Sunday Sermon: Toy soldiers vs Joypads

Love it to bits.

This is a topic that has been done to death in our hobby, the idea that computer/console games will ultimately mean we're all doomed Captain Mannering! When I was a whipper snapper in the 80's I heard that arcade games and these new fangled console thingies were going to be the end of our hobby. The same was said of the ZX Spectrum, the NES, the SNES and Megadrive (Genesis for you yanks) and the PlayStation. It seems many in our hobby have an irrational fear of our digital brethren. That they are somehow gunning for us, and that there is this inevitability about our impending demise. Part of me can understand that fear, but it has been 30 years already, and yet still computer games haven't slaughtered our industry, and killed off our hobby. If anything our hobby is the strongest it has ever been. This raises a few questions, firstly why hasn't it killed us off? More specifically why haven't computer games done for wargames, traditional pen and paper RPG's and boardgames? Secondly, were they ever really a threat in the first place, or are they ever going to be a threat? Thirdly and finally, why are so many in our hobby so concerned, and are they right to be?

I still love the rattle of dice in my hands

I'm not really too sure, which question to tackle first. You see my recent hiatus on this Blog has been down to real life 'getting in the way' as it were. During this down time I haven't really had the time or indeed the energy to sit at my painting table and paint scenery or miniatures. I've not felt so inclined to set up a table, invite some friends round and play a load of Warmachine or Infinity. I was planning on trying to convince a few friends to try traditional RPG's, that new Star Wars one and Iron Kingdoms for starters... mainly because a few of you have asked me to do so, but I've lacked the will and drive to make it happen. True I've played boardgames, and I've played some card games during my break, but at the end of the day when I was a bit tired and worn out I've tended to turn my PS3 on instead. I might have turned my Xbox 360 on, but the fear of a 9th RROD stayed my hand. So why did I turn to my consoles for entertainment? Because it takes so little effort to keep me entertained, and a little effort is all I had left in me. It all started with downloading Okami HD off of the Playstation Store (great game by the way).
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