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Archive on 4: Generation Games

BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, Generation Games

From Pong to Pokémon, what have video games ever done for us? Keza MacDonald finds out.

From Pong to Pokémon, what have video games ever done for us? Keza MacDonald raids the BBC Archives to trace how, over 50 years, this once niche pursuit became a cultural colossus.

Can video games change lives? And, if so, how? 50 years after the arrival of Pong, gamer and writer Keza MacDonald considers what gaming has done for us. Using the rich BBC Archives, she explores how video games grew from a niche pursuit to a cultural phenomenon which stokes the imagination of, and offers agency to, those who fall for its charms.
 
Games now influence who we are, what we think and how we act. Keza speaks to collectors, competitive gamers, psychologists, games designers and, mostly importantly, gamers young and old to find out what impact games have had on us. We hear about the deep relationships that millions cherish with Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong, and illustrate the entanglement of life and gaming that is increasingly impossible to sever.
 
Presenter: Keza MacDonald
Producer: Gary Milne

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