So I decided that at some point I wanted to get a box shot of AT2 "in the wild", as it were, so I dropped by a GameStop while I was out yesterday to fire off a quick candid snap.
Sadly, it was on the top shelf, so I couldn't really get a great picture. It does, however, do a pretty good job of capturing all that's disappointing about the gaming scene these days. I'm not arguing that there aren't some great, fun, innovative new games being released, or that the games industry has completely sold out to the lowest common denominator, or something. It's just a particularly unpleasant spread, all said and done. AT2, with its "revamped", super-sultry NA box cover specifically designed to grab the hormonal adolescent's attention, sitting next to: a compilation of a series of racing games famed for their emphasis on reckless driving and spectacular, explosive crashes; the "Worlds (sic) Number 1 Hunting Games" (a double dose of macho, clearly: nothing like blatant disregard for the sanctity of life and the sanctity of grammar all in one package!); and a display box crudely enticing you to "cash in on your past conquests". Never before have I seen such a comprehensive example of how certain sectors of the games industry love to sell the idea back to gamers that they should think with their testosterone (because only men game, of course), not with their heads.
I'm not saying all of the things seen here are bad, and I don't think any of them are deliberately placed, or anything. The "cash in on your past conquests" boxes are all over the place, though that doesn't make them any more revolting (and the positioning next to AT2 is unfortunate); they're a slur against responsible relationship practice (and, given the male-targeted nature of most games advertising, almost certainly a slur against women) and a slur against seeing videogames as anything more than "conquests" all at the same time. (What happened to the idea that both one's relationship with a person and one's relationship with a videogame are precious things to treasure and carefully uphold, not to merely "trade in" the minute something new comes along?) And I admit to having played some of the Burnout games, and they're mindless fun in a cathartic sort of way; I don't think they're horribly amoral, or anything, especially since the emphasis is on blowing up machines and enjoying the explosive fallout, not thinking of them as containing actual people. Just, like I said, it's a sad spread. And I didn't really notice until I looked at the picture at home. It's an interesting snapshot to have captured of a certain trend in gaming in 2009, I guess.
Letra - Eldharia ~Inori Saku Mori~
2 months ago
6 comments:
(To OpenID the first time I tried to coment on this: No, this isn't a duplicate action, because it's the first action of the sort I've done today... x.x )
Looks like they've got their games in alphabetical order. `.` I don't know if I'd consider looking at the PS2 section that representative though, given how late in the system's life cycle it is.
As for the display boxes... I really don't think they've thought it that far through. (It'd seem pretty stupid on their part if they did interpret it that way. For one reason or another, women seem to be a big part of their *market* at least...)
The "cash in on your past conquests" boxes are [...] a slur against responsible relationship practice
Conquests relate to relationships? ... Relationships aren't a goal, though. They're ongoing things that happen for as long as you still want them to happen. And if you no longer want them, that doesn't necessarily mean you've conquered or won anything.
Games, though... Most games do have some kind of goal. Even kinetic novels have the goal of instilling enough patience within you to read through the whole story! But that's the game's goal, and not your goal... Oh. Actually. RPGs and other stories that make you think about what its themes mean to you also have a goal of affecting the reader. So maybe you're the one being conquered, rather than the other way around.
I'm sorry to say that I have a bad habit of leaving once I feel like I've done enough or once there's nothing more I can do, both with games and other situations, but I'm not sure that's considered conquest, either... A lot more people would be conquerors if getting bored is all it took.
I think conquest is much more about considering others as trophies or prizes to have "won" than drifting away from a situation over time. And conquest is definitely a term that's used by certain groups of people in regards to relationships: calling a girlfriend or a boyfriend (usually a girlfriend, being how we're still entrenched in sexism here in 2009) a "conquest", something conquered and gained, is still a pretty common joke.
Yeah... The idea that a game is something to be used up and then thrown away, or, as GameStop wants you to think of it, recycled for a fee-- like bringing in glass bottles for a 5 cent deposit-- is really sad when you tend to look at games as works of art.
And ditto; I've heard "conquest" as a swaggering macho brag about women as well.
And conquest is definitely a term that's used by certain groups of people in regards to relationships: calling a girlfriend or a boyfriend a "conquest", something conquered and gained, is still a pretty common joke.
... I can imagine that. It's good to find that one is proud of someone else, but when that pride has nothing to do with them, and everything to do with oneself...
It's the same kind of negativity as a parent who loves a child only as long as that child's achievements continue to impress relatives and associates so that the parent gets praised.
Managers at work may think the same way. I've read that no matter what a job description says, one's primary responsibility is always to make the boss look good.
The idea that a game is something to be used up and then thrown away, or, as GameStop wants you to think of it, recycled for a fee
Recycled? Not even resold as second-hand discounted items?
"We'll love you just the way you are if you're perfect." I like that Alanis Morrisette quote.
As for "recycled", although GameStop is reselling the games, it seems to be treating it with an attitude more like that of recycling old tin cans. It's not written in the tone of "resell your games when they're old and worn out"; it's more like "cash in on this junk".
Post a Comment