(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

Someone in worldofwarcraft posted this morning about a dream in which President Bush makes a PR appearance in one of the high-level sections of the game, pulling mobs like a newb and nearly causing a wipe.

A significant portion of the population plays online computer games like World of Warcraft -- and it seems likely that this portion will grow even larger. If the online gaming population continues to explode, how soon do you think it will be that politicians will actually feel compelled to make PR appearances in gaming universes of this sort? Or will the growth in the gaming population level off before it reaches that point?

Comments

[mlfoley.livejournal.com]

I can only imagine the warm reception Bush would get on WoW.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah. :-/

I'd love to see the reaction Chuck Norris would get though.

[mlfoley.livejournal.com]

Even as a lvl 1 character, Chuck Norris could kick the ass of level 12 characters and enemies. Everyone would want him on their team. But Chuck Norris works alone.

[zensandy.livejournal.com]

First, I think the politicians would consider which types of games voters play. Because people who don't vote, don't count in their minds.

[amokk]

How do we know it's a significant portion?

Also, we barely got over the majority voting in the last presidential election, why would they suddenly care about a population that probably a majority is under the voting age anyway?

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Blizzard reports having between five and six million accounts. Many of the other online games have similar enrollments; many of these overlap, but not entirely.

These are worldwide enrollments, but it would be concentrated of course in areas where people can afford broadband internet and the monthly fee.

It's a large enough portion of our population that there are people in the Third World who work full-time "farming" in WoW and other games. Many people in the US and Europe are willing to spend a few bucks to get 1000 "gold pieces," and this adds up to enough to support the farmers as comfortably as any other sweatshop work.

[amokk]

If WOW has 6 million worldwide, and other similar games have similar numbers, that puts it at, what, 60 million at most? There aren't that many MMORPGs that are as popular or populated as WOW.

So 60 million out of 6 billion? Again, how is this a significant population?

The US is almost 300 million, so if that was all in the US, then it'd be significant, but it's not. It's US, Canada, UK, Europe, Korea, and Japan primarily, I'm guessing off the top of my head. And a large portion is, as I said, under 18.

It's not significant, there will never be politicians seriously doing that sort of thing.

Now, maybe Screamin' Howard Dean, or maybe if Dennis Kucinich puts on his tinfoil hat and signs up, it might happen, but I don't see any serious candidate doing it.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Not today, of course. But these games are far more interesting and engaging than most of what's on television. Think about how many people play Playstation or XBox games, too; they're not yet quite the cultural icons that television has become, but video games are transforming youth culture. Eventually someone will come up with a massively multiplayer PS3 or XBox game (if it hasn't already been done). Television is already starting to become irrelevant because whole generations of young people are learning to expect a high level of interactivity in their entertainment. And the thing about young people is, they eventually get older and run the show.

[amokk]

Maybe, but therein lies the problem: not everyone wants more engaging entertainment than television.

The console systems have limitations on them that max out how "massively" their multiplayer experience can be, but that translates to better performance during the game.

Then again, the first "MMORPG" was on the Sega Saturn, really.

And yes, they get older and run the show, but that's not until they're no longer the youths of the country, by then there's new youths who are running the show. Think of the people in charge now: color television was the wave of the future and going to revolutionize the planet. The people coming into real power now? Free love was going to save humanity, man.

By the time those people get into power, the world's changed around them. By the time MMORPG players are "in charge", they'll be left in the dust by their children and grandchildren who wander around playing each other on the street with neural implants or something that have Bluetooth interfaces or something wild like that, and MMORPGs will be like Gunsmoke in the future, "you mean you got to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy."

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

By the time those people get into power, the world's changed around them.

Even so, for a while they will call the shots. I'm just wondering if iGeneration politicians will have to make speeches in front of the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind and have paid assistants who answer the public's IM inquiries.

[amokk]

I've never heard iGeneration used before. Interesting. I want a better generation label, dammit. I prefer "13th Generation" over Generation X or MTV Generation, though.

Anyway...

Yes, I do see them (hell, everyone in 20 years) having an internet publicist as much as a real-world one, having an IM and all that.

As far as WOW, I don't see that ever happening. But hey, I've been wrong before. ;)

[secret-willow.livejournal.com]

Second Life only has 260,218 residents in it. We get large names who come and give lectures there regularly. At this low a population we wont get politicians. We do get authors and techies. As these communities grow I can see how a politician may come join the masses in these types of game communities.

Community is the operative term. We dont just play games in these spaces. We share a lot more with one another. We build lasting life alliances with people and the idea that as these communities grow politians would come visit is no more far fetched than a president playing the sax on Saturday night live, at that is a Bizarre Concept.