Reading time: 4 - 6 minutes
Video Time: 45 minutes 27 seconds
NOTE: To watch the full program, you’ve got to unfortunately click on “View Full Program” to the right of the volume control in the video. It seems like they’ve got their codes mixed up a bit. 
It’s my turn to take control of the entrepreneurship stories for a week and I’m going to talk about what’s near and dear to my heart and that is video games. Now you might be thinking, “Video games? Those things are for kids.” Yes, some video games are geared towards kids, but researchers at Pew Internet & American Life Project report in their study, Adults and Video Games that a whopping 53% of adults and 97% of teens play video games. Combine that data with the increasing popularity of video games in today’s pop culture and it’s easy to see that video games, if done correctly, can be an effective tool for entrepreneurs. In my series entitled, Gaming to Success, I will highlight how video games can inspire individuals to reach their life’s goal.
We kick things off with a look at video game journalists and the struggles they face when reporting the news. The journalists on this panel consist of N’Gai Croal (@ncroal on Twitter), General Editor of Newsweek; Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley on Twitter), executive producer of GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley; Seth Schiesel, reporter for the New York Times; Mike Snider (@MikeSnider on Twitter) reporter for USA Today; and Ted Price, President and CEO of Insomniac Games, as moderator. Now the reason I listed off their names with their positions was to make a point. These guys aren’t sweaty pimply nerds living in the basement of their parent’s homes wasting their lives away. No, these are prominent figures in their respective fields of gaming and journalism.
One of the main topics that bounced around during their session was the stereotyping of people who play video games. Seth made a great point when he said people who play video games are labeled as gamers, but people who watch TV are just regular people, they’re not called TV watchers. The idea that people who play games are somehow different or need to be set apart from mainstream culture is what perpetuates the negative connotation of gaming. Up until I watched this video, I called myself a gamer and now I feel kind of stupid knowing that every time I used that term I helped perpetuate aspects of the stereotype.
The panel agreed that an increasing number of people want more information about video games. Their readers want to know what to expect when they buy a game or want to know how the gaming industry affects today’s culture. I could talk on and on about the subject, but I’m going let the video talk for itself. Here are some key points that I found most interesting or relevant to entrepreneurs:
- Defining the role of a video game journalist, do they just review games or can they do more?
- The stigma surrounding gaming and redefining the term gaming.
- The interaction between gaming culture with mainstream culture.
- How the Internet is changing the face of journalism.
- Job stability in a constantly changing job field.
- Video games as its own separate media
- The surprising popularity of video games.
- Lessons in marketing, market penetration and word-of-mouth-marketing
Hope you enjoy this weeks series. Happy learning and Game On!
