Phoenix Down Under: The Passion of the Gamer

What is it about video games that attract such devotion from fans?

Midnight showings may happen in cinemas for triple A titles as well as games, but most movie watchers don't spend a lot of time on the internet speculating and soaking up as much information as they can. Neither do they often insult strangers and speculate on internet forums, but then again, I've never met many truly die-hard film buffs.

The question is then, do video games really attract such attention from fans, and why is this different to movies, tv shows, books or... anything else?

The medium itself is important to consider. It's new and exciting, baby, and it's here to stay. Now worth umpteen billion dollars - even in the nineties. What sets it apart from other mediums perhaps, is of course the interactivity. It's the first ever method of story-telling that involves user input, unless you count those Goosebumps books where you got to choose your path.

This can, has, and will lead to amazing experiences being created by utilising this unique aspect of video games. Of course, most die-hard Call of Duty fans aren't lining up in their pyjamas so they can have a life-changing epiphany. Most games don't provide such a thing (however, that's beginning to change), so it can't just be that.

It must be the fact that video games are inherently more interesting, at least pre-release. There is more speculation on a new World of Warcraft expansion than on, say, a new movie that's based on a book (because we all know most of them are.) There's excitement to be gained from guessing what you'll be able to do in an exciting new title.

Equally important is that geeks love to fantasise. Watching Superman kick the crap out of bad guys is all good and well, but the anticipation of being Superman as you kick the crap out of bad guys, and imagine the faces of your high school bullies on them is all the better. Movies can't quite give you that same experience.

So basically the point is, video games are wacky, exciting, and relatively new. There are a whole bunch of unexplored concepts and stories waiting to be told through the eyes of a disgruntled postman or something. Being able to see things through his eyes and empathise because of it... now that is awesome, and I'm excited about that. Not so much the postman idea itself, that sounds boring, but you get the idea. Cowboys on the moon, war veterans, small critters from Mars - interactivity can create wonderful stories and give moments of self-reflection. Mass Effect 2 comes to mind.

Of course, most gamers just have a rabid desire to shoot things.