Best Games of 2006
This was an interesting time in video game culture as gamers started to consolidate their culture in visible ways. This was fostered in part due to the sharing of culture in WoW but also due to the rise of social media like MySpace, Facebook, and Digg/Reddit. This led to web sites like Game Spot and Penny Arcade becoming prominent. But it also was well-timed to help gamers coordinate efforts in response to continued political pressure against video games after the "Hot Coffee" scandal in GTA: San Andreas.
As a result, gamers were able to work together against conservatives against video games, like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, attorney Jack Thompson, California legislator Leland Yee, and Fox News and the entire Republican Party. This led the prominent gamer "voice" in online spaces to be predominantly progressive or at least socially liberal as well as in favor of de-regulation, a combustible mix that got its first test of mettle in 2006 against Blizzard's ban on LGBT guilds. Ultimately, this voice would find victories in the coming years with Blizzard relenting on their policy and leading to MMO players championing inclusivity, the disbarment of Jack Thompson, Hillary's loss against Obama, the rise of PAX, the Supreme Court's 2011 ruling that video games are protected by the First Amendment and the 2014 suspension of Yee for gun running and other criminal charges. Interestingly, as soon as these victories were fully realized, a counter-reaction in the form of GamerGate would form by the end of 2014.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, 2006 saw the rise of gamer culture but also non-gamer acceptance of gaming - well before the courts and politicians realized it but also, importantly, right after the Hot Coffee incident threatened to ruin it all. Enter the third of three significant appeals to non-gamers (after WoW and Guitar Hero): Wii Sports. The perfect system with the perfect technology, and the perfect simple-to-understand selection of games for non-gamers was crafted by Nintendo and resulted in a mass market hit not seen since Tickle Me Elmo and Pokemon. Wii Sports defined this year and was played at almost every type of party and social gathering. Combined with seemingly every gamer by this point getting lost in Azeroth, 2006 ended up being a very weak year for video game releases. Despite that, it was an important year for gaming culture and one that would define the next decade of the industry.
