Quiver + Quill

I. I just returned from Target with my girlfriend. We parted ways to divide and conquer the store. As I roamed, I saw many of the same guys over and over again. Our pacing gave us away, and we connected the way guys do when they have to hold their girlfriend’s purse.

Then something happened. It was as if all the guys were drawn to the same some place at the same time. Crying six year old boys and bored 30 year olds hovered around the X-Box 360 aisle display. Suddenly, age didn’t matter and boredom was no longer a factor.

I patiently waited my turn to play and observed as the six year old champion demolished me with the same ease as he did the rest of his challengers. When his parents returned, he went back to acting like the bratty screaming kid observed only minutes earlier in the aisles. And when our girlfriends and wives returned, we went back to our mature selves – disinterested in video games – and of course, unwilling to admit defeat to a 6 year old.

II. We played “Call of Duty 2.” It’s a traditional war game providing players with realistic graphics and a controller that vibrates when shots are fired. When your character dies , the screen fades to black. A meaningful quote appears, as if to provide your imaginary life with significance. Here’s an example of three such quotes:

1. “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” –Joseph Stalin
2. “Old men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” - Herbert Hoover
3. "So long as they don't get violent, I want to let everyone say what they wish, for I myself have always said exactly what pleased me." -- Albert Einstein

Their meaning is quickly rendered absurd by how quickly it is bypassed by players far more interested in rejuvenating their characters than lamenting their life or pondering the meaning of sacrifice. Reading the quotes in this context is like opening a fortune cookie to find wisdom about the Rwandan genocide.

III. When we left the store, I shared the experience of the game and Xbox 360 with friends. They all swapped stories about the quick money they made purchasing and selling the systems on Ebay. They were surprised I hadn’t done the same.

IV. Earlier this week, I spoke with one of the big three online advertising agencies and learned first hand how lucrative and popular video game advertising is. This agency represents more than 1 billion impressions within video games and is selling them on a CPM basis. They explained that generation y spends more time with their video games than with any other media they represent.

V. Anyone up for a game of Super Mario Cart? As long as you're older than 7, you're on.

*Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/godsmoon/4445456/