Video games! A pastime enjoyed by over 1 billion people worldwide and an industry that generates over 90 billion USD per year in revenue worldwide, yet even though it's become such an integral part of the modern economy, video games are looked down upon when compared to other forms of media.
Why is that?
Historically Video video games have been viewed as a hobby targeted at children, this is mostly because of the light-hearted themes of earlier video games published (for the most part) By Japanese Giant Nintendo. Their production of child friendly games established the gaming industry as one made for children. That was almost 35 years ago. Nintendo's first gaming console was released in 1982, and since then things have changed rather significantly.
Modern Gaming
In 2015 the Entertainment Software Association, gathered data from across the world in order to form a statistical image of the modern gaming audience. The results?
In a surprising turn of events, the average age of gamers across the globe, is 35 years old! Even more interesting is the growing number of female gamers. Statistically speaking gaming has turned into a hobby primarily aimed at an audience over the age of 18. This is also evident by the growing number of Mature rated video games that are being released on a regular basis. It's clearn now that the demographic for video games has abandoned it's child centered routes a long time ago. (however keep in mind, child friendly games still exist)
In conclusion
Video games, like all forms of entertainment, is ever changing and constantly evolving in order to stay relevant in the modern era, and it's place in the present is cemented not only by it's growing audience, but by it's importance in the worldwide economy.
And as always, thank you for reading.