video games

[ctc]

So;

It seems odd to me that amongst my peers video games have become the new source of all evil. So it's video games that are responsible for them durned teenagers and their short attention spans and poor work ethic. Any movie that looks bad is described by many as looking like a video game. The reason good comics, tv shows and movies don't get made is 'cos so much of the consumer dollar is being leeched by them durned video games....

It's weird, considering WE were the video game generation. (Does no-one remember the 2600? NES? Genesis?) How did this happen? Is it another example of creeping geezerisms? Jealousy 'cos "them kids today" have "Call of Duty" and we had "pong?" Is it like Rob says, and now that WE have kids the world seems scary and anything fun a risky distraction for our dearest offspring?

Don C.

[kingdom warrior]

I don't know...I see a difference between me, who played games.....to my son and the current generation. I played and then I would stop, and go outside and enjoy most of my day.

I have to TELL my son to stop and do something else. I believe the online play is a bigger distraction at his age. Instead of going outside he and his friends all play online from the comfort of home,to the point I have to tell him to stop playing cause he can go non-stop. Something our generation never had. I would come over to my buddies house, it was to go outside and enjoy the day NOT sit in their home and play non-stop. I played basketball on a real court, not in a video game......

[Brazoo]

I'm with you, but I almost never hear that stuff from my friends. A fair number of my close friends make video games

[Mikey]

I was never a big fan of video games .... I had the 2600 and some cartridges

I never could understand what the big deal was

I would be the last person who looked up to getting new games

As far as my peers who loved the things, I always thought it would be a passing craze like Dungeons and Dragons.

I was very wrong

[Figuremod73]

I think its because video games have become so involved now. I play videogames on a daily basis but im more of a classic gamer than what on the market now. My Xbox 360 hardly gets used because I rather play arcade or old console games.

Even when I was younger I didnt play the amount of time kids (and some adults) do now. A few hours a day and four hours on saturday and sunday is more than enough. I've seen/heard of people who play them ALL DAY AND NIGHT. Games like World of Warcraft with there 30 day fee cards dont help any. Most people want to get their moneys worth from that online fee.

One thing that I think really annoys parents is the cost of the average game. Popular titles can be upwards of $60 dollars and a few weeks later they are already tired of it and want a new one.

[Den82]

I grew up with NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis. But my interest in them never overshadowed other things. Today, kids don't give a crap about toys once they get a taste of these games.

[Mikey]

It is funny thinking how much people pay for new games.

Reminds me of the 80's when I seen Star Trek The Voyage Home on VHS for $60.00

[Werewolf]

Another one of those I'm better than the rest of you nostalgic old farts lecture?

Lol, I'm just messing with you.

On one hand, it does seem odd that some 70s and 80s kids demonize video games, in general, when video games were such a HUGE part of the childhoods of our generation. Before the Sega vs Nintendo video game wars of the 90s, there was the Atari vs Intellivision vs Collecovision. Arcades ruled back then and video game mascots like Pac-Man became heavily merchandised pop culture icons.

But, the violence and graphic realism of that violence in some of todays modern games makes Mortal Kombat and Doom of the 90s seem quaint, cartoonish and tame in comparision. A fact our news media is only to quick to try and panic people by throwing it in their faces every chance they get. The immature, vulgar, sexist and homophobic comments filling online FPS game matches doesn't exactly help either. But the media generally seems to forget to point out that the average age of gamers is mid 30s and kids are far more interested in playing Skylanders than Call of Duty.

So, it's really not as simple of an issue as the 70s/80s generation turning into stereotypical "Grumpy Old Men" yelling at kids to stay of their lawns.

[jwyblejr]

To me,it's more of an issue of the pot calling the kettle black. How many hours and quarters did their parents waste when they were in the arcades playing games like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong?

[Mikey]

Back in the day at the arcade I loved Pool and Pinball

They were always open because everybody else was playing arcade video games

Pool was sooooooooooooooooooooooo fun

[Figuremod73]

In the early to mid '80s I probably spent $10 dollars every trip I took to the arcade. (probably twice a month) It was different back then because there was a sense of competition between people to not only be good but beat those around you.

It was a great experience back then. There was personal interaction between people that isnt possible behind a computer. I enjoyed talking strategy with strangers about the latest games as the newest '80s music played thru the speakers.

I remember during that time older people in business suits would come in and sometimes compete against pre-teens. It was a interesting atmosphere.

These days I'm more likely to play pinball if its a good one. Hard to find them now though since the mall arcade here no longer exist. I have to make due with a local pizza joint that only has a few select titles.

[Figuremod73]

Heres a few examples of videogame controversy thru the years.

[galaxyexplorer42]

I dig Galaga, Tempest, Defender & Centipede, not to mention Pinball and pool.... We have a few cool arcades here on the Colorado Front Range. I probably go every other month & hang out for a couple hours. But I can't play home video games to save my life, nor do I have any desire to.

[Bill]

Sit your kid down in front of a machine for four hours a night with no true social interaction and it's the fault of the machine?
Even if the game were nothing more than dismembering cats and burying hookers in shallow graves on the side of I-95 in the middle of cool autumn's eve, it's still just escapism, not a manual on how to become the next Charles Whitman. The idea of blaming something like that for a child's behavior, something that the parent bought so has near complete control over, it just amazes me.
Video games pretty much bought my house. There are few people out there that have played more than I have; and though I didn't start in the industry until I was 23 and well past my formative years I can't find anything negative that came from it. Of course my body looked less like my lean teen years and more like Brando at his end, I can't come up with any physical or mental issues from playing 60+ hours a week. Prior to the job I had almost always had a system at the house since the days of the original Pong, and I went with my father to the arcade for as long as I can remember, we had fun. It may just be a problem with society and games are getting the blame because almost every kid has at least one system.

Reading a book is no less anti-social than playing a game.

[toys2cool]

well lets be honest here..I grew up with the NES as well and while that was fun and all, you can't even compare that to how realistic games are today, they're bad arse now doubt about it, but kids and adults like myself get addicted like a drug, when I started playing Call of duty i would play for 10-12 hrs straight, it was a sickness..but truth be told i did the same with my NES since you could'nt save games

But I could honestly see how some games can make kids minds more violent