GTA made me do it

Many sober then drunken conclusions were come to tonight, but here're mine because I can't remember anyone else's. Classy eh?

1. Gender is not (is no longer) an issue. Differences are cultural, or maybe age-based, but the kids, the kids couldn't give a crap about gender. Anything boys can do, girls can do too (not "better", just "too"). And vice versa. Everyone - including the blokes - agreed that Action Man is just a dolly, as Pimp My Ride is Dressing Up, or that the games girls play with dollies are as violent as any others you can think of, and that most boys would love to wear skirts..

[hello Scotland!]

2. Perhaps there are gender differences around realism in games: maybe violence appeals less when it's more realistic.  But again, maybe that's cultural: Japanese game design is all about the fantasy, whereas American game design is all about the reality. Curious?

3. Girls play games. Really, a lot. Boys do too. It's the marketing messages that are mostly antiquated and - ? - maybe mythical? Maybe we all believe the hype that games are all about violence and shooting and boys? And yet a cursory think produces  Beyond Good And Evil, Katamari Damacy, King's Quest, The Hobbit, The Sims, Monkey Island, Rachet and Cla-.. ok I stop, the list is endless. There's no lack of appealing content out there (although that's not to say there couldn't be more). EA's Sims2 marketing proved a hell of a lot -  anyone under the age of 15 has no problem whatsover with gaming. I wonder who will be the first to try out a different type of magazine reporting on gaming, magazines and media being the place where myths are perpetrated and preserved?

4. The GTA furore is happening in the US only, really. The rest of the world is pretty oblivious to this hot coffee stuff, still innocently believing it to be merely a well-timed Starbucks. But where it is happening, you can be sure that the adults are freaking, and the kids are LOVING it. It's rock and roll, updated. Meanwhile, a tenner says Rockstar's fortunes just go up - as do those of the rest of the industry.

5. Playing games is part of your identity, and girls sometimes have a problem with the baggage associated with the term 'gamer'. I may wear a wristband saying it, but I'm aged. The kids, they want to play, but they don't want to be a gamer, a gamer is someone probably around 28 years old, or worse, more. Ewww. Bor-ring.

Room service just arrived. That's me done. Roll on tomorrow.

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sanandreas