Why is it that the older generation hates videogames so much?

[Synbios459]

I've noticed that many people from the older generation (like 40+) really hate videogames, and hate their kids playing it. Just today I was at BestBuy and a guy (around 14 or so) shows his dad (around 40is) one of the DS Demo stations and the conversation went like this:

Kid: This is the DS you can play lots of fun games for it and it's cheaper than the PSP.
Dad: $130 for something this small? This is a waste of money (takes out his cellphone) look, the screen is as big as my cellphone, and you can buy games on your cellphone.
Kid: But there are different types of games and you can touch it (shows his dad brain age).
Dad: Oh, right you can touch it! I can touch the screen on my phone to. If you want it you can buy it but you'll just be wasting your money on some cheap toy.

I almost started dying laughing.

I had a friend that worked a full time job but his dad hated it when he bought games and always tried to convince him how "useless and waste of time it is". When he told his dad that people in their 30s play games his dad said "You'd think people would have better things to do than play games, they just waste all the time and money and wasteful stuff".

But tell me, why is it that so many parents particularly from the previous generation seem to hate it? I'd understand if that's all they did but apparently unless you're not using your spare time to also work you're just wasting time. And thee are by no means the only people I've heard talk like this.

[Synbios459]

Videogames are useless and a waste of time.  They are also entertaining, so thank yer lucky stars for late capitalism!

Well I know that, I like to ask people what they spend their money on when they give me that crap. 90% it's just as useless and as much as a waste of time.

[Mr. Gundam]

Sounds like my Dad when I was a growing up in the 80's.

[hyp]

i remember a time when one game meant 3-4 months worth of gaming.  yea, my parents hated games back then and were too cheap to buy them... until i became a teenager.  it was their way of keeping me out of "trouble".  -- too bad that didn't work

[FlameOfCallandor]

It's kind of like pot i guess. Ultimatly harmless but it's a waste of time and money and it buries ambition.

[Mr. Gundam]

i remember a time when one game meant 3-4 months worth of gaming.  yea, my parents hated games back then and were too cheap to buy them... until i became a teenager.  it was their way of keeping me out of "trouble".  -- too bad that didn't work

Yup. I had to pick and choose my games wisely when I was little, since I'd get four or five a year at the most. Unfortunately, I'd typically pick some shitty licensed game instead.

[FlameOfCallandor]

Can I ask you frank question? Please dont take offense. How do you play DS with your feet?

[Gay Boy]

Because gaming takes "effort". When most adults want to relax and be entertained they rather do it with something that you need to put no work into, such as tv/movies or reading.

Thus is why video games skews to the under 30 primary single male audience. It is something that takes work and time, far more so than watching a dvd or reading a book an hour or so at night. Once you have a job and a wife rarely does one have time that type of hobby.

[FlameOfCallandor]

Because gaming takes "effort".

Thats kind of a stretch, don't you think? Reading is far mroe rewarding and stimulating.

[Synbios459]

Can I ask you frank question? Please dont take offense. How do you play DS with your feet?

I just put my big toe on the d-pad with my left foot and press whatever button needs to be pressed with the big toe on my right foot. I can't really use the L and R buttons though.

[Van Cruncheon]

my parents hated gaming because it was time i didn't spend working, being outdoors, or studying, which is what kids should be doing. and frankly, i agree. reinstitute child labor laws plz

[Himu]

When I was a kid, I'd get like 1-2 games a year at most and I only got to pick what game I wanted only 2 or 3 times in my childhood. It wasn't until I was teenager when I got to freely play what I wanted.

[Candyflip]

It's kind of like pot i guess. Ultimatly harmless but it's a waste of time and money and it buries ambition.

Sure, if you are a pathetically weak-willed asshat.

My dad is 40 and he is still playing video games. I actually got him hooked on WoW. There's also a guy in my guild on WoW who's 40, has 2 kids, plays WoW, and smokes weed. He's pretty fucking cool. I don't know what the point of that was, other than some people don't hate what they don't understand.

[FlameOfCallandor]

  You proved my point

WoW is the biggest waste of time ever. I wasted a whole summer playing it. Yes, it was fun, but I didnt accomplish shit, or be a better person.

