An adorable story from this morning’s National Post:
SURREY, B.C. -Andrew Binns, five-year-old, took charge after his mom Shawna tumbled face-first down a flight of stairs, knocking herself unconscious. Andrew first called his father and then 911. That done, he prepared a bottle for his 23-month-old brother Ethan, to calm him down while they waited for paramedics to arrive. “You never know what your kids can do until thrown into that situation. I’m very proud of him,” Shawna said. “He tried to call my husband first. He didn’t answer, so he called 911.” Shawna had cracked her nose badly and was bleeding. Though not able to get up, she still heard a bit of the 911 call. “I guess they asked him where mommy was bleeding, and he said, ‘She’s bleeding on the carpet.’ “
[cross-posted to PWPL]
Brigitte -
I just happened to find a 2006 opinion piece you authored entitled, “Get a Life, Gamers”, and was ashamed to see how uninformed you were while being so quick to spurn an entire demographic, one which spans both genders, all ages, and every race there is.
Had you done any research into this new generation of video game consoles, you might have realized that they actually serve to connect people who otherwise would not or could not do so. On a once- or twice-weekly basis, I can turn on my Xbox 360 and connect to friends in other states, from Georgia to Michigan, California to New York, and interact with these friends in a way that doesn’t mandate forced conversation, such as with a phone conversation or likewise. Similarly, games have been released for all of these “Next Gen” systems since their release which serve, as one friend of mine put it, as “social lubricant.” Wii Sports, the game that came bundled with every Nintendo Wii to this day, provides a terrific opportunity for up to 4 people to bowl, golf or play tennis. I have engaged in each of these mini-games with cousins as young as 10, to family friends in their 50s and older. Both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 have online functionality that allow users to, as previously mentioned, connect with people in other locations at will, providing opportunities to interact that would otherwise (and in previous generations of video games) be impossible. Let me tell you, teaming up with friends that I get to see but once or twice a year to play against other teams of friends is truly a spectacular thing.
Furthermore, had you done any research into the social aspects of recent video games, you might have come across the phenomenon of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Both of these seemingly break the mold of the stereotypical “video game”, as neither really encourages direct competition. Rather, they act as a means for people to congregate and take part in a form of media that combines interaction with music and video, such that even bystanders and onlookers can enjoy it (as long as whomever is playing isn’t terrible). Rock Band even allows 4 players at once: a singer, a bassist, a lead guitarist and a drummer. What better way to interact with people than to have that many people all playing together (not against one another, but for a common goal), and to have people around watch in amazement at how a video game could unite people in such a way? By having an Xbox 360 and a copy of Rock Band, I have personally managed to convince my older brother (28), my younger sister (23), and both of my parents (52 and 54) to give this game a chance, and lo and behold, they all liked it. My sister, a previously adamant anti-video-gamer, has even asked me to bring my Xbox and Rock Band from my residence in Ohio to her house-warming party this upcoming weekend in Georgia. I have done the same for trips to Detroit, Ann Arbor, New York and the outskirts of Washington, D.C., and I haven’t once had a complaint or a dull moment in doing so, even when I wasn’t actually playing myself.
If I may get away from the “Next-Gen” consoles, I might direct your attention to the Nintendo DS. Many of those who are directly or indirectly involved in the video game industry joke that this little hand-held device “prints money” as it is so popular, from here in the States, to Europe, to Japan. Both of my parents have one, and each uses it for different purposes (my mother plays the “brain games” that have the user do math problems, which my dad plays touch-screen golf on it when he isn’t able to get out to play real golf).
Ultimately, I think that one big oversight of yours within your commentary is to presume that people would be using their idle time to do something else “more productive” as I believe you put it. (You even went to far as to call this trend “pathetic” which I find incredibly close-minded and ignorant.) For me, though, and most of the people I know who at 26, or 28, or older or younger, video games are simply taking the place of sitting in front of a television taking in non-interactive entertainment. If given the choice between a poorly thought out, unoriginal sitcom or connecting with a friend in another city or having friends or family members play with fake, plastic instruments to “make” music, I’d take the video games 10 times out of 10, 7 days a week, 365.25 days a year.
