AD

The Cultural Impact of Major Gaming Franchises

The influence that major gaming franchises have had on culture is too big to comprehend. While the impact of games like Mario and Zelda can be broken down into comprehensible pieces, such as music, fashion, art, and language, this still leaves out massive parts of the puzzle. Whether you’re an avid gamer or not, you have to admit that games have altered the course of human culture. It has seeped its way into how we talk, interact, act, dress, think, tell stories, deal with stress, perceive challenges, take on adversities, and much, much more.

This article will attempt to demystify the key areas in which gaming has altered the course of human culture.

Our likes, interests, and understanding of the world

At an immediate level, gaming has influenced our likes, interests, and understanding of the world. It’s defined our taste in music, art, hobbies, and academic fields of interest.

As a quick example, it could be said that games like Red Dead Redemption and The Witcher taught people the basics of poker and paved the way for a generation of online casino players. The only difference between poker in Red Dead Redemption and online poker sites is that you can win real money on the latter. As Filip Jovchevski points out, some online gambling sites can even offer players rewards of up to $1,000.

Music is another area that has been greatly influenced by videogames - in more ways than one. On one level, the soundtracks of the videogames we play can also become the soundtracks of our lives. Many gamers had their musical tastes shaped by the songs they heard on the likes of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Grand Theft Auto. So much so, that vinyl pressings of each soundtrack are highly sought-after by record collectors.

On another level, music itself has been impacted by the sounds heard in videogames like PAC-MAN and Donkey Kong. 8-bit music from classic arcade games spawned a whole genre of music - chiptune. This genre is based primarily on sounds created using synthesizers and generator sound chips to create music that consciously sounds like old arcade games.

Influences of chiptune can be heard in various prominent genres today, including vaporwave, hyperpop, and synthwave. It has also had a massive impact on hip-hop and rap, with beats created by directly sampling arcade machines.

Besides influencing our hobbies and tastes, gaming has also influenced our interests. Major history-themed game franchises such as Assasin’s Creed and Call of Duty sparked interest and understanding of the past. In Call of Duty, all the battles portrayed in the gameplay did actually occur - the military units in the game also actually existed. This dedication to historical accuracy has definitely had an impact on gamers and will likely have influenced many graduates in their degree choices.

Fashion, art, and language

The visual aesthetics of classic games such as Zelda, Mario, and Pokémon have impacted our taste in clothing and art and even influenced the way we speak.

The rudimentary 8-bit graphics found in early games such as Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda instigated the pixel movement in art, which has undergone a resurgence in recent years. Some of the most expensive NFTs were 8-bit artworks, including the massively popular CryptoPunk series.

Cryptopunk #5822, for example, sold for $23.7 million in 2022.

Some of the other biggest-selling pixel art NFTs include:

• Cryptopunk #7523 - $11.7 million
• Tpunk #3442 - $10.5 million
• Cryptopunk #4156 - $10.2 million
• Cryptopunk #5577 - $7.7 million

Basic pixel artworks are easy to produce, but complex pixel masterpieces take hours to plan and create. 8-bit art is unique and attractive and has definitely had an enduring influence on our world culturally.

In another sense, the characters in games like Mario have impacted the art world due to their simplicity and how easily recognizable they are. Mario’s classic hat and mustache appearance is easy to replicate, as are the mushrooms he consumes. That’s why references to Mario can be found in street art right around the world.

In terms of fashion, clothing lines have made a lot of money for gaming brands over the years, with t-shirts, hats, jackets, and accessories all in high demand amongst kids and grown-ups alike.

Not only that, but high-end brands have frequently collaborated with videogame brands to create unique and desirable fashion items. For example, Pokemon has recently collaborated with such brands as Levi’s, Charli Cohen, and Uniqlo.

Classic videogames have also had a major impact on language. Phrases like “it’s-a me, Mario”, “Let’s-a go”, and “Gotta Catch 'em All” are amongst the biggest pop culture-referencing phrases of everyday life. Furthermore, terms like “power up” and “level up” have taken on a host of new meanings outside the videogame playing field.

Esports and the future

Gaming franchises such as League of Legends World Championship and the International (Dota 2) are impacting culture right now. Esports events are more than just a gaming event - they’re cultural phenomenons.

They’re shaping how a whole generation consumes and interacts with media while inventing an entirely new form of entertainment along the way.

Esports events attract millions of viewers, some of which rival real sporting event viewership in terms of numbers. The way things are going, it would be unsurprising if esports one day overtook traditional sports in terms of views and general popularity.

According to the Sports Business Journal, the 2023 League of Legends World Championship pulled in 6.4 million viewers. If you think about it, that’s 6.4 million people who are choosing esports over other media forms. That alone proves how much the likes of LoL has shifted cultural interests.

Esports has also helped a generation overcome various cultural barriers that previous generations had experienced. While international sports are based on rivalry, esports is more about coming together over a shared love of gaming. International friendships and cultural exchanges have been made thanks to Esports.

Based on this, Esports will likely define the next generation’s likes, interests, fashion, art, language, and a whole lot more!