Pastor Dave Simiele spoke at the main service today. He rocked! Way to go, Dave!
Dave is the youth pastor at church and a friend of mine. Anyway, Dave spoke on the games that students play and the importance of family relationships. He used two commercials from two very different video game systems to illustrate how things have changed and how the gaming industry has kept up with culture.
One of the commercials featured one of the first gaming systems the Atari 2600. It was classic 1970s with lots of cheese thrown in for fun. The commercial shows youth playing the game with the family cheering them on. Then the parents get in the action. The pizza delivery guy can even be seen in the room as the crowd mounts to watch this epic game unfold. Even grandma and grandpa join in the act.
The commercial shows a family encouraging each other and connecting through friendly competition using the Atari game system. The commercial seemed wholesome. The video game seems fairly benign. The focus was as much on the family as it was on the game.
Now switch to the Xbox 360 commercial for a popular EA street racing game. The commercial starts out with the Electronic Arts logo and the slogan "Challenge Everything." This is a big departure from the let's all get along message from the Atari commercial. The commercial features hip hop music, insanely fast cars, racy women and incredible graphics. This game was all about the thrill of the moment and the feeling of being a champion. It encourages fantasy and a strong adrenaline rush. The winner gets the prize and the girl.
In the Xbox 360 game marketing messages loom as almost subliminal messages. McDonalds pays to have its sign prominently in the game for a reason. These games are a great way to build brand awareness and create desire for the product.
While people may be fairly same from one generation to the other, culture changes and so does the technology impacting how people live. People want to be loved and have the freedom to live a good life. That is true of people today just as it was 1,000 years ago. But the way people go about life and how they interact with others has changed. This is even true from one generation to another.
The video game industry has kept up with the youth culture, which is making a major impact on society as a whole today. Teens have more buying power and influence than ever before. Unfortunately, many teens are not making wise decisions.
Even in this age of information, many lack the proper knowledge and guidance to make wise decisions. Most of this has to do with the failure in the family. There are more families where both parents work. Many families don't spend much time together throughout the week. Many teens feel more disconnected from parents and other role models than ever before. And at the same time, they are more challenged with temptations than ever before. The Internet, credit cards, cell phones and lots of unsupervised time make it easy to get access to just about anything.
I don't know that the video game industry is at fault for society's failures. Maybe the changes in the TV commercials simply illustrate where society has gone in a few short years. The hope for the future lies with godly families as they seek to regain the experience of the Atari commercial in a world enamored with the Xbox fantasy. I like what Dave said, "An Xbox can't hug. It can't show affection or cry."
We'll never be cooler than MTV. But the people of God can be more real than any virtual world. And it all starts with the family.
