extreme gamedropping

I have a very complex relationship when it comes to big media and gaming. On one hand, I'm pretty happy when an event like the upcoming release of Sony's PSP makes it onto the morning news, because for a split second it's like they're talking to me. But then I quickly realize that they're only repeating what everyone else is saying, information that the hardcore have known for months. It's like the news is posing for a second as an institution that's in the know. "We've got the finger on the pulse - not up our filthy asses." That would explain why Future Shop changed their front page to reflect the impending "Gaming Revolution" and its $400 price tag. To even consider this as a grounded statement would be ridiculous, but I'm still going to offer up a suggestion: wouldn't it be "1 day until the gaming revolution"?

As such it's with great trepidation that I watch any television show featuring a plot that orbits around something to do with video games or game culture. They almost always get it wrong, and although Law and Order: SVU did a decent job of balancing both sides of the video game violence issue, it was still more or less a puff piece on what is "wrong" with this generation of media saturated youth.

In another random spate of TV watching on Monday I was surprised to see Tony Hawk playing a dead body on CSI: Miami. He was a video game tester for "eXtrem3 Skatepark" or something, but was also moonlighting as a stand in for the development studio's owner who claimed he did all the tricks shown in the game. Hawk was murdered by a fellow tester - after being beaten by his wife who thought his long work hours were actually infidelity - coyly enforcing the belief that video games foster a subculture with violent tendencies. What impressed me was the timeliness of their commentary on how game development studios operate: the game's lead programmer complained that he hadn't been home in 72 hours, while a tester pleaded for a simple glimpse of sunlight. Infused with the bitterness of ea_spouse, a scene showed the receptionist sending flowers with generic notes to the spouses or partners of the staff, attempting to salvage relationships strained by so much time at work.

I find it interesting that video games are becoming more of a setpiece for television shows to base stories on. Their accessibility has embedded them in popular culture, so it's only reasonable to expect this to happen. Though what surprises me is the frequency in which this is happening, as if the writers have nothing else to use to depict the lifestyles of modern youth.