Lab+2

**Can Video Games be considered another new mass media? What makes Video Games a different medium from conventional movies and music? Why are video games catching on?**
Mass media can be defined as a part of media that is meant to reach a large audience for example a town, or even a country by the way it is transmitted. Video games can be considered part of mass media as they are now used in all parts of the world not only as a form of recreation but also as a sport. In places like China, games like warcraft have drawn large crowds to watch young people as they play this game. According to the clip that was shown in tutorial, one of the professional warcraft players said, ' I make alot of money'. This goes to show that video games are no longer only viewed as a form of recreation but also as a career. Also in tutorial it was said that the average active life of a professional video gamers was six years. What makes video games different from movies and music is that, movies and music are passive, as for the video games, its the player who controls the game. Every move in the game is controlled by the player unlike music and movies where the person watching them is just sitting as the movie/music plays.

Video games are catching on because of technological advancement. The price of the video games are drastically reducing. For example, when the Playstation 3 came out in 2006, it was retailing at more than $800. At the end of summer 2009, a slimmer version of the Playstation 3 which has the same ability as the one that came out in 2006 was unveiled by Sony and it retails at only $299. Another reason why video games are catching on is that video games come with different versions. For example theres the European PAL system and the American NTSC. The Playstation 3 plays games of both versions which makes it possible for Playstation 3 games to be sold in variou sparts of the world.