video game video games redirects here for other uses see video games disambiguation people playing a large scale version of the iconic pong video game at the national videogame museum part of a series onvideo games platforms arcade game console game game console home console electronic game audio game electronic handheld handheld game handheld console mobile game online game social network game pc game linux mac genres action beat em up fighting platform shooter survival actionadventure stealth survival horror adventure interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel roleplaying action roleplaying tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management life simulation sports vehicle strategy multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics massively multiplayer online lists arcade video games bestselling video games bestselling video game franchises highestgrossing video game franchises mostplayed video games by player count mostplayed mobile games by player count highestgrossing arcade games video games considered among the best game of the year awards video games notable for negative reception development game ai game design interaction design game programming level design video game art video game design video game graphics video game music vte a video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a tv screen or computer monitor the word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device but as of the 2000s it implies any type of display device that can produce two or threedimensional images some theorists categorize video games as an art form but this designation is controversial the electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms in addition to generalpurpose computers like a laptopdesktop being used there are devices created exclusively for the playing of video games platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld computing devices video games are developed and released for specific platforms for example a video game that is available to steam may not be available to xbox one specialized video games such as arcade games in which the video game components are housed in a large typically coinoperated chassis while common in the 1980s in video arcades have gradually declined due to the widespread availability of affordable home video game consoles eg playstation 4 xbox one and nintendo switch and video games on desktoplaptops and smartphones the input device used for games the game controller varies across platforms common controllers include gamepads joysticks mouse devices keyboards the touchscreens of mobile devices or even a persons body using a kinect sensor players view the game on a display device such as a television or computer monitor or sometimes on virtual reality headmounted display goggles there are often game sound effects music and voice actor lines which come from loudspeakers or headphones some games in the 2000s include haptic vibrationcreating effects force feedback peripherals and virtual reality headsets in the 2010s the commercial importance of the video game industry is increasing the emerging asian markets and mobile games on smartphones in particular are driving the growth of the industry as of 2015 video games generated sales of usd 74 billion annually worldwide and were the thirdlargest segment in the us entertainment market behind broadcast and cable tv history history of video games see also early history of video games tennis for two an early analog computer game that used an oscilloscope for a display a modern recreation of a controller for tennis for two early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats the earliest example is from 1947a cathode ray tube amusement device was filed for a patent on 25 january 1947 by thomas t goldsmith jr and estle ray mann and issued on 14 december 1948 as us patent 2455992 nolan bushnell at the game developers conference in 2011 in 1971 computer space created by nolan bushnell and ted dabney was the first commercially sold coinoperated video game it used a blackandwhite television for its display and the computer system was made of 74 series ttl chips a flood of pong clones eventually led to the video game crash of 1977 which came to an end with the mainstream success of taitos 1978 shooter game space invaders overview platforms see also history of video games after pong the atari 2600 was the first game console to achieve widespread success and awareness the term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which in conjunction with software allows a video game to operate the term system is also commonly used the distinctions below are not always clear and there may be games that bridge one or more platforms in addition to laptopdesktop computers and mobile devices there are other devices which have the ability to play games but are not primarily video game machines such as pdas and graphing calculators pc in common use a pc game refers to a form of media that involves a player interacting with a personal computer connected to a video monitor increased flexibility increased innovation emulation creation of modifications mods open hosting for online gaming in which a person plays a video game with people who are in a different household and others home console an xbox 360 console and controller a console game is played on a specialized electronic device home video game console that connects to a common television set or composite video monitor unlike pcs which can run all sorts of computer programs a console is a dedicated video game platform manufactured by a specific company usually consoles only run games developed for it or games from other platform made by the same company but never games developed by its direct competitor even if the same game is available on different platforms it often comes with a specific game controller major console platforms include xbox playstation and nintendo handheld the nintendo game boy was the first successful handheld console selling over 100 million systems a handheld gaming device is a small selfcontained electronic device that is portable and can be held in a users hands it features the console a small screen speakers and buttons joystick or other game controllers in a single unit like consoles