The Fall and Rise of Video Games

Selnow, Gary. "The Fall and Rise of Video Games." JPC 21 (Summer 1987): 53-62.

Examines three surveys significant for 1980s real-world "video game playing as one form of human-machine interaction," tentatively concluding (among other things) that for the "more avid [and young] arcade enthusiasts there is a real sense of companionship" while playing video games, that the games seem to have "filled a variety of roles generally observed in human relationships" (54, 59). The social evolution of various real-world video-game subcultures may be significant for SF as the games moved from arcades to TV screens to the Internet.

RDE et al., initial; renamed 20Feb21