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Do you know anyone who has never played a video game?
Recently I finished reading Nintendo Magic by Osamu Inoue, a business book that chronicles the success Nintendo had in the past decade, mostly through the DS and the Wii. It traces the development of those two devices, with some historical background on the company and the key figures that made it happen—mainly Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto (though it does talk about the influence of Gunpei Yokoi a bit as well). The book focuses on, and attributes the company's success to two things: maintaining an essential "Nintendo-ness" to everything they do, and to making non-gamers into gamers.
This last point is exemplified in the development of games like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Brain Age, and Nintendogs, all of which are covered by the book in some detail. And I can see their point—my mother, who I would have never called much of a gamer, definitely played all of these games a lot, and now I see her playing other games regularly.
It all reminded me of a quote from Reggie Fils-Aime from E3 2006, where he said:
"Do you know anyone who's never watched TV, never seen a movie, never read a book? Of course not. So let me ask you one more question. Do you know someone, maybe even in your own family, who's never played a video game? I bet you do. How can this be? If we want to consider ourselves a true mass medium, if we want to grow as an industry, this has to change."
And that made sense at the time, and it was apparent in Nintendo's strategy for the next few years. But now, over 5 years later, does it still hold true?
Since that E3, since the release of the DS and Wii, the gaming space has changed significantly. Millions of people own iOS and Android devices that can access thousands of games on the cheap (or even for free). And plenty of people play Facebook games on a daily basis. Either because they were introduced to gaming by Nintendo products, or because they have these games available right in front of them in a product they use regularly, more people are playing video games. Sure, they might not be the kinds of games we play, but they are still essentially video games.
So, how many people do you know that have never played a video game? Truly have never touched any kind of game on any platform—console, PC, arcade, smartphone, tablet, cable box/PVR, even gamified casino machines. If games are everywhere, can anyone still escape them?
If it was about two months ago, I could have said my mom. I have since discovered that she is a Cut The Rope junkie.
I actually know several people that have never played video games and a lot of them are in my own family, my older sister, my mother and my father to name a few. It's kinda weird, since I'm a pretty huge gamer and games are kinda what made me who I am today and they've never experienced the awesomeness that is video games, but they've watched me and other members of my family play games.
I always wonder what goes through their minds when I'm enjoying a game and they're just standing by just watching. I remember a time when we got this hand-me-down computer from my middle school (complete with MS-Dos and a few games I used to play with friends in middle school) and we had to lug it back home. I set it up on the kitchen table and started playing tank wars and this worms game (think worms armageddon but not turn based). My brother and got addicted to this worms and we'd play for hours. My father would observe us play, but never really ask us any questions about it or ask to join in. He'd just stand there observing, not unlike Metron. I'm not sure if my father was just happy to see my brother and I do something together without us arguing (I argued a lot with this one brother), but he seemed glad that it kept us from tearing each other apart. Eventually I figured out a way to hack the configuration files to allow me to easily win if I picked the right weapons, which slowly ended our fun times together since he'd lose most of the time, but it was fun while it lasted!
Without the Wii, games wouldn't be played by a majority of people. People harp on the Wii like it's nothing now and too "casual", but it really transformed the living room. Without it I don't think my nieces would ever be into video games and it'd be so much harder for me to relate to them.
I always wonder what goes through their minds when I'm enjoying a game and they're just standing by just watching. I remember a time when we got this hand-me-down computer from my middle school (complete with MS-Dos and a few games I used to play with friends in middle school) and we had to lug it back home. I set it up on the kitchen table and started playing tank wars and this worms game (think worms armageddon but not turn based). My brother and got addicted to this worms and we'd play for hours. My father would observe us play, but never really ask us any questions about it or ask to join in. He'd just stand there observing, not unlike Metron. I'm not sure if my father was just happy to see my brother and I do something together without us arguing (I argued a lot with this one brother), but he seemed glad that it kept us from tearing each other apart. Eventually I figured out a way to hack the configuration files to allow me to easily win if I picked the right weapons, which slowly ended our fun times together since he'd lose most of the time, but it was fun while it lasted!
Without the Wii, games wouldn't be played by a majority of people. People harp on the Wii like it's nothing now and too "casual", but it really transformed the living room. Without it I don't think my nieces would ever be into video games and it'd be so much harder for me to relate to them.
Yeah. Me. I do not own a console of any sort, do not use the games feature on my phone, don't have any games on any of my computers, and have no plans to acquire any. I will confess that I miss old-fashioned pinball machines. There was something tactile and visceral about them that I really enjoyed- and they are extinct in the wild. Electronic games just don't have that dimension- even with haptic feedback and kinetic detection. Digital interfaces will never match the zero-lag analog experience.
