ABSTRACT
In an episode of the popular television series The Big Bang Theory (2007–) the protagonists find their home burgled and list some of the items stolen from their apartment to comical effect:
They took [. . .] our PS2, PS3, our Xbox, our Xbox 360, our classic Nintendo, our Nintendo 64 and our Wii [. . .,] Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, Call of Duty 1, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Rockband, Rockband 2, Final Fantasy 1 through 9, The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics, and Miss Pacman. (Season 3: episode 13)
The comedy behind this extensive catalog of video game paraphernalia relies on the list’s ability to articulate and ridicule one of the most prominent aspects of video games, namely their serial nature. Indeed, as with television series such as The Big Bang Theory itself, video games have always been closely linked with the serial production and transmission of content. Most video game classics are series that are characterized by their seemingly endless expansion of earlier content to create new games for consumers to buy. However, while the Mario Brothers, et al., have provided video game manufacturers with steady revenue streams regardless of the underlying hardware, video game consoles are now evolving into increasingly serialized hardware machines. These designs do not just allow for the serial transmission of content but indeed encourage developers to adopt this mode of distribution and forgo one-off, volume titles. In this chapter I argue that contemporary hardware increasingly facilitates as well as necessitates the serial production and transmission of content in video games.