Kathunter's Personal Space

Do gamers matter?
Over three decades of video game history, joystick genealogists have debated the impact of top-10 video games and 10-best game designers. They have discussed the five coolest first-person-shooters and the five worst 3D-fighting games. They have argued the relative merits and impact of various controllers, consoles and characters.

In short, they've rated everything except the players.

"he Advocates: Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. If there's one thing game-playing generates, it's vociferous opinion about all that is right with games — and so much of what is wrong. Most of that group-grumbling has no clear effect, but that's not the case for Washington state's Krahulik and Holkins. Eight years ago, the two friends created the online comic strip Penny Arcade and began merrily skewering all that was wrong with games. They developed an online following of millions and have become proven tastemakers, even on a Web that is cluttered with gamer opinion. They do exert some influence — like last year when they cowed "World of Warcraft" publisher Blizzard Entertainment into an apologetic interview regarding that game's early troubles. But more importantly, they have become the closest the medium has to leaders of a gamers' movement, going so far, a couple of years back, to launch [the equivalent of] an annual E3 for gamers, the Penny Arcade Expo."