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Sun, 09/28/2008 - 11:40am — Bill Loguidice
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Terminology

Matt Barton wrote:

I think the word "video" is the problem with "videogames," but what else can we use? We've already noticed the problem with raster/vector etc. "Electronic games" doesn't seem to work, neither does "computer" or "console" games, since that distinction is really fuzzy anyway. If you just flat out call them "games," then you really open it up.

Whatever word we come up with, it ought to cover everything from Tennis for Two all the way up to Spore, and exclude stuff like Simon, Electronic Battleship, videopoker machines, etc. What we need is something besides "video" there, but I honestly don't know what. We may just have to come up with a new word and use that instead. I mean, can you imagine trying to talk about Velcro or Post-it Notes without using those words, but insisting that you only use existing words?

I say we use "videogames", just like we use "record" or "album" for a collection of songs, even though it's no longer on that format. The master term doesn't have to really mean what it means, it just has to represent a clear concept. "Videogame" is clear enough to represent the concept.



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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.

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