Time: Halo players are hardcore geeks in own invisible ghetto

Hardcore gamers belong to an invisible subculture in America made of enthusiasts who love games with a lonely, alienated, unironic passion. Or at least, that’s what you’ll find out from a Time Magazine article with Bungie Studios‘ upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo 3 on its cover.

To be fair, the article gave praise to Halo for its story “worthy of note.” Master Chief‘s exploits are defined as “rich and complicated in ways that we’re not used to in video games.” Since our Spartan guy isn’t Donkey Kong or an Italian plumber trying to save his girlfriend, he’s deep – enigmatic supersoldier guy behind a mask and battle armor kind of deep.

Such a bad-ass video game character managed to have his own following of fans, and Bungie’s office is considered by Time as one of his followers’ temples. Those who dwell in Master Chief’s universe were considered “hard-core.”

Even before the third installment’s release, Halo 3 is expected to be the premier example of video games as art form with genuine emotional meaning. That art though, is “not shared by the world at large.” Mainstream media still enjoys its Harry Potter and Star Wars, while Halo gamers are left in their so-called ghetto.

As Time Magazine’s writer sees it, Bungie Studios is yet to break out of its “invisible geek ghetto” to join the popular kids. Master Chief is not considered mainstream yet, and Bungie hasn’t legitimized Halo by associating it with more “respectable” media. To stress this point, the writer said that “It’s doubtful that many people reading this could say exactly, or even approximately, what the Halo games are about.”

Hardcore gamers belong to an invisible subculture in America made of enthusiasts who love games with a lonely, alienated, unironic passion. Or at least, that’s what you’ll find out from a Time Magazine article with Bungie Studios‘ upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo 3 on its cover.

To be fair, the article gave praise to Halo for its story “worthy of note.” Master Chief‘s exploits are defined as “rich and complicated in ways that we’re not used to in video games.” Since our Spartan guy isn’t Donkey Kong or an Italian plumber trying to save his girlfriend, he’s deep – enigmatic supersoldier guy behind a mask and battle armor kind of deep.

Such a bad-ass video game character managed to have his own following of fans, and Bungie’s office is considered by Time as one of his followers’ temples. Those who dwell in Master Chief’s universe were considered “hard-core.”

Even before the third installment’s release, Halo 3 is expected to be the premier example of video games as art form with genuine emotional meaning. That art though, is “not shared by the world at large.” Mainstream media still enjoys its Harry Potter and Star Wars, while Halo gamers are left in their so-called ghetto.

As Time Magazine’s writer sees it, Bungie Studios is yet to break out of its “invisible geek ghetto” to join the popular kids. Master Chief is not considered mainstream yet, and Bungie hasn’t legitimized Halo by associating it with more “respectable” media. To stress this point, the writer said that “It’s doubtful that many people reading this could say exactly, or even approximately, what the Halo games are about.”