handhelds are dedicated platforms and share almost the same characteristics handheld hardware usually is less powerful than pc or console hardware some handheld games from the late 1970s and early 1980s could only play one game in the 1990s and 2000s a number of handheld games used cartridges which enabled them to be used to play many different games arcade a horrorthemed arcade game in which players use a light gun arcade game generally refers to a game played on an even more specialized type of electronic device that is typically designed to play only one game and is encased in a special large coinoperated cabinet which has one builtin console controllers joystick buttons etc a crt screen and audio amplifier and speakers arcade games often have brightly painted logos and images relating to the theme of the game while most arcade games are housed in a vertical cabinet which the user typically stands in front of to play some arcade games use a tabletop approach in which the display screen is housed in a tablestyle cabinet with a seethrough table top with tabletop games the users typically sit to play in the 1990s and 2000s some arcade games offered players a choice of multiple games in the 1980s video arcades were businesses in which game players could use a number of arcade video games in the 2010s there are far fewer video arcades but some movie theaters and family entertainment centers still have them web browser the web browser has also established itself as platform in its own right in the 2000s while providing a crossplatform environment for video games designed to be played on a wide spectrum of platforms in turn this has generated new terms to qualify classes of web browserbased games these games may be identified based on the website that they appear such as with miniclip games others are named based on the programming platform used to develop them such as java and flash games mobile with the advent of standard operating systems for mobile devices such as ios and android and devices with greater hardware performance mobile gaming has become a significant platform these games may utilize unique features of mobile devices that are not necessary present on other platforms such as global positing information and camera devices to support augmented reality gameplay mobile games also led into the development of microtransactions as a valid revenue model for casual games virtual reality virtual reality vr games generally require players to use a special headmounted unit that provides stereoscopic screens and motion tracking to immerse a player within virtual environment that responds to their head movements some vr systems include control units for the players hands as to provide a direct way to interact with the virtual world vr systems generally require a separate computer console or other processing device that couples with the headmounted unit blockchain a new platform of video games emerged in late 2017 in which users could take ownership of game assets digital assets using blockchain technologies genres video game genre a video game like most other forms of media may be categorized into genres video game genres are used to categorize video games based on their gameplay interaction rather than visual or narrative differences because genres are dependent on content for definition genres have changed and evolved as newer styles of video games have come into existence ever advancing technology and production values related to video game development have fostered more lifelike and complex games which have in turn introduced or enhanced genre possibilities eg virtual pets pushed the boundaries of existing video gaming or in some cases add new possibilities in play such as that seen with games specifically designed for devices like sonys eyetoy some genres represent combinations of others such as massively multiplayer online roleplaying games or more commonly mmorpgs it is also common to see higher level genre terms that are collective in nature across all other genres such as with action musicrhythm or horrorthemed video games classifications casual games casual game casual games derive their name from their ease of accessibility simple to understand gameplay and quick to grasp rule sets additionally casual games frequently support the ability to jump in and out of play on demand casual games as a format existed long before the term was coined and include video games such as solitaire or minesweeper which can commonly be found preinstalled with many versions of the microsoft windows operating system examples of genres within this category are match three hidden object time management puzzle or many of the tower defense style games casual games are generally available through app stores and online retailers such as popcap zylom and gamehouse or provided for free play through web portals such as newgrounds while casual games are most commonly played on personal computers phones or tablets they can also be found on many of the online console system download services eg the playstation network wiiware or xbox live serious games serious game serious games are games that are designed primarily to convey information or a learning experience to the player some serious games may even fail to qualify as a video game in the traditional sense of the term educational software does not typically fall under this category eg touch typing tutors language learning programs etc and the primary distinction would appear to be based on the games primary goal as well as target age demographics as with the other categories this description is more of a guideline than a rule serious games are games generally made for reasons beyond simple entertainment and as with the core and casual games may include works from any given genre although some such as exercise games educational games or propaganda games may have a higher representation in this group due to their subject matter these games are typically designed to be played by professionals as part of a specific job or for skill set improvement they can also be created to convey socialpolitical awareness on a specific subject a screenshot from microsoft flight simulator showing a beechcraft 1900d one of the longestrunning serious games franchises is microsoft