[FlameOfCallandor]

Except that that guy is able to raise two kids.  You can't even be bothered to read, FoC.

He raised two kids while playing WoW? 

Hmm thats weird considering WoW has only been out for a few years.

[FlameOfCallandor]

Also, having children is not that great of accomplishment. Especially if they are raised by the typical WoW player.

[FlameOfCallandor]

SO he smokes weed wasted his time on Wow and once had kids.

Sounds like a true calue to society.

Look I  really enjoyed my time on WoW when I played but it is a complete waste of time. It's funny becuase I agree 100% with drinky.

"being outdoors, or studying, which is what kids should be doing"

[Van Cruncheon]

yes, but i only said that because kids are a waste of calories. really, we should put them in hard labor.

[brawndolicious]

for the first thing foc said: I was going to simply say "what?" but will now ask a mod to ban him.

for the second thing foc said: he's talking about somebody else...

for what gay boy said: my dad played videogames all the time with me on my first system (SNES) which I had from 4-8 or 9 and he was a lot better then me at most games.  once I got older he didn't like me to play videogames but he'd occasionally play like once a year.  I'm not exaggerating how much time he spent playing videogames with me when I was young, it was like once he gets home we just play videogames.  I'm guessing once you're older, they don't want you to play videogames and go outdoors but mine didn't like that and just said study.

they probably don't like that it's a NEW form of entertainment.  when I was 4-8 I would read probably as much as I would play videogames but when I got older, the big multiplayer games came out and I put aside reading.  I don't think they dislike videogames for the reasons you think because I still read a lot when I was a kid but do you REALLY give a damn that a kid is absorbing all the literary info he can when he's in elementary school?  doesn't make sense to believe that it's the worth or effort that puts them off of videogames.

[Phoenix Dark]

Probably because they grew up having an actual childhood - you know, playing outside, going to baseball games, going camping, etc - and they see gaming as a waste of time. This is why the Wii may be a fad if it continues in its current direction. Eventually people are going to wake up and realize "why am I playing Knitting Training...when I can actually fucking knit in real life?" Once that happens Nintendo's sand castle will fall into the sea for good.

[Ichirou]

lol, dude, that's what people said when the old NES baseball and football games came out, y'know? "Why play a game about baseball when you could actually be outside and playing the real thing?"  And here we are, twenty plus years later, and people are still playing baseball games on their consoles.

[Phoenix Dark]

lol, dude, that's what people said when the old NES baseball and football games came out, y'know? "Why play a game about baseball when you could actually be outside and playing the real thing?"  And here we are, twenty plus years later, and people are still playing baseball games on their consoles.

That's pretty much the point. The older generation will never accept "playing" sports/activities/etc through videogames. It's far too big of a generational gap. Like 40 year olds listening to 50 Cent: not gonna happen.

Wii Sports works because it's interactive and resembles the actual sports its simulating to a certain degree; you're not sitting on the couch pushing buttons, you're flailing around and actually "doing something".

[Himu]

My dad and I played Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3 and Knuckles allll the time when I was young. They're probably my most favorite gaming moments, especially 1 since it was the first game I owned, because of that single fact.

lol, dude, that's what people said when the old NES baseball and football games came out, y'know? "Why play a game about baseball when you could actually be outside and playing the real thing?"  And here we are, twenty plus years later, and people are still playing baseball games on their consoles.

That's pretty much the point. The older generation will never accept "playing" sports/activities/etc through videogames. It's far too big of a generational gap. Like 40 year olds listening to 50 Cent: not gonna happen.

Wii Sports works because it's interactive and resembles the actual sports its simulating to a certain degree; you're not sitting on the couch pushing buttons, you're flailing around and actually "doing something".

Bullshit. A lot these old farts like Wii because they themselves weren't too good at sports when they were young and/or CAN'T go around outside and play sports like they used to. Many of them think of Wii as a GOOD thing because they feel that a lot of the best games aren't violent and whatever else and it's something they can get into as easy as their kids.

