http://www.gamespot.com/news/miyamoto-worried-over-abundance-of-gun-focused-games-6383432 Strange, didn't he recently say he wanted to make a fps?
Yes I believe he did. I don't disagree with the fact that it's diluting the market in a way, since it's promoting mainly FPS games that rule the market shares, but the fad will pass at some point, and mainstream gaming will evolve.
FPS =/= Gun focused game. edit: Nevermind. I'm dumb. What I meant was, Miyamoto probably wants to make a first person game. Not a first person shooter, or if it was a first person shooter, it would be like all kid friendly and stuff.
I believe Warren Spector expressed similar concerns earlier. However, they were more general, and regarded the over-abundance of violence that recent video games have been perpetuating. The claims are not simple violence either - rather, the shocking, gory, extremely bloody sort of gory - something that I believe stemmed from the immense number of fairly bloody games that appeared at E3 this year. Not only that, but they appeared to be fairly popular video games as well. Perhaps the opinions of these developers may lead to gaming taking a less violent approach in the future. Not to say it would be completely "family friendly", of course. And indeed, as everyone knows, games do not have to contain giant machine guns slaughtering thousands of people in a violent and bloody manner to be classified as good - or even "mature" really. Not in the sense of the rating (because that will probably stay Mature), but in the attitude taken towards these games.
This article made me realize something about gun and war culture in gaming. Gun-oriented gaming is central even in third person games. Guns are everywhere, in every room and most game characters carry guns. This enforces and continually reinforces a fascination with guns and weaponry from a young age. The fact that these games are extremely popular is upsetting because it reflects and perpetuates a culture permeated by bloodlust and fascinated with the experience of killing. Aggression and technical prowess are central while critical thinking, aesthetic appreciation, and compromise are only present in background games, and often are not very accessible to children. In these games, you are expected to shoot before asking questions. That is considered normal. The popular gaming market lacks balance and character building. I can understand someone being upset.
Agreed, but no one with a working frontal lobe is going to call that mainstream. Unfortunately, that line of thinking, and of development, remains firmly on the back-burner. But the fact that increasingly bigger names are aware of it and are speaking out against it is an encouraging sign. If this keeps up, perhaps the trend will begin to shift.