flight simulator first published in 1982 under that name the united states military uses virtual reality based simulations such as vbs1 for training exercises tactical media in video games plays a crucial role in making a statement or conveying a message on important relevant issues this form of media allows for a broader audience to be able to receive and gain access to certain information that otherwise may not have reached such people an example of tactical media in video games would be newsgames these are short games related to contemporary events designed to illustrate a point educational games see also educational video games and educational software a vtech educational video game on 23 september 2009 us president barack obama launched a campaign called educate to innovate aimed at improving the technological mathematical scientific and engineering abilities of american students this campaign states that it plans to harness the power of interactive games to help achieve the goal of students excelling in these departments there are many different types and styles of educational games including counting to spelling to games for kids to games for adults some other games do not have any particular targeted audience in mind and intended to simply educate or inform whoever views or plays the game controllers game controller a north american super nes game controller from the early 1990s video game can use several types of input devices to translate human actions to a game the most common game controllers are keyboard and mouse for pc games consoles usually come with specific gamepads handheld consoles have built in buttons other game controllers are commonly used for specific games like racing wheels light guns or dance pads digital cameras can also be used as game controllers capturing movements of the body of the player as technology continues to advance more can be added onto the controller to give the player a more immersive experience when playing different games there are some controllers that have presets so that the buttons are mapped a certain way to make playing certain games easier along with the presets a player can sometimes custom map the buttons to better accommodate their play style on keyboard and mouse different actions in the game are already preset to keys on the keyboard most games allow the player to change that so that the actions are mapped to different keys that are more to their liking the companies that design the controllers are trying to make the controller visually appealing and also feel comfortable in the hands of the consumer an example of a technology that was incorporated into the controller was the touchscreen it allows the player to be able to interact with the game differently than before the person could move around in menus easier and they are also able to interact with different objects in the game they can pick up some objects equip others or even just move the objects out of the players path another example is motion sensor where a persons movement is able to be captured and put into a game some motion sensor games are based on where the controller is the reason for that is because there is a signal that is sent from the controller to the console or computer so that the actions being done can create certain movements in the game other type of motion sensor games are webcam style where the player moves around in front of it and the actions are repeated by a game character development game development see also video game industry practices developers use various tools to create video games here an editor is finetuning the virtual camera system video game development and authorship much like any other form of entertainment is frequently a crossdisciplinary field video game developers as employees within this industry are commonly referred primarily include programmers and graphic designers over the years this has expanded to include almost every type of skill that one might see prevalent in the creation of any movie or television program including sound designers musicians and other technicians as well as skills that are specific to video games such as the game designer all of these are managed by producers in the early days of the industry it was more common for a single person to manage all of the roles needed to create a video game as platforms have become more complex and powerful in the type of material they can present larger teams have been needed to generate all of the art programming cinematography and more this is not to say that the age of the oneman shop is gone as this is still sometimes found in the casual gaming and handheld markets with the growth of the size of development teams in the industry the problem of cost has increased development studios need to be able to pay their staff a competitive wage in order to attract and retain the best talent while publishers are constantly looking to keep costs down in order to maintain profitability on their investment typically a video game console development team can range in sizes of anywhere from 5 to 50 people with some teams exceeding 100 in may 2009 one game project was reported to have a development staff of 450 downloadable content downloadable content a phenomenon of additional game content at a later date often for additional funds began with digital video game distribution known as downloadable content dlc developers can use digital distribution to issue new storylines after the main game is released such as rockstar games with grand theft auto iv the lost and damned and the ballad of gay tony or bethesda with fallout 3 and its expansions new gameplay modes can also become available for instance call of duty and its zombie modes a multiplayer mode for mushroom wars or a higher difficulty level for metro last light smaller packages of dlc are also common ranging from better ingame weapons dead space just cause 2 character outfits littlebigplanet minecraft or new songs to perform singstar rock band guitar hero expansion packs expansion pack a variation of downloadable content is expansion packs unlike dlc expansion packs add a whole section to the game that either already exists in the games code or is developed after the game is released expansions add new maps missions weapons and other