Does TV give games a short shrift?

There's a wide range of political opinion represented here at Shopper, we don’t share it with you though, because we're IT journalists and not political commentators. Despite our varied leanings, however, we do generally tend to agree that Charlie Brooker, a regular columnist for the Guardian, is a man worth listening to.

If you never read the Guardian, then you may have encountered his Screenwipe series on BBC2 or his Channel 4 'Big Brother with zombies' mini-series – Dead Set. Most of Brooker's latest content has concentrated on explaining and analysing the production methods of TV, but he started his career as a games journalist. This means it comes as no surprise when last night he presented a one-off show called Gameswipe as part of the BBC 4's excellent Electric Revolution season (more details at www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour).

I won't go into too much detail here of what Brooker discusses on the show, as you can watch it for yourself on iPlayer. However, it did seem at bit unsure about its target audience. Was it aimed at those who already play games, who wouldn't need the basic explanations of genre; or to educate those who know little about them, and possibly hold the kind of preconceptions that Brooker rallies against. Brooker explains that TV has always given games a hard time, though it's surprising then he never ascribes part of this rough treatment to the fact that they are a simple competitor for our time spent in front of the gogglebox.

The show has short pieces on many of Brooker's favourites old games, and longer pieces about newer releases. It's nearly identical to Screenwipe in both tone and content, so those who don't like his rather angry and unflinching commentary won’t be won over. This I felt was a missed opportunity, as Brooker's bare-faced honestly about the violent nature of many games will simply support the opinions of many as to the gaming sector as a whole.

The show did have its high points, though. It was great to see Brooker lamenting and celebrating our own gaming past, with Eighties classics like Manic Miner discussed as well as global superstars such as Mario and Sonic. It would have been positive to also note the ongoing strength of our games development industry.

Sadly there simply wasn't enough time to cover that, and many other important issues surrounding games, the media and the UK. Gameswipe's broad sweep did prove one thing though, that a regular series of in-depth discussions into gaming is needed. There have been plenty of good programmes on film, architecture, art and literature on BBC Four – with the channel being the best use of the extra broadcasting space allowed by digital TV. Now I'd like to see a season of programmes, some by Brooker and some not, to cover this ever-burgeoning and important are; as a leisure activity, industry and dare I say it, artform.

Seth Barton