Reality TV

So, I saw an example of a disturbing trend today. First, I occasionally complete online surveys because they sometimes pay me cash which is cool. Second, I don't like reality television in general. Not so much because of the genre itself, but because I find most of the shows lame. Finally, although I don't really have time to play video games anymore anyway, if I did I would be very disappointed with the gameplay of many games coming out lately.

Having said all that, here is my trend. I see video games starting to become essentially interactive reality tv. Here is a sample question from a survey I took today:

We want to know about your interest in features for future football video games. These future football games might include sports simulation or life simulation games, role-playing games, arcade games, or other types of games. How appealing would each of the following features be in future NFL football video games?

	1 Not at all appealing	2	3	4	5 Very appealing
Design players' homes
Choreograph cheerleaders
Add female players
Be involved in the lives of players' wives
Design players' fitness programs
Get involved in the players' personal lives
Choose players' cars
Design players' uniforms
Control players' romantic interests
Control players' nightlife

Okay, that is truly scary. None of that crap appeals to me. If I want to play a football game, I want the damn game to start and get to cracking skulls and throwing passes. I don't want to take the quarterback's mistress and her younger sister out for a ménage à trois.

Lame. Give me Super Mario 3 anyday.