Since the late 1950’s we have seen a complete transformation of the video game industry. As we learned from the documentary that we watched in class on Tuesday, the first video games were created largely from the creativity and curiosity of military engineers. The industry began in order for the engineers to have an outlet for their creativity and a diversion from the stresses of their jobs. These early games largely existed outside of the market as they were not created for profit, strictly for the enjoyment of those who created them.
The industry that we see today is completely different than the industry of the late 50’s and early 60’s. Today we see games such as Call of Duty and Madden that release a new title every year with very few changes to the gameplay. Games such as these two, as well as many others, are motivated primarily by profit margin rather than innovation and creativity. I think the reason that games like Call of Duty continue to break sales records without much innovation is because so many people enjoy their multiplayer online gameplay. Many people play online with a group of friends, so if a few of the people in the group get the new version of the game, the rest of the group will usually follow. This is because they will not get the same online experience if they do not get the new version. Their game experience will change not because there is a huge change in gameplay, it will change due to the simple fact that everyone will no longer play the older version and hence their online experience will suffer due to lack of competition online. Whether for better or worse, the video game industry has completely changed.