[pm90]

The video game industry is one of the key factors to the success of the US technology industry. Some of the most innovative software is written by game developers. As we move into a future where AR/VR and digital worlds will become commerce hubs, the US is arguably incredibly well set up to take advantage of it.

Video game bashing seems like another moral panic to me. People are spending more time playing video games than slaving away flipping burgers. So what?

[rakmos]

Just to clarify, I brought up the gaming industry to highlight the nuance of the discussion and am in no way advocating for bashing it.

As you have articulated, innovation tends to manifest when humans spend their attention on things that also further drive the demand for their attention.

The point being that the context here is significantly more gray than black / white.

[ativzzz]

The argument I get from the article is that the video game industry will not strengthen the U.S. geopolitically versus China compared to investing into "hard" technology like better semiconductors or more advanced military hardware.

[pm90]

I don't understand why it has to be a choice.

The Video Game industry seems like its doing just fine without Government assistance. The Government can focus on investing in creating manufacturing hubs in the US instead.

Shortage of labor? Create a new Visa and citizenship pathway specifically for electronics engineers, while investing in US universities to expand the EE departments and scholarships related to EE.

Its all possible if the US Government wants to.

[axelroze]

I don't see it as a quantity problem where importing/educating more Mechanical or Electrical Engineers is a solution. Primarily it is an issue of morality where the best thing to do is always the one which yields the most value (money, houses, food, leisure etc) individually and ASAP.

Which is why everyone capable tries to get into FAANG for AdTech. Nurturing people to think long term and to have a producer + explorer mentality will yield better results. Critical thinking with (endless) ambition is the key.

Even if the USA authorities subsidize EE study it is not certain that new grads will go into EE jobs and not into a bootcamp to respec. Get rich quick incentives like ones given by FAANG are really strong and it would take a lot to counter them. One solution, ironically, would be to do the same as China is doing. Dismantle FAANGs and the problem disappears. Smart people will flock to some other branch and maybe IT people will go to boot-camps to become EE on their own volition (free markets).

[majgr]

And that is a strange argument for me because almost everything used in games screams: military! Basics like orientation in 3D, physics, collision detection, then computer AI, even shaders and its parallel computing. All gaming 3d hardware feels like consumer sponsored military tech. How hard and resource intensive would it be for defence budget to create modern GPU? Yet they spent $0 on it, and can reap all the benefits now. Half a year of military conflict and USA would have the most amazing weapons systems made by its mobilised game studios.