2-bit executives
June 13, 2003 1:34 AM   Subscribe

Video Gaming: it's a Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb Industry.
posted by Pretty_Generic (12 comments total)
 
I don't think it's that dumb. I mean, compared to the "Internet industry", it's Einstein squared.

This was sort of "discussed" on games.slashdot before, though that was posted before the complete list. I do agree with their number one, though I'd argue with some of their lower picks. I'd have ranked the whole Atari ET fiasco a little higher.
posted by mkn at 1:51 AM on June 13, 2003


I've "played" ET on Atari, and that's all I have to say about that.
posted by cohappy at 2:04 AM on June 13, 2003


I would have had "Duke Nukem Whenever" pegged a little higher as well. Top 5 at least.
posted by arha at 5:01 AM on June 13, 2003


A little corner store video and game rental place where I used to live had the Tengen version of Tetris. I so should have stolen it.
posted by Space Coyote at 5:05 AM on June 13, 2003


And so are the players. (Courtesy of B3ta)
posted by Mo Nickels at 6:48 AM on June 13, 2003


Yaeth, Gord is great.
posted by GrahamVM at 6:54 AM on June 13, 2003


Speaking as an employee of a major game company, I can say without a doubt that this is the stupidest industry I've ever worked in...and I used to work in the "Internet industry" before this. Foul-ups like these aren't the deviation from the norm, they ARE the norm.
posted by 40 Watt at 7:47 AM on June 13, 2003


the gord reminds me of the comic book guy from the simpsons but with games instead of comic books.
posted by joedan at 8:12 AM on June 13, 2003


Made me nostalgic, though. I had an Intellivision and an Atari 5200 among others. Seeing those game console shots and identifying with the anticlimatic burst of multimedia took me back to the good ol' days.

Anyone remember "Robot Attack" on the TRS-80?
posted by TeamBilly at 10:23 AM on June 13, 2003


I see this more or less as an example of shoddy gaming journalism that is more of the norm. There's plenty of stupidity to go around in the world. The game industry tends to come from a less mature standpoint because of the higher level of teenage involvement.

Anyway, from the list they don't even stick with the stupidity of the game industry.
#20 is more a matter of MCA's greed than any stupidity from Nintendo.
#19 ignores the fact that NEMO was just a poor version of laser-disc games that brought such things as Dragon's Lair. Innovation is a good idea, but it doesn't always pan out. It's more stupid to not try.
#18 Try incompetence, not stupidity. They have a popular character on their hands, but can't cut the mustard anymore because they don't have competent/productive developers on the payroll.
#17 It's greed out of control. It's stupid only if it doesn't sell. Pandering to teenager boys, "How Stupid!" and creating more controversy with Dave Mirra was just another gamble. The only stupidity was to not see it through in the actually game.
#16 Beef up you list! Hardware design blunders can be found everywhere. Sell me on something else. This should be bundled with the Sega controller one.
#15 Greed competitiveness or stupidity? Just like #20.

As the list goes on it's more about greed, ego, and failed innovation than stupidity.

I don't understand the incessant desire to ridicule developers for trying out so many new things. The gaming industry could be called stupid for all the strange and abandoned hardware it churned out, but it could also be considered the most innovative and brave. Maybe it's novel for them to break from the drooling over the next big thing to laugh at all the past big things that weren't.

I mean, the history of the game industry is full of interesting ups and downs, successes and failures. This list doesn't do it justice. Maybe a highlight piece should be made about how much stupider the game journalists are. Like how they never saw Deer Hunter coming. There's some stiff competition for stupidity here.
posted by john at 2:33 PM on June 13, 2003


You must admit, though, joedan, that the stories really are about complete idiots. Or at the least ridiculous naifs.
posted by kavasa at 2:44 PM on June 13, 2003


"$299"

Best E3 keynote speech. Ever.
posted by WolfDaddy at 4:26 PM on June 13, 2003


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