Coming to a video
game console near you, an onslaught of new military-theme
shooting games — and they’re not all for children as game
publishers target a more mature audience. The popularity of
shooting games has been proven by Activision Blizzard’s
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2", which has raked in
more than $1 billion worldwide and counting. Sony Computer
Entertainment America is the latest game publisher to target
this genre with "MAG," or Massive Action Game, and
throws 256 players — the largest multi-player experience for a
video game — into a global oil crisis. Gamers can chose to
work for one of three competing private military companies and
battle alongside and against other player-controlled avatars in
real-world locations. "I think what we have done
differently... is that we’ve created real cause and effect
within the many different objectives and sub-objectives that
have to be done to win the war, just like a real
battlefield," said Brian Soderberg, president and
co-founder of Zipper Interactive, "MAG"
developer.With Sony seeing strong hardware sales in 2009,
"MAG" is one of the game maker’s key exclusive
offerings for 2010 with its sights set squarely at the lifeblood
of the game industry.
"The core audience of shooter games
remains 13 to 34-year-old males, who make up more than 60 per
cent of the total audience, but the genre has broadened its
appeal in the recent years with popular titles such as
"Call of Duty" and "Halo,"" said
Michael Cai, vice-president of video game research at
Interpret.
"Older men and even women gamers have latched
on to the genre. A big part of the growing popularity of
shooting games can be attributed to online multi-player
functionalities."
That plays right into the core gameplay
of "MAG," which uses Sony’s PlayStation Network to
offer free online gaming for this teen-rated
game.
"What’s amazing about "MAG" is that
everything that’s happening, all the explosions around you and
the air strikes that come in, are the result of real people
playing in this game world," said Russ Phillips, studio art
director, Zipper Interactive.
Electronic Arts has a pair of
modern military shooter sequels with "Army of Two: The 40th
Day" and "Battlefield: Bad Company 2." The
company is also re-launching its World War II "Medal of
Honour" franchise in the current-day Afghanistan and aiming
it at a mature audience.
"Parents and those buying games
for kids should realise that video games are no longer toys for
children," said Mike Snider, videogame reporter for USA
Today. "The average age of a person playing video games
is 35 and many games released target adults, just as films such
as Inglorious Basterds and The Hurt Locker are
meant for adults."
Gary Witta, a former game developer,
who wrote Warner Bros. Pictures R-rated $38.4-million hit
"The Book of Eli," believes it’s only a matter of
time before the mainstream media accepts that video games are no
longer made just for kids. "People are used to the concept
of an A-rated movie with violence, language and sexuality
because the film industry has been around a lot longer than
videogames," said Whitta. "The video game medium has
evolved and matured to where games like "Modern Warfare
2" and "Halo" are made primarily for mature
audiences."
Kamy Akhavan, managing editor at ProCon.org,
said while sales of video games have quadrupled from 1995 to
2008, the arrest rate for juvenile murders fell 71.9 per cent
and the arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes declined
49.3 per cent in that period.
"It seems fair for parents
to argue that their kids shouldn’t play those games, but it
also seems fair to argue that those games have not caused our
society to become more violent," said Akhavan.
—
Reuters Life!
