Hello World. Welcome To A Blog On Video Games!

Credt:playbuzz

Many people have had the question of "what I want to be when I grow up thrown at them." I myself have had this same question asked during my childhood and couldn't think of an answer off the top of my head. I remember telling my parents around the time I was four or five that I wanted to become a "professional gamer." The idea was conceived from the moment that I played my first gaming console "the Nintendo 64." (for those of you that are too young to remember Nintendo 64, just think of Mario and Luigi, and yes we had to blow on the cartridges to get the games to work). Many of you will know the answer that would come forth from my parents mouth, so I won't bother you with what came next. Let's just say it wasn't the most supporting response that they have given me. My dreams of becoming a professional gamer were shattered, but now looking back on that time, I wonder "hmm, was it really fair for them to say that professional gaming was unrealistic?" 

The growth of video games has been steadily rising since the adaption of local area networks and technology. An example of a game that has blown up the video game industry is League of Legends.If you are unfamiliar League of Legends is one of the most popular MOBA (multi-player online battle arena). The 2014 League of Legends World Championship possessed the sweet prize pool of 2.1 million dollars with the winning team taking home a cool million dollars (of course there is the loss from taxes and such).

An example of the Professional Gaming. The game involved here is League of Legends.

Even with the taxes though the revenue generated from video games is staggering. I can remember large gaming events such as EVO years ago where the prize pool was only a fraction of what it is today. The international appeal from the gaming industry from all across the world has helped the video game industry transition smoothly and have success even in times of economic distress.Video games has always been a favorite pastime of students in the engineering department of my school, including myself. With the growth of online digital media (YouTube, Vimeo), accessing an audience as a professional gamer/game developer has been easier than ever. Some of the highest paid YouTube up-loaders such as PewdiePie, make millions from talking to a computer screen while playing a game if taken literally. Twitch which was once considered a unknown streaming website and potential failure to many, is quickly becoming one of the most watched streaming website in world. Amazon recent purchase of Twitch for $970 million dollars confirms that video games are a force in the business world. Video games are versatile. They can be educational, fun or a combination of both. But this is only the surface. What does the future hold for video games. The possibilities are endless. Could we see Nobel Peace Prizes, full length feature films or virtual reality gaming in the future? Only time will tell.

In this blog I will explore the growth of video games in popular culture. For what was once regarded as silly waste of time, video games are now building a reputable base. The primary focus of this blog on how video games are growing in popular culture by examining the trends that are making it grow. These trends include the rise of professional gaming, the marketing and business that has grown within the video game industry, the trials and tribulations that video games faced. Ever wanted to know what exactly the term Esports is and why business such as Intel, Amazon, and Microsoft are investing hundred of millions of dollars in this industry?  As a industrial engineer who loves video games I feel as though this is suitable and perhaps will get more people interested in the world of video games. These and other topics will be discussed here. So if your interested in a growing industry that looks promising in the future and want to learn how it got there and where it will go from here, then sit back, relax and divulge into possibly the coolest video game blog out there (not really but still I needed something catchy to close this introduction).