Why do we play games? Why is it that millions of people have spent (or wasted, some might say)billions of hours on electronic entertainment. With the stylish No More Heroes still fresh in my memory one could say it is to become number one! Pokémon: become a pokémon master. Battlefield: beat the other team, get top score. Any racing game; I think you get it.

Back in the days before my time, actually games were something you played in the arcades or you had an Atari in your bedroom. The games didn't have a story and if they did they could be told in a single sentence. Today games (and it is a must for AAA titles) are long and cinematic. The stories might as well be printed as novels. A real game today has this kind of story because if they don't they aren't real games. Then they are just arcade/minigames and not central in the gaming industry. At this point I have to be careful (Super smash bros. etc.) But really look at the biggest games at this time:

Bioshock had a massive plot that also reached back in time of its unfolding.

Halo 3 - I haven't played it but need I say more?

Call of Duty 4 was war, almost two places at a time.

All of these are to say the leased more than a Space Invaders scenario. When we sit down and play it is often like stepping into an interactive movie; we want to be entertained on a very high level.

Another thing these three games have in common is their good graphics. An ever expanding concept, none the less does these stand out. Some argue that it is all about gameplay or perhaps that graphics doesn't really matter, but candy in a shiny wrapper is more likely to sell well. Games get rated by their looks as much as everything else and I have never seen a game with over-the-top graphics that had bad sales. On the other hand that may be because pretty games have huge budgets and therefore automatically have the means to ensure success.

This isn't suppose to be a "retro gaming is dying" post but what has happened? Big companies try hard to make gaming cool and mainstream, if they haven't already succeeded. If you have ever looked at an Xbox360 commercial or a big event (launch - MTV) you see slim people wearing modern cloth, not shy nerds with pizza on their t-shirt. (They had Frodo unveiling it!) Kind of like McDonald's burger boxes. It has become a huge industry with plenty of potential. As such the games have to look like it.

I am not saying that anyone play games because it is cool, but rather that some start to because it is less uncool.

Man has always found ways to keep them entertained. Games in some form have existed since ancient times. At some point we would entertain us by playing Game&Watch which surely was revolutionary. But is it only about passing time? Could there be more that motivates us to become number one - other than the satisfactory sense it gives to get to the top? Personally a part of it is to go through an interesting story. Like an interactive book. But perhaps the simple answer really is the small satisfaction from completion that drives us to play games. Why ask? Because just as you look at it, it may seem a little pointless. All the hack´n slash that cost countless of virtual men's lives got you to the top, but then what?