things that werent previously accessible in the original game an example of an expansion is bungies destiny which had the rise of iron expansion the expansion added new weapons new maps and higher levels and remade old missions expansions are added to the base game to help prolong the life of the game itself until the company is able to produce a sequel or a new game altogether developers may plan out their games life and already have the code for the expansion in the game but inaccessible by players who later unlock these expansions sometimes for free and sometimes at an extra cost some developers make games and add expansions later so that they could see what additions the players would like to have there are also expansions that are set apart from the original game and are considered a standalone game such as ubisofts expansion assassins creed iv black flag freedoms cry which features a different character than the original game modifications mod computer gaming many games produced for the pc are designed such that technically oriented consumers can modify the game these mods can add an extra dimension of replayability and interest developers such as id software valve corporation crytek bethesda epic games and blizzard entertainment ship their games with some of the development tools used to make the game along with documentation to assist mod developers the internet provides an inexpensive medium to promote and distribute mods and they may be a factor in the commercial success of some games this allows for the kind of success seen by popular mods such as the halflife mod counterstrike cheating cheating video games cheating in computer games may involve cheat codes and hidden spots implemented by the game developers other cheats might give access to otherwise unplayable levels or provide unusual or amusing features like altered game colors or other graphical appearances glitches glitch software errors not detected by software testers during development can find their way into released versions of computer and video games this may happen because the glitch only occurs under unusual circumstances in the game was deemed too minor to correct or because the game development was hurried to meet a publication deadline glitches can range from minor graphical errors to serious bugs that can delete saved data or cause the game to malfunction in some cases publishers will release updates referred to as patches to repair glitches sometimes a glitch may be beneficial to the player these are often referred to as exploits easter eggs easter eggs are hidden messages or jokes left in games by developers that are not part of the main game theory game studies although departments of computer science have been studying the technical aspects of video games for years theories that examine games as an artistic medium are a relatively recent development in the humanities the two most visible schools in this emerging field are ludology and narratology narrativists approach video games in the context of what janet murray calls cyberdrama that is to say their major concern is with video games as a storytelling medium one that arises out of interactive fiction murray puts video games in the context of the holodeck a fictional piece of technology from star trek arguing for the video game as a medium in which the player is allowed to become another person and to act out in another world this image of video games received early widespread popular support and forms the basis of films such as tron existenz and the last starfighter ludologists break sharply and radically from this idea they argue that a video game is first and foremost a game which must be understood in terms of its rules interface and the concept of play that it deploys espen j aarseth argues that although games certainly have plots characters and aspects of traditional narratives these aspects are incidental to gameplay for example aarseth is critical of the widespread attention that narrativists have given to the heroine of the game tomb raider saying that the dimensions of lara crofts body already analyzed to death by film theorists are irrelevant to me as a player because a differentlooking body would not make me play differently when i play i dont even see her body but see through it and past it simply put ludologists reject traditional theories of art because they claim that the artistic and socially relevant qualities of a video game are primarily determined by the underlying set of rules demands and expectations imposed on the player while many games rely on emergent principles video games commonly present simulated story worlds where emergent behavior occurs within the context of the game the term emergent narrative has been used to describe how in a simulated environment storyline can be created simply by what happens to the player however emergent behavior is not limited to sophisticated games in general any place where eventdriven instructions occur for ai in a game emergent behavior will exist for instance take a racing game in which cars are programmed to avoid crashing and they encounter an obstacle in the track the cars might then maneuver to avoid the obstacle causing the cars behind them to slow andor maneuver to accommodate the cars in front of them and the obstacle the programmer never wrote code to specifically create a traffic jam yet one now exists in the game emulation video game console emulator project64 a nintendo 64 emulator running star fox 64 on a windows 8 platform an emulator is a program that replicates the behavior of a video game console allowing games to run on a different platform from the original hardware emulators exist for pcs smartphones and consoles other than the original emulators are generally used to play old games hack existing games translate unreleased games in a specific region or add enhanced features to games like improved graphics speed up or down bypass regional lockouts or online multiplayer support some manufacturers have released official emulators for their own consoles for example nintendos virtual console allows users to play games for old nintendo consoles on the wii wii u and 3ds virtual console is part of nintendos strategy for deterring video game piracy social aspects demographics see