The reasons for this are numerous. While On-Demand television and the invention of DVRs and TiVO have increased the availability of television content, it still cannot touch the amount of choices available to a video gamer. Keep in mind, owning a console does not require purchasing games, especially since GameFly was introduced, a sort-of NetFlix for video games, and because BlockBuster carries video games. I can use either service and have a new game to play through, one that will provide hours upon hours of original entertainment, in genres ranging from comedy (Sam and Max, Penny Arcade, Conker’s Bad Fur Day) to action (Halo, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto) to sports (Fight Night, Madden, FIFA) to racing (Nascar, Gran Turismo, Mario Kart) to flight simulators (Ace Combat, Crimson Skies), and much much more. I can even get chess games and classic board games that allow me to play against random people around the world at any time of day or night, a happy alternative to regular board games which require more than one person to be present and willing to partake.
In many instances, the story-telling of video games far surpasses that of traditional media. By engaging a person to play as or sympathize with a character for more than 10 hours of gameplay, players (more often than not) grow a sense of empathy for the character’s cause and sort of take on the character’s emotions, trials and tribulations. I can honestly say that I have never felt such emotions during episodes of “Friends”, “American Idol”, or even “The Sopranos”, even after taking in the equivalent amount of time and plot development as one would during the course of your average video game.
On a realistic note, many researchers have found that playing video games increases finger dexterity, something that most surgeons appreciate. (If I had a choice between two equal surgeons, the only difference being that one spent some free time throughout his week gaming and thusly exercising his fingers, the very tools with which he does his job, and the other didn’t, I’d take the gamer every time.)
Having said all of this, I suggest that you open up your mind a little bit and give some of these a shot. And I don’t mean giving up a half-hour to begrudgingly try a game that won’t draw you in, I mean sitting down and looking at a game objectively, to appreciate the hours upon hours, weeks upon weeks that it takes a video game programmer to construct the virtual worlds, the numerous takes it requires voice actors to get the tone of the moments just right, the writers to put together a script and plotline that is both interesting and engaging. Don’t just sit down and think of it as a mindless waste of time, but try to look at video games for their potential benefits. Think of the kids in hospitals and Ronald McDonald houses who can’t go out into the real world and play with kids their own age, but who can hook up a console in their rooms and connect with countless others to help take their mind off of their plights. Think of the Child’s Play Charity (http://www.childsplaycharity.org), which has, to date, raised over $1 million for sick kids around the world. Think of Extra Life for Kids (http://www.extralifeforkids.com) which runs video game marathons and collects donations from the gamers who take part to give to Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.
So don’t look at the people who line up outside a Best Buy or a Circuit City waiting for the newest high-tech gadgetry to come out as “pathetic” as you put it. Next time you want to opine about such a demographic, please do some research before you so quickly throw all of us into one giant group and label us as immature or likewise. A lot of good can come from video games… I think the problem isn’t with us, the gamers, but rather with the rest of you, who refuse to give them a fair shake, and thusly can’t understand the potential benefits that they entail.
Yours,
Ronald Emersen
P.S. Did you happen to write an article about all of the people who lined up outside of Apple stores waiting for an iPhone? Because in my mind, that’s even worse than line-sitters who wanted video games. A phone is just a phone, even if it has internet and can play music. My girlfriend at the time of the iPhone’s release waited until the second day of the phone’s release, and walked into an Apple store and out with an iPhone in less than 15 minutes. Xbox 360s, Nintendo Wiis and PlayStation 3s sold out after the initial line-sitters obtained theirs. So now, who’s truly more “pathetic”, the people who waited for an item of limited quantity that allows them to interact with countless people in new, groundbreaking ways, or the people who waited in line for a mobile phone, one that wouldn’t sell out, and that does very little in the ways of innovation in its particular medium?
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