Gamers

I had a chance over the past few weeks to see and hear some things with gamers as the central theme. That led me to wonder how many readers out there consider themselves gamers, or if not, what the opinion is of gamers.  Let me clarify. I consider myself a casual gamer.  I’ve had stretches where I spent hours in Asheron’s Call, City of Heroes or Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO).  Those are just the online ones.  I grew up on Zork, Bard’s Tale and Alternate Reality. I had a chance to catch two movies lately with the theme of life and thrills through others at the core.

First was the hyper-violent film, Gamer, which I picked up because I’m a huge Michael C. Hall (Dexter) fan, and my editor over at Horrorview gave it a positive review. Gamer focuses on a game called Slayers, where normal people (in this case a 17-year old punk) operate real-life convicts trying to kill each other and escape battles. If the convict survives 30 battles, he goes free, and Kable (Gerard Butler) is on the verge of becoming the first ever to do it. Slayers is a first-person shooter, with real-life people killing and dying to entertain their operators. Gamer is part Logan’s Run, part Halo, and a whole lotta Crank all rolled into one. It appeals to the fans of violence and quick action, with some very creative scenes and imagery.

Gamer Blu-Ray

The second movie I just re-visited was the Bruce Willis action flick, Surrogates. Surrogates doesn’t exactly target gaming, but rather living life with an artificial version of your self. Think Second Life with physical avatars instead of virtual ones. It’s the world where everyone can be anything they want, as long as they can afford it.  This all goes to hell once a weapon is created that can kill people through their surrogates. The film is based on a fantastic graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele.

So, Gaming, or game-themed ideas are enough to command millions of dollars in Hollywood budget. But what about music?

Many of our readers know that Division (www.division-usa.com) will be performing with HammerFall on March 5th at Jaxx Nightclub (Tickets available here). But, how many know that Powerglove is also part of the tour that kicks off that night? Powerglove is self-professed video game metal.

Powerglove

I have almost no idea what to expect from a band adorned in Koopa shells and accompanied by Piranha Plants on stage. I had to check out some live videos from them, and what I figured out is exactly what most people would expect.  These guys love what they do, they shred super fast, and their catalog includes covers of the Tetris song and the Power Rangers theme. They just wrapped up a tour with Dragonforce, which fits them perfectly.

If you wondered what ever became of those kids you went to high school with who would sit around at lunch and talk about Super Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog, they’re alive and well, and playing really, really fast video game metal. I’m looking forward to the entertainment.

The interactive entertainment business took in $11.7 Billion in 2008, and continues to grow.  A study in the mid-1990’s found Mario was more recognized worldwide than Mickey Mouse. Gamers drive technology, movies and music. Their tastes can change box office ratings, digital downloads and make or break careers.

So, are you a gamer?