also gamer demographics the november 2005 nielsen active gamer study taking a survey of 2000 regular gamers found that the us games market is diversifying the age group among male players has expanded significantly in the 2540 age group for casual online puzzlestyle and simple mobile cell phone games the gender divide is more or less equal between men and women more recently there has been a growing segment of female players engaged with the aggressive style of games historically considered to fall within traditionally male genres eg firstperson shooters according to the esrb almost 41 of pc gamers are women see also women and video games see also race and video games when comparing todays industry climate with that of 20 years ago women and many adults are more inclined to be using products in the industry while the market for teen and young adult men is still a strong market it is the other demographics which are posting significant growth the entertainment software association esa provides the following summary for 2011 based on a study of almost 1200 american households carried out by ipsos mediact the average gamer is 30 years old and has been playing for 12 years eightytwo percent of gamers are 18 years of age or older fortytwo percent of all players are women and women over 18 years of age are one of the industrys fastest growing demographics twentynine percent of game players are over the age of 50 an increase from nine percent in 1999 sixtyfive percent of gamers play games with other gamers in person fiftyfive percent of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device a 2006 academic study based on a survey answered by 10000 gamers identified the gaymers gamers that identify as gay as a demographic group culture video game culture video game culture is a worldwide new media subculture formed around video games and game playing as computer and video games have increased in popularity over time they have had a significant influence on popular culture video game culture has also evolved over time hand in hand with internet culture as well as the increasing popularity of mobile games many people who play video games identify as gamers which can mean anything from someone who enjoys games to someone who is passionate about it as video games become more social with multiplayer and online capability gamers find themselves in growing social networks gaming can both be entertainment as well as competition as a new trend known as electronic sports is becoming more widely accepted in the 2010s video games and discussions of video game trends and topics can be seen in social media politics television film and music multiplayer multiplayer video game multiplayer video games are those that can be played either competitively sometimes in electronic sports or cooperatively by using either multiple input devices or by hotseating tennis for two arguably the first video game was a two player game as was its successor pong the first commercially available game console the magnavox odyssey had two controller inputs since then most consoles have been shipped with two or four controller inputs some have had the ability to expand to four eight or as many as 12 inputs with additional adapters such as the multitap multiplayer arcade games typically feature play for two to four players sometimes tilting the monitor on its back for a topdown viewing experience allowing players to sit opposite one another many early computer games for nonpc descendant based platforms featured multiplayer support personal computer systems from atari and commodore both regularly featured at least two game ports pcbased computer games started with a lower availability of multiplayer options because of technical limitations pcs typically had either one or no game ports at all network games for these early personal computers were generally limited to only text based adventures or muds that were played remotely on a dedicated server this was due both to the slow speed of modems 3001200bits and the prohibitive cost involved with putting a computer online in such a way where multiple visitors could make use of it however with the advent of widespread local area networking technologies and internet based online capabilities the number of players in modern games can be 32 or higher sometimes featuring integrated text andor voice chat massively multiplayer online game mmos can offer extremely high numbers of simultaneous players eve online set a record with 65303 players on a single server in 2013 behavioral effects video game behavioral effects it has been shown that action video game players have better handeye coordination and visuomotor skills such as their resistance to distraction their sensitivity to information in the peripheral vision and their ability to count briefly presented objects than nonplayers researchers found that such enhanced abilities could be acquired by training with action games involving challenges that switch attention between different locations but not with games requiring concentration on single objects it has been suggested by a few studies that onlineoffline video gaming can be used as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of different mental health concerns in steven johnsons book everything bad is good for you he argues that video games in fact demand far more from a player than traditional games like monopoly to experience the game the player must first determine the objectives as well as how to complete them they must then learn the game controls and how the humanmachine interface works including menus and huds beyond such skills which after some time become quite fundamental and are taken for granted by many gamers video games are based upon the player navigating and eventually mastering a highly complex system with many variables this requires a strong analytical ability as well as flexibility and adaptability he argues that the process of learning the boundaries goals and controls of a given game is often a highly demanding one that calls on many different areas of cognitive function indeed most games require a great deal of patience and focus from the player and contrary to the popular perception that games provide instant gratification games actually delay gratification far