****ing summit if you think you can do better, god I hate biased posters on QJ. Almost every post is biased in some way.
sounds good about the gaming summit i just hope that they dont atract wana be gamer posers
The point in this article is probably the best way to illustrate the main weakness of making E3 a smaller, more industry-heavy gaming convention. But in all honesty, I think I have to agree with a democratic movement in regards to E3. Select the best representatives for the job, and have them inform us of the industry standpoint. I doubt Joe-shmoe would know how to properly articulate industry information, so why give him a job that he's obviously not suited for?
I think folks are missing the point. I sincerely hope that Ziff is successful in helping to change the industry for the better. But, pointing out that I have doubts about his methods is not evidence of bias on my part, it's simply my opinion. Actually, I think that the industry's image is slowly improving on its own. And as technology continues to spread, the industry will continue moving closer to the mainstream regardless of industry efforts. #1 If you hate all the biased posters at QJ why not start a blog of your own! Freedom of speech and expression, that's what blogs are all about!
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