Being able to point to a specific year or hardware generation as the moment that the world was flooded with more videogames than someone could play in their lifetime matters less than the fact that is has happened. This embarrassment of riches is a cultural shift, throwing everyone into a library to rival Borges. What videogames one played used to be left to random draw, accessed by rental stores and holiday gifts. Now, each individual has near-perfect control in deciding what videogames will shape their understanding of the medium—the problem is one of filtering, a glut of noise that must be parsed to find worthwhile experiences that has infected most of our cultural forms. For videogames, with their ascendant cultural capital and large required time investment, figuring out what to play is crucial. That is why videogames need a canon for players, a common and easily accessible point of entry that gives basic literacy upon which to build. Being “widely read” is no longer a reasonable option.

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