longer than other forms of entertainment such as film or even many books learning principles found in video games have been identified as possible techniques with which to reform the us education system the us army has deployed machines such as the packbot and uav vehicles which make use of a gamestyle hand controller to make it more familiar for young people an experiment carried out by richard de lisi and jennifer woldorf demonstrates the positive effect that video games may have on spatial skills de lisi and woldorf took two groups of third graders one control group and one experiment group both groups took a paperandpencil test of mental rotation skills after this test the experiment group only played 11 sessions of the game tetris this game was chosen as it requires mental rotation after this game both groups took the test again the result showed that the scores of the experiment group raised higher than that of the control group thereby confirming this theory the research showing benefits from action games has been questioned due to methodological shortcomings such as recruitment strategies and selection bias potential placebo effects and lack of baseline improvements in control groups objections to video games video game controversies like other media such as rock music notably heavy metal music and gangsta rap video games have been the subject of objections controversies and censorship for instance because of depictions of violence criminal activities sexual themes alcohol tobacco and other drugs propaganda profanity or advertisements critics of video games include parents groups politicians religious groups scientists and other advocacy groups claims that some video games cause addiction or violent behavior continue to be made and to be disputed there have been a number of societal and scientific arguments about whether the content of video games change the behavior and attitudes of a player and whether this is reflected in video game culture overall since the early 1980s advocates of video games have emphasized their use as an expressive medium arguing for their protection under the laws governing freedom of speech and also as an educational tool detractors argue that video games are harmful and therefore should be subject to legislative oversight and restrictions the positive and negative characteristics and effects of video games are the subject of scientific study results of investigations into links between video games and addiction aggression violence social development and a variety of stereotyping and sexual morality issues are debated in 2018 the world health organization declared gaming disorder a mental disorder for people who are addicted to video games possible benefits in spite of the negative effects of video games certain studies indicate that they may have value in terms of academic performance perhaps because of the skills that are developed in the process when you play games youre solving puzzles to move to the next level and that involves using some of the general knowledge and skills in maths reading and science that youve been taught during the day said alberto posso an associate professor at the royal melbourne institute of technology after analysing data from the results of standardized testing completed by over 12000 high school students across australia as summarized by the guardian methodology cannot prove that playing video games were the cause of the improvement the guardian also reported that a columbia university study indicated that extensive video gaming by students in the 6 to 11 age group provided a greatly increased chance of high intellectual functioning and overall school competence in an interview with cnn edward castronova a professor of telecommunications at indiana university bloomington said he was not surprised by the outcome of the australian study but also discussed the issue of causal connection though there is a link between gaming and higher math and science scores it doesnt mean playing games caused the higher scores it could just be that kids who are sharp are looking for a challenge and they dont find it on social media and maybe they do find it on board games and video games he explained video games have also been proven to raise selfesteem and build confidence it gives people an opportunity to do things that they cannot do offline and to discover new things about themselves there is a social aspect to gaming as well research has shown that a third of video game players make good friends online as well as that video games are also considered to be therapeutic as it helps to relieve stress selfdetermination theory selfdetermination theory sdt is a macro theory of human motivation based around competence autonomy and relatedness to facilitate positive outcomes wellbeing the ability to create an ideal image of ones self and being given multiple options to change that image gives a sense of satisfaction this topic has much controversy it is unknown whether this freedom can be beneficial to ones character or detrimental with increased game usage a players can become too invested in a fictionally generated character where the desire to look that way overpowers the enjoyment of the game problemsolving skills cognitive skills can be enhanced through repetition of puzzles memory games spatial abilities and attention control in a study that followed students through school students that played video games showed higher levels of problem solving than students who did not this contradicts the previous study in that higher success rate was seen in video game players time being a factor for problem solving led to different conclusions in the different studies see video game controversies for more group relations online gaming being on the rise allows for video game players to communicate and work together in order to accomplish a certain task being able to work as a group in a game translates well to reality and jobs where people must work together to accomplish a task research on players in violent and nonviolent games show similar results where the players relations improved to improve synergy physical activities with the introduction of wii fit and vr virtual reality exergame popularity has been increasing allowing video game players to