Are the Gaming Industry’s PR Wounds Self-Inflicted?

Jack Thompson is the one name that immediately brings to mind the public relations problems facing the gaming industry as a whole. Although most, if not all, of the negativity aimed at the industry comes from the uninitiated and ignorant, the too-cool-to-care attitude that many average Americans associate with the industry and gamers themselves does much to exacerbate the issue.

By failing to adamantly reject these stereotypes, gamers have been cast by society at large as slackers, stoners, anti-social geeks and all-around burdens to society prone to Columbine style killing sprees. At best, the world sees gamers as aloof, aimless, nerds that talk funny. 

A recent report in The New York Times touched briefly on the image of gaming. The article focused on how powerful forces behind the scenes are currently attempting to move, “beyond the boys in their bedrooms,” to reach the mainstream masses. Unfortunately, the executives in charge of transforming the image of gaming are hardly the type of people that are capable of understanding and relating to “ordinary Americans.”

At this year’s Electronic Gaming Summit, an ultra-exclusive meeting of the most powerful 150 people in the industry, the topics discussed ranged from the death of E3 to methods for improving the image of the industry as it moves further into the mainstream. Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of the EGS. This one is for the elite only.

It’s a private (invitation only) event hosted by a marketing magnate at his vineyard in California to determine the fate of the industry, and it definitely is not meant for public consumption. In attendance were the heads of all of the major gaming companies, including: Peter Moore (Microsoft), Jack Trenton (Sony), and George Harrison (Nintendo).

Ziff Davis, head of the special interest media and publishing company that started the event, apparently believes that input from 150 rich, pampered executives is all that’s necessary to lead the industry’s charge to reach average Americans. We hope he’s right, but the very fact that some of the top gaming executives on Earth believe that, “to run this business effectively there are really only 150 people that I need to deal with worldwide,” points to a disconnection between industry insiders and the real world that will certainly hamper any image improvement efforts.

Jack Thompson is the one name that immediately brings to mind the public relations problems facing the gaming industry as a whole. Although most, if not all, of the negativity aimed at the industry comes from the uninitiated and ignorant, the too-cool-to-care attitude that many average Americans associate with the industry and gamers themselves does much to exacerbate the issue.

By failing to adamantly reject these stereotypes, gamers have been cast by society at large as slackers, stoners, anti-social geeks and all-around burdens to society prone to Columbine style killing sprees. At best, the world sees gamers as aloof, aimless, nerds that talk funny. 

A recent report in The New York Times touched briefly on the image of gaming. The article focused on how powerful forces behind the scenes are currently attempting to move, “beyond the boys in their bedrooms,” to reach the mainstream masses. Unfortunately, the executives in charge of transforming the image of gaming are hardly the type of people that are capable of understanding and relating to “ordinary Americans.”

At this year’s Electronic Gaming Summit, an ultra-exclusive meeting of the most powerful 150 people in the industry, the topics discussed ranged from the death of E3 to methods for improving the image of the industry as it moves further into the mainstream. Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of the EGS. This one is for the elite only.

It’s a private (invitation only) event hosted by a marketing magnate at his vineyard in California to determine the fate of the industry, and it definitely is not meant for public consumption. In attendance were the heads of all of the major gaming companies, including: Peter Moore (Microsoft), Jack Trenton (Sony), and George Harrison (Nintendo).

Ziff Davis, head of the special interest media and publishing company that started the event, apparently believes that input from 150 rich, pampered executives is all that’s necessary to lead the industry’s charge to reach average Americans. We hope he’s right, but the very fact that some of the top gaming executives on Earth believe that, “to run this business effectively there are really only 150 people that I need to deal with worldwide,” points to a disconnection between industry insiders and the real world that will certainly hamper any image improvement efforts.