I'm old enough to remember getting a 'Pong' game one year. My sister and brother went nuts with it after I figured out how to get it working (I was a teen geek), but I never got hooked on it. I lack the hand-eye coordination that is needed. The exception for pinball was probably because the various bells and buzzers had a spatial quality to them, so even if I could not easily see the ball, I could hear it. That true depth of sound is missing in video games.
I don't hate games- but there really isn't anything that really grabs me. In fact, they tend to drive me away- there's something about the combination of light, noise, and motion that overloads my senses. And while it is true that games are everywhere and are almost unavoidable, the sensory overload they create serves as a warning flag to keep me well away.
I'm old enough to remember getting a 'Pong' game one year. My sister and brother went nuts with it after I figured out how to get it working (I was a teen geek), but I never got hooked on it. I lack the hand-eye coordination that is needed. The exception for pinball was probably because the various bells and buzzers had a spatial quality to them, so even if I could not easily see the ball, I could hear it. That true depth of sound is missing in video games.
I don't hate games- but there really isn't anything that really grabs me. In fact, they tend to drive me away- there's something about the combination of light, noise, and motion that overloads my senses. And while it is true that games are everywhere and are almost unavoidable, the sensory overload they create serves as a warning flag to keep me well away.
However, my question was whether you knew anyone who has never played a video game. It's one thing to try video games and dislike them (as you apparently have, which is fine) or to give it up because you don't have the time or interest, and it's another to have never, ever, ever played one.
There are plenty of people who don't watch TV (or at least, claim not to) but that doesn't mean they've never watched it, even for a few minutes.
There are plenty of people who don't watch TV (or at least, claim not to) but that doesn't mean they've never watched it, even for a few minutes.
If there are people who have never played video games, they probably won't be online. My father would be one of them. I think that once you get above a certain age range, the probability of play drops off sharply. But then again, I heard that lots of elderly people love Wii, so maybe there's a spike in senior centers.
I think there are many folks of the older generations, my 88-year-old mother-in-law, for example, and certainly in other parts of the world by lack of access, or Mennonites in this country by faith. If you restrict the claim to recent years, there are also many that have toyed with it in youth and then left it behind.
Maybe I'm your guy! Although I've spent my career working with computers and software, I've never been a "gamer". In my youth, I did play pinball (mechanical, not electronic), and admitedly, I futzed around with the newfangled Pong machine in the bar one time. But other than watching my kids play on our series of home computers, I've had no interest in games.
To me, it's simlar to bowling and horseshoes (both of which I played for a short while) -- the enjoyment only comes after long, tedious repetition.
On the TV front, my wife was raised with no TV, and we raised our kids that way, too. I stopped watching regular TV in 1969. I've watched only NCAA basketball in March (in bars or online) and, more recently (the last couple years) soccer via a PC connected to a 2009 37-in Samsung HD and the basketball (CBS) over the air via antenna. So sports only, not "TV", aka shows that are talked about.
I read all the time: books, magazines, newspapers, both paper and digital, and e-mail newsletters, Web sites, blogs, etc, etc. But I've probably been to only a handful of movies (5?) in the past couple decades.
So to the original point, Nintendo has not lured me in the least. As my kids used to taunt, I'm from "the age of the dinosaurs" (on some things: this is typed on my iPad and my new Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch from Sprint just beeped with another e-mail!).
To me, it's simlar to bowling and horseshoes (both of which I played for a short while) -- the enjoyment only comes after long, tedious repetition.
On the TV front, my wife was raised with no TV, and we raised our kids that way, too. I stopped watching regular TV in 1969. I've watched only NCAA basketball in March (in bars or online) and, more recently (the last couple years) soccer via a PC connected to a 2009 37-in Samsung HD and the basketball (CBS) over the air via antenna. So sports only, not "TV", aka shows that are talked about.
I read all the time: books, magazines, newspapers, both paper and digital, and e-mail newsletters, Web sites, blogs, etc, etc. But I've probably been to only a handful of movies (5?) in the past couple decades.
So to the original point, Nintendo has not lured me in the least. As my kids used to taunt, I'm from "the age of the dinosaurs" (on some things: this is typed on my iPad and my new Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch from Sprint just beeped with another e-mail!).
I know one. Myself. I'm pretty proud of my record, too! But in all honesty, I must disclose that I did have an Atari 2600 console in the late 70's and early 80's. I was never any good and it really wasn't all that fun.
And, like Sunfell, I do not have any game apps loaded on my iPhone either.