experience more active rather than sedentary game play testing a larger range of ages may show better results ratings and censorship video game content rating system video game laws vary from country to country console manufacturers usually exercise tight control over the games that are published on their systems so unusual or specialinterest games are more likely to appear as pc games free casual and browserbased games are usually played on available computers mobile phones tablet computers or pdas various organisations in different regions are responsible for giving content ratings to video games united states a typical esrb rating label listing the rating and specific content descriptors for rabbids go home the entertainment software rating board esrb gives video games maturity ratings based on their content for example a game might be rated t for teen if the game contained obscene words or violence if a game contains explicit violence or sexual themes it is likely to receive an m for mature rating which means that no one under 17 should play it the rating ao for adults only indicates games with massive violence or nudity there are no laws that prohibit children from purchasing m rated games in the united states laws attempting to prohibit minors from purchasing m rated games were established in california illinois michigan minnesota and louisiana but all were overturned on the grounds that these laws violated the first amendment however many stores have opted to not sell such games to children anyway one of the most controversial games of all time manhunt 2 by rockstar studios was given an ao rating by the esrb until rockstar could make the content more suitable for a mature audience europe pegis content descriptor for profanity pan european game information pegi is a system that was developed to standardize the game ratings in all of europe not just european union although the majority are eu members the current members are all eu members except germany and the 10 accession states norway switzerland iceland is expected to join soon as are the 10 eu accession states for all pegi members they use it as their sole system with the exception of the uk where if a game contains certain material germany bpjm and usk stricter game rating laws mean that germany does not operate within the pegi instead they adopt their own system of certification which is required by law the unterhaltungssoftware selbstkontrolle usk checks every game before release and assigns an age rating to it either none white 6 years of age yellow 12 years of age green 16 years of age blue or 18 years of age red it is forbidden for anyone retailers friends or parents alike to allow a child access to a game for which he or she is underage if a game is considered to be harmful to young people for example because of extremely violent pornographic or racist content it may be referred to the bundesprfstelle fr jugendgefhrdende medien bpjm who may opt to place it on the index upon which the game may not be sold openly or advertised in the open media it is considered a felony to supply these games to a child japan c label for ages 15 and up the computer entertainment rating organization cero that rates video games and pc games except dating sims visual novels and eroge in japan with levels of rating that informs the customer of the nature of the product and for what age group it is suitable it was established in july 2002 as a branch of computer entertainment suppliers association and became an officially recognized nonprofit organization in 2003 these ratings are a all ages b ages 12 and over c ages 15 and over d ages 17 and over z ages 18 and over commercial aspects game sales see also video game industry list of bestselling video games and golden age of arcade video games a retail display with a large selection of games for platforms popular in the early 2000s according to the market research firm superdata as of may 2015 the global games market was worth usd 742 billion by region north america accounted for 236 billion asia for 231 billion europe for 221 billion and south america for 45 billion by market segment mobile games were worth 223 billion retail games 197 billion freetoplay mmos 87 billion social games 79 billion pc dlc 75 billion and other categories 3 billion or less each in the united states also according to superdata the share of video games in the entertainment market grew from 5 in 1985 to 13 in 2015 becoming the thirdlargest market segment behind broadcast and cable television the research firm anticipated that asia would soon overtake north america as the largest video game market due to the strong growth of freetoplay and mobile games sales of different types of games vary widely between countries due to local preferences japanese consumers tend to purchase much more handheld games than console games and especially pc games with a strong preference for games catering to local tastes conventions see also list of gaming conventions the gamescom fair in cologne gaming conventions are an important showcase of the industry the annual gamescom in cologne in august is the worlds leading expo for video games in attendance the tokyo game show in september is the main fair in asia other notable conventions and trade fairs include brasil game show in october paris games week in octobernovember eb games expo australia in october kri chinajoy in july and the annual game developers conference some publishers developers and technology producers also host their own regular conventions with blizzcon quakecon nvision and the x shows being prominent examples esports esports short for electronic sports are video game competitions played most by professional players individually or in teams that gained popularity from the late 2000s the most common genres are fighting firstperson shooter fps multiplayer online battle arena moba and realtime strategy there are certain games that are made for just competitive multiplayer purposes with those type of games players focus entirely one choosing the right character or obtaining the right equipment in the game to help them when facing other players tournaments are held so that people in the area or from different regions can play against other players of the same game and see who is the best