Are video games more popular than ever?
With everything going on, everyone deserves a break from real life. Something to distract us from the miserable everyday life. One of these past times has been video games. I have a unique history when it comes to this topic. As a kid, I did like playing video games that much.
My parents got me a used Wii for one birthday and a PSP for another one. I could not bring myself to play it much. It seemed like a strange hobby. Something that could not possibly be for me. I was also bad at playing video games. I still used my Wii or PSP from time to time, but I preferred to watch cartoons.
Playing video games seemed so immature. Yes, I was someone who watched cartoons as a teenager (and still do as an adult), yet I was afraid of video games being too immature. At the time, I did not know much about video games. So, I did not want to learn about it. Yes, I am aware that this chain of logic is dumb.
In my defense, video games seemed very expensive to me as a kid. I did not want my spending so much on a toy for me. Ha! So, I did have smarter reasons to not become a video game fan.
In college, I got curious about video games. I cannot remember why. As an impulse buy, I brought a 3ds. I still did not play with it much. Until one faithful day, when I was really bored, I decided to finally play more with my 3ds. I became hooked.
Now, I have a 3ds collection with ten games, a used Xbox 360 with twelve games, and a steam account with twelve games. It is safe to say I am a video game fan. You might be wondering why I gave a detailed description of how I got into this hobby.
Well, I have been curious about why video games are so popular nowadays. Yeah, I know for most people don’t have my same experiences, but it is still a bit strange how many video game fans there are. I know that video games are fun, but they are not an easy pastime to get into.
Like mentioned before, video games are expensive. There are so many different genres and consoles for games. It can difficult to know which game to play first or if it is for you. Many of them also have a learning curve to master. Looking from the outside, all of it might seem intimidating. So, why are so many people attracted to playing these games?
Well, part of it might be that video game companies know how to advertise their products much better these days. However, there also might be other reasons. After thinking about it, I may have nailed it down to three reasons.
- Playing video games offers a form of “escapism” that is different from watching movies or television shows. Movies and television shows are fun to watch. They tell stories that can make us feel emotions like sadness to happiness. Video games can do that as well. In addition, they can do that while letting you control a character in the story. This adds another element to emersion that allows you to feel like you really have an impact on what is going on.
- It appeals to our desire for control. Life can be hard. Good things do not happen very often. One mistake can bring you a whole lot of problems. It is a mess. There are times when you are just trying to live your life normal. But, something goes wrong. Sometimes, it can feel like you have no control over your life. However, playing in a virtual world is different. Even though it is fake, you have more control in this world. If you make a mistake, you can just restart the challenge. You can do it as many times as you want. On top of that, there are no consequences to your real self. You are not going to go into debt or end up in the hospital in real life if you lose a video game.
- It makes us feel like we are important. In this virtual world, you often play as the hero or villain of the story. By beating the game, you are the one who defeated the antagonist. You feel like you are making a difference in this world. This is especially true in multiplayer games. When playing these games, you feel like you are an important part of not only a virtual world. You also feel like you are part of a community of players all around the world.
For the reasons stated, gaming is very popular. It is a great way to “escape” the real world. Gaming allows us to satisfy certain psychological needs, such as competency and autonomy. Most importantly, this pastime is fun. Thank you for reading!
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