Discovery Channel's Rise of Video Games: It started out as history, what is it now?

" LEVEL TWO

• Premiere: Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
  In the late 1970s and 1980s, instead of controlling "things" like spaceships and tennis rackets, videogame technology let players command recognizable characters with real faces and back stories. Game developers were liberated to create more complex video games with heroic journeys — and Japanese creators like Shigeru Miyamoto rose to prominence with star characters Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda. But in the 1990s, Generation X emerged and the games of their childhood couldn't satisfy the new teen angst that now permeated pop culture. With Sega's Genesis and Sony's PlayStation, gamers dismissed cutesy cartoon characters in favor of grittier heroes like Sonic the Hedgehog and anti-heroes in games like Grand Theft Auto III. As players grew up, their youthful idealism was replaced with a warier view of the world and a yearning for photorealistic, angry anti-heroes. This episode features interviews with Trip Hawkins (Silicon Valley entrepreneur and co-founder of Electronic Arts), Al Lowe (creator of Leisure Suit Larry), Tim Schafer (creator of Full Throttle) and other notable figures in the gaming industry."Discoverychannel...

OK, the first show was pretty bad. But this show? Who wrote this? The show begins where it left off. But when they reach the Playstation One they go directly to the present. Talking about the newest technology and trying to talk about how Hollywood has taken notice. The main theme of the show seems to be about stories in games. They try to say that Super Mario Brothers has a story? What story is that? Save the princess? I suppose that's a story. For a 2nd grader.

There is much hyperbole about how important games are becoming in the larger medium and I really hate to say that this is really an exaggeration. The mass media industries aren't taking any more notice of video games than just another form to publicize their latest film or try in some pathetic attempt to get more money out of people who play games. It's not about excitement or passion folks, it's about money. This also makes me wonder, if games are so important why isn't this show on CBS, ABC, or NBC rather than Discovery Channel?

I know I've been hard on this show. I am really happy it exists. I just wish it was better. But since it became cool to have shows about video games on cable, isn't that what we all have wanted...