major league gaming mlg is a company that reports tournaments that are held across the country the players that compete in these tournaments are given a rank depending on their skill level in the game that they choose to play in and face other players that play that game the players that also compete are mostly called professional players for the fact that they have played the game they are competing in for many long hours those players have been able to come up with different strategies for facing different characters the professional players are able to pick a character to their liking and be able to master how to use that character very effectively with strategy games players tend to know how to get resources quick and are able to make quick decisions about where their troops are to be deployed and what kind of troops to create copyright of video games copyright and video games creators will nearly always copyright their games laws that define copyright and the rights that are conveyed over a video game vary from country to country usually a fair use copyright clause allows consumers some ancillary rights such as for a player of the game to stream a game online this is a vague area in copyright law as these laws predate the advent of video games this means that rightsholders often must define what they will allow a consumer to do with the video game museums gaming consoles at the computer games museum in berlin there are many video game museums around the world including the national videogame museum in frisco texas the museum of modern art has added a total of 20 video games and one video game console to its permanent architecture and design collection since 2012 video games portal book video game lists of video games list of accessories to video games by system outline of video games video game addiction notes blodget henry 12 april 2005 how to solve chinas piracy problem slatecom retrieved 12 february 2006 costikyan greg 1994 i have no words i must design archived from the original on 12 august 2008 crawford chris 1982 the art of computer game design lieu tina august 1997 where have all the pc games gone computing japan archived from the original on 12 january 1998 murray janet 1998 hamlet on the holodeck mit press isbn9780262631877 pursell carroll 2015 from playgrounds to playstation the interaction of technology and play baltimore md johns hopkins university press salen katie eric zimmerman 2005 the game design reader a rules of play anthology the mit press isbn9780262195362 smuts aaron 2005 are video games art winegarner beth 28 january 2005 game sales hit record highs gamespot retrieved 12 february 2006 john wills 1 october 2002 digital dinosaurs and artificial life exploring the culture of nature in computer and video games cultural values journal for cultural research 6 4 395417 doi1010801362517022000047334 williams j p smith j h eds 2007 the players realm studies on the culture of video games and gaming jefferson nc mcfarland co video gamesat wikipedias sister projects definitions from wiktionary media from wikimedia commons news from wikinews quotations from wikiquote texts from wikisource textbooks from wikibooks resources from wikiversity library resources about video game resources in your library resources in other libraries video games bibliography by the french video game research association ludoscience the virtual museum of computing vmoc vteconcepts of video gamesglossary of video game termsattributes health life experience point magic mechanics item powerup hud warp fast travel fog of war invisible wall cutscene minimap paper doll destructible environment loading screen replay value saved game scripted sequence password line of sight critical hit level permadeath status effect hitbox movement techniques rocket jumping strafejumping strafing trickjump modesplayer type singleplayer multiplayer cooperative competitive gameplay esports speedrun gameplay type capture the flag ctf deathmatch last man standing vtevideo game genres listaction beat em up hack and slash fighting maze pacman clone platform shooter firstperson thirdperson light gun shoot em up tactical survival battle royale actionadventure grand theft auto clone immersive sim metroidvania stealth survival horror psychological horror adventure escape the room interactive fiction interactive movie visual novel mmo mmofps mmorpg mmorts mud roleplaying action roleplaying dungeon crawl roguelike tactical roleplaying simulation construction and management business city government life simulation dating sim digital pet god social simulation sports strategy 4x multiplayer online battle arena realtime strategy tower defense time management realtime tactics turnbased strategy turnbased tactics wargame vehicle simulation flight simulator amateur combat space racing kart racing sim racing submarine simulator train simulator vehicular combat other genres artillery breakout clone digital collectible card game eroge exergame incremental music rhythm nongame party programming puzzle sokoban tilematching related concepts aaa game advertising arcade game art game audio game casual game christian game crossover game educational game fmv gamification indie game multiplayer video game nonlinear gameplay open world nonviolent video game online game browser game multiplayer online game online gambling socialnetwork game pervasive game serious game toystolife twitch gameplay video game clone vtehistory of video gamesby system golden age of arcade video games timeline of arcade video game history video game crash of 1983 early mainframe games by yearearly history 19471972 1970s 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020s 2020 near future by console generation first 19721980 second 19761992 third 19832003 fourth 19872003 fifth 19932005 sixth 19982013 seventh 20052017 eighth 2012 by region australia bangladesh belgium brazil canada china czech republic colombia finland france germany ghana india indonesia ireland lithuania japan kenya malaysia netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia south africa south korea thailand turkey ukraine united kingdom united states vtetypes of games chance guessing party roleplaying skill sport strategy street tabletop video list of types of games authority control gnd 40104576 