It doesn’t take much thinking to realise we’re probably not watching as much TV as we used to in this age of video on demand, teeny-weeny laptops and smartphones. That’s not to say we’re literally spending less time in front of our TVs; recent research shows that we’re spending just as much time in front of the TV, just less time paying attention to it because we’re squeezing in so many different forms of media literally all at the same time.
In videogames, TV might have found a little guiding light in getting its viewers involved in “watching” again, rather than just having a programme blare at you from the corner of the room. It might sound dumb and patronising to say so, but as the media-hungry machines we are we’re spending more time simply absorbing information and less time enjoying it; a bit like that Bing advert we’ve been seeing.
Whether broadcasters are providing TV we might find more relevant in the form of Ginx, getting us to play along with a TV show as it is broadcast live as Million Pound Drop did earlier this year, or simply extending the life of a TV series by introducing videogames that are treated with as much respect as their live-action counterparts, there’s definitely a fruitful relationship being developed between not only the big black screen that sits in your living room but also the little one that sits beneath it with the controller. The age of the TV simply being a means of “display” could well be coming to an end; instead, broadcasters are harnessing the interactivity of games to improve not only what you’re watching (and to make sure you’re watching it) but to liven it up and keep it fresh and relevant long after you’ve turned the TV set off.
So what’s on next?
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