Video Games 2009: Stats and Stories

In his review of 2009 video games, Mike Snider at USA TODAY, brought up some interesting points.  These points further confirm the importance of video games as an area of study and as a form of storytelling.

• "About two-thirds of Americans now play on traditional game systems, cellphones, websites or social networking sites, according to market trackers at The NPD Group. And six out of 10 U.S. households now own at least one console system, consulting firm Deloitte says."
• "Games not only looked bigger, but they also told bigger, more complex stories. 'The storytelling got really great,' Keighley [Geoff Keighley of Spike's GameTrailers TV] says. 'Batman: Arkham Asylum and Uncharted set the high bar in terms of storytelling.'"
• "Sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect 2 (Jan. 26, Xbox 360 and PC) has a 'very convoluted narrative with a lot of morally ambiguous choices left open, (and) no two games will play alike,' he [Scott Steinberg of DigitalTrends.com] says. 'Now that developers have the power to tell that deep, more absorbing narrative and create a sense of personalization for every player, they are going to continue to tap into that.'"

* Sources for this post at Delicious.