An article about the recent Mass Effect/Fox News fiasco and how video games are now going through the same thing as any new mainstream entertainment form like comic books and expressive music.

With the announcement last week by the NPD that the video game industry has vastly surpassed the movie industry in overall revenue growth, rising by 28.4% compared to the movies meager 1.8% in the U.S., the dawn of a new era is upon us. Video games can no longer be considered children’s toys or a passing fad, like the slinky. It seems that the games with which we grew up and still enjoy today are entering the mainstream of American culture. And kicking a little ass in the process.

The financial reports released late last week state that video games are now a 18.85 billion dollar a year industry, which is still expanding year by year with no end in sight. With so much money being raked in, the spotlight was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before video games became a hot topic of discussion.

Around water coolers throughout America, co-workers compare their high-scores in “Wii Sports: Bowling.” In bars everywhere, groups of friends gather to rock out to “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band”. Online players from around the world compete in everything from free-for-all death matches in “Halo 3″ to gridiron clashes in “Madden”. Regardless of what you might think, it is not only America’s favorite pastime, it is quickly becoming the world’s favorite way to relax and unwind too.

wohoo via thatvideogameblog.com »