[Phoenix Dark]

I agree. It's seen as a good thing with stuff like Wii Sports. My argument is that as Nintendo pushes forward with this bullshit "gaming" it's going to bite them in the ass. "Face Training" may work in Japan (where people will basically buy anything), but the rest of the world is smarter. We're getting closer and closer to the Knitting Training/Driving Training/etc stuff and I expect it will signify the end of the Wii's dominance.

[trippingmartian]

<sub>My dad got me into games like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom back in the early-to-mid nineties but when games started going full 3D he tuned out.

He recently picked up a controller for the first time since Doom to play Wii Sports. I think he liked it, but he doesn't have one of his own so he hasn't played too much of it.

He mostly just plays puzzle/card games and such on the PC these days. I don't think he's ever paid for a video game for his own entertainment. Somehow subscribing to cable or renting a movie is worthwhile, but a game is not. lol

Also it used to irritate him to see game systems hooked up to either of the good TV's in the house. Part of it was the myth that video games would wreck television sets (which were both CRT). I suspect he just felt the medium was just inferior to television programming or film.</sub>

Video games have been around all my life so it's kind of hard to fully understand his generation's perspective on the matter.

In some ways I think it's an inferiority complex. Because they don't have confidence in their ability to play/understand video games, they reject them entirely. In much the same way I have no interest in playing full contact football.

In other ways it may just be the maturity that comes with age and the shifting of priorities that goes with it.

[brawndolicious]

why'd you use a smaller font?

I don't think you can say ALL of a certain generation are going to hate videogames.  just like how people in our generation may not like videogames.  there's some that simply never really tried it (which is understandable considering you need to buy the hardware or know somebody with it) and there's some that have a prejudice against it, the latter are most likely the minority though.

[trippingmartian]

why'd you use a smaller font?

I figured that was the bulk of text that people would most likely skim anyway. 

[tiesto]

Driving Training

Sony practically has a game like this - where you have to spend hours doing menial tasks trying to get licenses, with wholly accurate driving physics - it's called Gran Turismo and its pretty boring.

[Rman]

Older generations always believe their customs and rites are superior to younger generations.  Do any of you guys have little brothers or sisters and feel like, man, all they do is chat on im or mess around with MySpace for hours.  That seems like a total waste of time to most of us in our 20s and above.  It's all about perspective.

I don't know about you but I find it funny that people who complain about videogames have equally time-consuming unproductive hobbies, like watching 4 hours of TV a day.

And as much as I love games I feel when I do start my own family that I will try to limit "screen" time.  Reading, playing sports, riding bikes, camping and other "analog" activities should be fostered and encouraged as well.

[Himu]

Driving Training

Sony practically has a game like this - where you have to spend hours doing menial tasks trying to get licenses, with wholly accurate driving physics - it's called Gran Turismo and its pretty boring.

 

Gran Turismo sucks

[hyp]

true story -- when we first got our 386 PC, my dad let me play leisure suit larry 1-3.  i beat 'em all.  that game helped me to become the pervert i am today!

[tiesto]

One thing that really sucks in the suburbs is that suburban sprawl, crossed with even more overprotective parents, is making outdoor play a lot less conducive for kids. When I was a kid, at the end of my cul-de-sac lived a farmer, who had a large property with a field and a small woods (with trails). We'd go there to play every day (the farmer didn't mind at all) - play baseball and football in the daytime, hide and go seek at night, we built forts in the trees, we'd build jump tracks and take our BMX's through there, we played spin the bottle, etc. My first kiss and titty feel was in those woods 

About 5 or so years ago, when the housing boom started kicking in, (and when a lot of former residents of my neighborhood sold their properties to young families with young kids around the same age I was when I started playing there) the farmer sold this land to build houses on... it was a pretty large piece of land and real-estate out on the island is some of the most expensive in the country. Elsewhere around Suffolk county, I see former fields and woods being rapidly knocked down and replaced with McMansions, land here gets scarcer and more valuable by the day. Anyways, my point is... a lot of kids don't have the option of playing in a free-for-all area like the woods was for me. Parents structure their kids lives a lot more, sign them up for all sorts of extracurricular activities, etc, not giving them the chance to learn on their own, too scared about lawsuits or their kids getting hurt. The kids who live in my neighborhood now, I hardly ever see them outside, while way back when, my friends and I would be out every single day. They're probably inside playing videogames or something.