At this point, I am dead set against ever trying any at all. Just not interested.
And, like Sunfell, I do not have any game apps loaded on my iPhone either.
At this point, I am dead set against ever trying any at all. Just not interested.
I have never played a video game -- nor any other kind of game since I was a little child. I know that there are claims that playing video games have some benefits, like eye/hand coordination. But whatever benefits there may be do not compensate for the lost time that would be better spent -- working (e.g., performing and publishing scholarly research), reading books, performing music (if you can), interacting with family members, etc. I am a CS PhD, on the Internet 12 hours/day, and not an old fogy. I'm not judgmental about anyone else, but to me video games are a total waste of time.
I don't buy this video games being a waste of time thing. I am close to my nieces because of video games; they're into playing real instruments because of videos game. They interact and make friends with other kids by playing video games. I learned how to read and write through video games. I made a majority of my lifelong friends through video games. Just because you don't play video games doesn't mean it's meaningless.
It's saved many individuals from hard times in their lives, myself being one of them:
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/how-games-save...
People have learned science through the exploration of video games:
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/portal-is-used...
People have published equally scholarly research from the use of video games.
itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail772.html
The benefits of playing videos game far outweight the "lost time" I get from video games. It's fine if you don't get any benefits from video games, just don't belittle it and call it a waste of time. Also, video games are fun.
It's saved many individuals from hard times in their lives, myself being one of them:
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/how-games-save...
People have learned science through the exploration of video games:
arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/portal-is-used...
People have published equally scholarly research from the use of video games.
itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail772.html
The benefits of playing videos game far outweight the "lost time" I get from video games. It's fine if you don't get any benefits from video games, just don't belittle it and call it a waste of time. Also, video games are fun.
On one hand, I agree with you that video games are a waste of time... there truly are a long list of more constructive and lasting things one can do with his or her time... many of which can contribute to the common good. On those grounds alone, though, many of the things we humans do on a routine basis are a waste of time as well... watching tv, reading books for entertainment, listening to music, playing an instrument, conversation with others that is not purely for the sake of achieving some goal, etc.... It is true that way too many people in modern society waste entirely too much time on one or more of the tasks mentioned, but it is also true that the human mind does need some "idle" time to take a break from work and mental effort. It is also true that some of the most profound insights can come when one is engaging in "idle" activities, as it can free the subconscious up to crunch away at other problems in the background while our conscious mind is no longer employing it on some immediate task.
All that to say that you have a point in that too much time is wasted by too many people in the world of today, especially when there are so many important problems to be solved. However, one must find ways to unwind, and these tasks can fill that role without being entirely wasteful for those who keep things in balance. As a concept, video games can even fulfill some useful tasks such as helping people to bond and form relationships they might not have otherwise had, have their perspective informed or changed on issues that affect humanity (assuming the game is telling a story with that in mind), and even just to relieve stress. I will admit that, within the realm of video games, there are certain types of game which really are irredeemable in terms of lasting value to be gained from them, but there are also games which are every bit as valid a form of entertainment or education as a good book or movie.
Again, the key is balance. I try not to give up more than a few, at most, hours per week to games, and I do not watch tv other than New Orleans Saints games or NBA playoffs, with the occasional random sporting event. I watch very few movies in comparison to the American average. In other words, I "waste" very little time in a week compared to most people, but I make up for that "wasted" time by sacrificing time spent doing something else that is a total waste... sleep. :)
Hopefully, we can all agree that perspectives on this topic will vary greatly and try to avoid getting a flame war started.
All that to say that you have a point in that too much time is wasted by too many people in the world of today, especially when there are so many important problems to be solved. However, one must find ways to unwind, and these tasks can fill that role without being entirely wasteful for those who keep things in balance. As a concept, video games can even fulfill some useful tasks such as helping people to bond and form relationships they might not have otherwise had, have their perspective informed or changed on issues that affect humanity (assuming the game is telling a story with that in mind), and even just to relieve stress. I will admit that, within the realm of video games, there are certain types of game which really are irredeemable in terms of lasting value to be gained from them, but there are also games which are every bit as valid a form of entertainment or education as a good book or movie.
Again, the key is balance. I try not to give up more than a few, at most, hours per week to games, and I do not watch tv other than New Orleans Saints games or NBA playoffs, with the occasional random sporting event. I watch very few movies in comparison to the American average. In other words, I "waste" very little time in a week compared to most people, but I make up for that "wasted" time by sacrificing time spent doing something else that is a total waste... sleep. :)
Hopefully, we can all agree that perspectives on this topic will vary greatly and try to avoid getting a flame war started.
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