Where's the young male demographic? Gaming.

The question asked last year about tv and movie viewers: Where's the young

Ken from Chicago...

They still make turn-based games so you don't have to have twitchy reflexes
or just shoot everything, but actually THINK and winning requires STRATEGY.

Ken from Chicago...

I got tired of them making the crimes ever-increasingly bizarre and
increasing the power of the forensics technicians doing police detective
work.

male demographic? BEHOLD! Here is where they are:

E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)--Well, in mind if not in body, since it's
closed to the public. It is *the* annual event for video game companies to
debut new games. However tons of news about it have released online:

And on cable as G4TV actually remembers what the "G" in its name stands for.
Even the mainstream news channels, CNN, MSNBC and Fox, are covering it. And
for those who think of video games as Pac-Man, Space Invaders or Pong, ...
things have developed, a wee bit:

ASSASSIN'S CREED, GOD OF WAR 2, HALO 3, METAL GEAR SOLID 4, CALL OF DUTY 3,
FINAL FANTASY XIII (yes, "XIII" as in the 13th sequel, as video games have
gone big time, like Hollywood, they see the value in sequels), GEARS OF WAR,
HEAVEN SWORD, LOST PLANET, etc. display graphics that, if you squint just a

Ken from Chicago...

Depends on the videogame, and how new it is. GUILD WARS I played hours,
nightly, for a week, then eased back as the newness wore off. Same with
GUILD WARS FACTIONS, FREEDOM FORCE, FREEDOM FORCE VS THE THIRD REICH,
TRACKMANIA, DUNGEON SEIGE, DUNGEON SIEGE II, PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF
TIME, etc.

videonovels...

I guess you like games better than I. A game has not grabbed 100% of
my attention since Final Fantasy 10 (awesome story... sad too... made
me cry). Otherwise, I get bored & turn on the television.

Vice-versa, I often switch off the ps2 or gamecube, so I can focus my
full attention on the latest episode of 24, or west wing, or a new
movie dvd.

Ken from Chicago...

I'm just the opposite. It's the rare tv show that garners my full attention
where I turn aside from a game or the computer.

Derek Janssen...

Uh....you have a DVD player, and you *still* tune into someone else's
airings of "24" and "West Wing" when networks feel like showing them to
you?

(I mean, "24"!, fer cryin' out loud!--You DO know it's going to be on
silver before the first season-finale commercial's even cold, don't
you?...Sheesh!)

videonovels...

Yeah but why should I pay ~$50 to watch Day 5, when I saw it for FREE?
Adding all my favorite series together (ww,24,veronica,smallville) ---
why should I pay ~$200 to buy those dvds, when I can watch them free?

To quote you: "Sheesh!"

What a gigantic waste'o'money if I followed your advice.

Derek Janssen (that's just WEIRD! 0_0 )
ejanss@comcast.net

wee bit, rival tv.

In part this is due to a new "generation" of game consoles debuting within
six months (before and after). Moreover racing simulations, GRAN TURISMO 4,
FORMULA 1, TEST DRIVER 5, etc., have it even easier since they model cars
while people, faces and skin tend to be the hardest things to animate
realistically.

Thus, like bright, shiny gadgets, the new "generation" of games are drawing
in the young male. Sure, some tv and movie producers opt for the if you
can't beat em, license em approach to get a cut of the video game revenue,
but for other producers, video games are an increasing pain in the back.

However all is not gloom and doom for the creators of tv and movies. There
is a silver lining. With the increased production values of video games,
there has been a price: Game time. Games that used to average 20-30 hours in
length for single-player mode, have recently plummetted to about 10-15
hours. Now that's still a season of half-hour shows or all 3 sweeps periods
for hour-long shows. It's also a weekend of free time that cancels out going
to the movies--unless you go Friday evening.