Breaking News: Grown-Ups Play Video Games
December 9, 2008Before shutting down the computer for the night and flexing some serious fret-melting muscle on Guitar Hero: World Tour, I couldn’t resist commenting on a video recently posted by CBS News called “Video Games Not Just For Kids.”
I first read about the CBS report over at The Feed where, as one might expect, the report has drawn the ire of many a gamer.
In the report, CBS suggests a stigma still surrounds adults who spend leisure time rescuing princesses and obliterating aliens bent on ruling the universe. As The Feed’s Raymond Padilla puts it, the piece “was clearly written and produced by people that are completely out of touch.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Sure, my grandmother might find some comfort in learning that her grandson isn’t as weird as she may have thought, that his penchant for Mario and Luigi isn’t some sign of a deep-seated affliction. But, let’s be honest — my grandmother isn’t browsing the CBS website for news clips, either.
In fact, I’d imagine most of the people who will actually see this clip will respond with one of three phrases:
(a) “Duh.”
(b) “Why is this news?” or
(c) some off-color comment involving Sherlock.
There is no such stigma, or at least there shouldn’t be. From the time I was five years old, there was some sort of gaming console in my house. It started with the Atari 2600 (curse you, Moon Patrol), ran the gamut of Nintendo consoles, briefly entered the realm of PlayStation and has since returned to Nintendo’s Wii. I’m certain I’m not alone in that respect. To suggest that a stigma exists after so many have been brought up on video games is the equivalent of suggesting my great-grandfather was immature for playing checkers into adulthood.
Duh, indeed.
And if I thought I was raised on video games I need only to look at my nieces and nephews who are so completely immersed in leisure and educational gaming on PCs and consoles that I’d be crazy to think they’ll magically outgrow the habit.
I know what you mean. I’ve got a five-year-old cousin who asked Santa for only one thing this year — a laptop … and not the Fisher Price/Little Tykes variety either (although she did specify that she would like for it to be pink in color). She’s a pint-sized tech wiz.
Sounds like you are just trying to get your cousin to sign up for your RSS feed, lol
You know, I hadn’t thought about it, but I bet she would subscribe … she might even offer a few suggestions that could boost my readership in the under-six crowd.
Word. I regret not one minute spent, as an adult, immersing myself in Half-Life and all the expansion levels and mods I could find.
Even now the sight of a crowbar while at Lowes makes me tear up ever so slightly.