Next Generation recently posted an interesting piece where they talked to a variety of people and asked them where gaming would be in 12 years. For me this is one of those questions that can never be rightfully answered, but only hypothesized. For instance, think about how much gaming has evolved in the last 12 years. It seems like ions ago that Mario was vaulting over flat tortoises instead of his galaxy hopping he does now. As unpredictable the future for gaming is, the question of it’s role in the future is interesting to discuss.
It was an interesting choice for Next Generation to talk to Peter Moore, head of EA Sports. Moore captured a lot of attention when he resigned from his position at Microsoft to take up his new job at EA. Here is what Peter Moore had to say about gaming in the future:
“Games have a key role to play in health and wellness. People will be able to do things with games in their own houses that they just can’t do at the gym. And it’s not just about making yourself stronger and healthier but also smarter and happier. Games have the power to make people happy and to make the world a better place,. And I do mean the world, because we are now opening up massive new markets like China and India that will bring billions of gamers.“
I think the most important thing he touched on was how gaming makes people “smarter and happier.” They tend to be a stress reliever for most gamers (and a stress causer for some), and an escape from the hectic everyday norm. I don’t think anyone disputes any of those claims, except for the gaming making you “smarter” one. It is a known fact, a happier person is a healthier person. If gaming can provide that joy and entertainment, then it can make people’s lives better, and thus the world better, even if it is bit by bit.
I think the important thing that has to happen to gaming in the future is to branch out even more than it is now. Gaming will evolve, as will it’s definition. In the past gamers were the few and scarce people with the money and willingness to explore technology. Nowadays a gamer is anyone and everyone. It is harder to find something who hasn’t ever played videogames now. In the future, I think the boundaries that now define gaming need to be broken down. There will be a wider variety of interactive electronics that anyone can enjoy. The steps are already in place for that now with efforts by Nintendo to turn the Wii into an exercise machine just as much as it is a first person shooter or any other genre supporter. Other titles like Guitar Hero are attracting people who would never (and still never) call themselves “gamers.” Those people are just dipping their toes in the water to see how things feel.
As technology spreads, so will gaming. If gaming can reach out to more people and make more people happier then it could have a powerful effect on the future, one that extends beyond pixel counts and online multiplayer.
