The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association hosted a seminar all day yesterday called Media Meets Gaming which brought together broadcast executives and high-end games professionals in order to mutually understand whether the twain can ever successfully meet, on games industry terms.
Certainly the games execs seemed to think that a relationship was an elemental ingredient in the recipe towards mass market appeal, yet the TV folks brought a bit of doom and gloom to the proceedings, highlighting the indifference many commissioners feel towards the interactive medium. While not addressing some of the fundamental issues which plague and hinder computer games marketing, there were a few interesting points raised by the speakers. One of the major take-home ideas was the importance of games industry Stars.
Of course, by Stars they didn't mean extraneous folks who make their names on the periphery of the industry, reviewing, commentating and pontificating, they implied that these individuals should come from within, hewn from the same fabric as the games themselves.
While a Lara Croft and a Mario are as good for the younger generations as Mickey is useful for Disney, grown ups, argued Sean Dromgoole from Some Research, need a real-life individual who would symbiotically interact with them through the forces of the media. However, as Dromgoole pointed out, many of these (often) blokes who are the creative forces behind incredible game worlds got into gaming because they enjoyed the company of, well, themselves.
Would a brash and bright personality bring more people to games? It's hard to imagine Heat magazine covering the wayward antics of Peter Molyneux, creator of Black and White and the Populous series, or even industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto. Is this the best way to attract more people, or should makers continue to create compelling narrative, deep emotional involvement, and applications beyond the console?
