10 Times Video Games Accurately Predicted The Future
6. SmashTV Predates The Rise Of Reality TV
Television now is in a very different place than where it was 30 years ago. Even aside from the rise in streaming, actual terrestrial programming has changed so much. In particular, around the turn of the millennium, the landscape of TV totally shifted thanks to shows like The Bachelor and Survivor.
Reality TV, being it unscripted or just framed that way, gripped the world in the 2000s and it hasn’t really ever let go, merely evolved. And one particular arcade game pretty much told us it was coming, albeit their version was a tad more violent.
In 1990’s SmashTV players are contestants on a gameshow run by the powerful benefactor Master of Ceremonies. They must survive waves of enemies, proceeding through rounds until the end, in front of a live studio audience and with their attempt streamed out to the world via satellite.
Now, that might sound like a far cry from eating snacks and gossiping in the Big Brother house, but consider that reality TV - so-called unscripted entertainment and competition - was still a decade away. The game takes place in the not-so-distant future of 1999 - a year before the first ever round of contestants entered the Big Brother house.
We should probably be thankful they weren’t given laser cannons in that house, then again it certainly would’ve made things more interesting.