Remediation, symbiosis and the media industries

Since the inception of the video games genre, video games have played catch-up to the medium of film. Not only in terms of social credibility but also in terms of defining itself as a worthwhile art form. A significant proportion of society still considers the video games medium to be a substandard embodiment of inferior influence as its relative adolescence in relation to the established mediums of film, radio and books make it the “Cheeky young upstart” of the entertainment gamut.

Due to the advancement of technology, I believe that the video games medium is entering a period of maturity and rapidly becoming accepted by the masses as an effectual addition to our cultural spectrum. Literature is becoming increasingly available on this subject such as Mom don’t bother me im learning! Prensky (2006) or Everything bad is good for you, Johnson (2006) alongside a whole host of academic publications feeding this awakening. Due to the exponential growth within the video games industry, the mediums of film and video games are now competing directly for revenue and dominance within the entertainment industry. Both mediums also have increasing investments in the opposing stratum, which is why it becomes consequential to explore this intricate, broad topic.