The business of selling used videogames is a huge one: today, retailer GameStop announced killer Q2 earnings, due in large part to secondhand game sales.
The reason I mention this is I’ve been trading back quite a few of my old games in recent days.
I was actually about to trade in my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV (after all, it’s the popular titles that score you the most cash) when I had an epiphany that a) stopped me from making the trade; and b) made me realize just how pervasive videogames have become in my life.
I live in Long Island City, NY, an industrial/residential outpost in Queens and shining example of the pleasures of urban decay. The industrial landscape, however, is rapidly giving way to luxury condos, which, while it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, means that what many people love about the area from an aesthetic perspective may cease to exist in a few years.
Enter Grand Theft Auto IV. I’m not a terribly prolific photographer — and the last time I assembled a photo album was more than a decade ago.
In GTA, however, I can spend hours driving past a perfect facsimile of the Citicorp Tower, the graffiti-coated exterior of the 5 Pointz, P.S. 1 and a reasonably good representation of Jackson Ave. The act of playing, for me anyway, becomes an interactive photo tour of sorts. I’ve fed nostalgic feelings for old videogames by playing them, but this is the first time that a game has actually shown the promise of feeding my nostalgia for real life. Strange.
Digging around the Web, I’m not the only one who’s marveled at GTA IV’s ability to conjure up NYC:
‘The Real-Life Restaurants in New York City from GTA IV’ @ Serious Eats
‘GTA IV Trailer Stills and Real New York Photo Comparison @ Digg/Games Radar
‘Sightseeing in Liberty City – Matthew Johnston @ Flickr
Ever had a similar feeling?
