Video games, are you or your kids addicted?

[stiltman]

My wife bought a Wii for us and our 5 year old, against my better judgment
My wife and I aren’t really gamers, so it’s mostly for the 5 year old when it comes down to it.

We bought all the accessories that you can think of. We started out with the basic Wii sports and the one free game. Then we got some race car games. Then someone bought us Star Wars the clone wars (rated Teen) and light saber accessories. Well, I couldn’t let my 5 year play it because it was Teen, so I got Lego Star Wars.

Now that’s all I hear…Can I play Star Wars…insert the same words over and over until I get pissed.
Doesn’t want to play any other games, just Lego Star Wars

I’m ready to toss the damn thing in the trash (sell on craigslist really)
Anyone else have kids that are addicted to video games. Ie that’s all they ask for?

[greymalkin]

well if mine starts bugging me I follow these easy steps:
1) tell them no or offer an alternative
2) If #1 is ineffective, whack em.
3) They go to their room and cry...then they come back and don't ask again..
4) If they do keep asking, rinse and repeat.

they will stop asking.

I think video games are a good way to spend time with your children, of course games like leisure suit larry probably don't qualify..but it's good to have some activity you can both do and enjoy. So everything in moderation..and if they start obsessing, follow the easy steps above.

[yoda313]

AM I personally addicted? No. Have I gone over the deepend occasionally? Yes.

However I can go a week or two without even turning one on. However I can also sit and play for two or three hours straight.

Oh I also have a nintendo ds that I play during my lunch break at work everyday so that could sorta count......

But I can easily go without for awhile. Even though I own a Wii, 360, ps3 and now a modded xbox 1 - for rom goodies

I must admit to hardly playing the wii and ps3 at all. I use my ps3 for bluray and upconverted dvds mostly. I rarely play my wii. Though I do like the midnight pool game I bought on Wii Ware....

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Video games, are you or your kids addicted?

Not anymore...
They just don't hold my attention like the used to.
Leave 'em alone and eventually they'll realize that they're lonely. Hopefully.

[greymalkin]

I feel the same way Xylob...games used to really catch my interest and I'd just get so absorbed in them..now it's rare that I can really "get into" a game...I suppose that's why the wii is attractive to the older crowd as well...

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Count me as a third with that opinion.

Not many years ago I swore that I was going to have arcades at my place when I was "grown up", now I barely play with them (consoles, I never got to actually build or purchase the arcade machine).
I bought the Zelda game for the Wii for me thinking I was going to relive all those past moments of adventure.... just to find myself not able to keep playing for more than 10 minutes at a time.
I would have killed for graphics like this when I was a child... (haunted house on ATARI anyone?... or Pitfall?)... but now I am really not THAT interested anymore.

Damn.... I'm getting old....

[Supreme2k]

I built an arcade machine a few years ago with emulators, an old PC and Hotrod components.


One of my favorite games right now?

wait for it...



Crossword puzzles (CrossworDS for the Nintendo DS).


Yes, you may now get off my lawn.

[PuzZLeR]

I'm in the same boat as Xylob, Grey and MeDiCo myself. I woke up one day sometime around 2002, or so, and realized that I've hardly touched a game in years - the passion I had for them left me rather quietly. It's still been that way since. It just never had the will to come back.

We can blame it on work, career, family, friends, grad school, etc, "lack of time" or even "new interests", but I don't believe that either is the real case because we're missing the Big Picture here.

I personally think it was really a love of "computer entertainment" all along, not just a subset of it called "video games". Our love of "computer entertainment" is still in us, only it shifted to video since digital video, or video on a computer for the consumer, really only got interesting in the last decade or so, something most of us can't say was so with video when we were kids.

We still spend mega-time with this thing, even till the wee hours of the morning, and even for no money. We are still addicted to it. We still have missed work/responsibilities or neglected family/friends for it at times (c'mon admit it! ). We still love our "awesome graphics", only now in the form of "awesome quality/encodes".

And it's not a "new interest", only a shifting of subsets within the Main interest - one of the several forms of "computer entertainment".

Brace yourselves folks - in many ways we're still "playing, and addicted to, video games".

[lordsmurf]

Don't play. I want a Wii for bowling. If the lanes were open 24/7 and not so far away, I might just spend my money actually bowling!

[yoda313]

@lordsmurf - you might also like the pool games they have. I have midnight pool from WII WARE and its very good. Unfortunately it has some graphical tearing that is a little disappointing (little spots in the graphics that detract from the game but not as much - some probably wouldn't even notice it but I'm different with the video background thanks to this website).

Oh and I just bought the Wii Fit last weekend. That's fun! Actually I tweaked my legs doing Yoga for the first time. I have done and can do Pillates but I've never done Yoga before.

I made the mistake of doing the four different exercises they had twice each. Then I did more of the mini games for a whole total of 40 minutes. That was Saturday and I just started to feel better yesterday.

YEs I'm in fairly decent shape but this was something new. It makes you keep your balance within a circle on the screen. The circle is about the size of a half dollar (a US half dollar that is). I was rocking quite a bit and I think that helped strain my legs more.

I bought We Ski and Cardio workout. I haven't tried them yet but I'm looking forward to them.

THe nice thing is Wii Fit tracks your progress.

EDIT - I finally tried out We Ski and the Cardio workout games. Those are pretty good! The ski game is fun. You do tilt side to side to turn. Its hilarious using the wiimote and nunchuck to simulate moving the skii poles.

The cardio game is nice. I've only done the intro mode so far. But it had you doing something like step aerobics (in place that is not like a step up type one stepping in place) and then throwing punches at the screen. It has a two wiimote mode instead of the mote and chuck which is good since you don't have the cord in the way.

I think I"ll actually be using my WII more often thanks to the WII FIT. I think I should have bought this awhile ago. Its just I wasn't able to find it in stock anywhere. I didn't look that hard. I also didn't try online. But as a rule I hate paying for shipping on large items online.

[menes777]

Not to be the "Cup is half full guy", but I think some people wish that their loved ones were addicted to video games over some other addiction (drugs, alcohol, gambling, porn, etc...).

[lordsmurf]

I only play pool on a good 8' table with my own cues, nothing else. I'm very picky.

[yoda313]

I only play pool on a good 8' table with my own cues, nothing else. I'm very picky.

Well you mentioned bowling and figured I would mention the pool game.

[PuzZLeR]

Not to be the "Cup is half full guy", but I think some people wish that their loved ones were addicted to video games over some other addiction (drugs, alcohol, gambling, porn, etc...).

When the "arcade phenomenon" was around in the early 80s only adults were allowed (well, at least where I lived). Even though it was strange, that was the early perception back then, and the law, for most places having such machines, or exclusively only having them with nothing else in the business.

Well, that was dropped real quick when the research was later conclusive: that these potentially "unsafe" machines/places were actually great for kids - safe, healthy, cognitive in mind-body skills, relatively inexpensive, and good place for them to get their frustrations out.