[hyp]

in addition, a lot of pedo-paranoia is part of american culture these days.  parents don't like the idea of kids being able to roam free in fear of kidnappers and the like.

[Candyflip]

SO he smokes weed wasted his time on Wow and once had kids.

Sounds like a true calue to society.

Look I  really enjoyed my time on WoW when I played but it is a complete waste of time. It's funny becuase I agree 100% with drinky.

"being outdoors, or studying, which is what kids should be doing"

Are you a complete fucking dipshit? Unless I am dropping out of school, ignoring friends and family, and not going anywhere in life, I can't really say I'm wasting my time. So fuck you. Yeah I play this game a lot, but I don't have shit else to do in my free time.

[Oblivion]

In some ways I think it's an inferiority complex. Because they don't have confidence in their ability to play/understand video games, they reject them entirely. In much the same way I have no interest in playing full contact football.

In other ways it may just be the maturity that comes with age and the shifting of priorities that goes with it.

Older generations always believe their customs and rites are superior to younger generations.  Do any of you guys have little brothers or sisters and feel like, man, all they do is chat on im or mess around with MySpace for hours.  That seems like a total waste of time to most of us in our 20s and above.  It's all about perspective.

I don't know about you but I find it funny that people who complain about videogames have equally time-consuming unproductive hobbies, like watching 4 hours of TV a day.

And as much as I love games I feel when I do start my own family that I will try to limit "screen" time.  Reading, playing sports, riding bikes, camping and other "analog" activities should be fostered and encouraged as well.

Yup and yup. People will always be egocentric, and feel their preferences, hobbies and way of life are superior.

[brawndolicious]

I figured that was the bulk of text that people would most likely skim anyway. 

That's the more interesting part.

Rman, people who use myspace aren't much younger than me (they're usually my generation).  This is more of what makes people heavily into electronic activities.  I know people that are obsessed with myspace and videogames and make both of those things their whole lives.  personally, I believe anybody who uses myspace is a cuntface.  I'm not trying to be judgemental.

[abrader]

Playing VG's is just media - its just like a guy watching TV, or someone watching a DVD...

Its funy tho - the people who sod off watching TV and DVD's like to imagine that their addiction is somehow better or above video games (mostly because they dont know how to play games)

I am a sucessful business man - and I owe it all to stat management after years of playing JRPG's.

I guess some would say college is the accellerator - LOL - no RPG grinding teaches you how to build healthy cash-flow posative/profitable empires.

[FlameOfCallandor]

SO he smokes weed wasted his time on Wow and once had kids.

Sounds like a true calue to society.

Look I  really enjoyed my time on WoW when I played but it is a complete waste of time. It's funny becuase I agree 100% with drinky.

"being outdoors, or studying, which is what kids should be doing"

Are you a complete fucking dipshit? Unless I am dropping out of school, ignoring friends and family, and not going anywhere in life, I can't really say I'm wasting my time. So fuck you. Yeah I play this game a lot, but I don't have shit else to do in my free time.

It's fun, but the hours required to do anything amount to a big waste of time. You can't even argue that fact. It is fun and I did enjoy it the summer I played. But it's mindless fun, taken to the extreme.

[Synbios459]

SO he smokes weed wasted his time on Wow and once had kids.

Sounds like a true calue to society.

Look I  really enjoyed my time on WoW when I played but it is a complete waste of time. It's funny becuase I agree 100% with drinky.

"being outdoors, or studying, which is what kids should be doing"

Are you a complete fucking dipshit? Unless I am dropping out of school, ignoring friends and family, and not going anywhere in life, I can't really say I'm wasting my time. So fuck you. Yeah I play this game a lot, but I don't have shit else to do in my free time.

It's fun, but the hours required to do anything amount to a big waste of time. You can't even argue that fact. It is fun and I did enjoy it the summer I played. But it's mindless fun, taken to the extreme.

Uh....Other than working what isn't mindless fun?

[FlameOfCallandor]

Traveling, reading, meeting new people, studying. Look I'm not saying that its evil or bad and that no one should do it, but let's be honest here, the majority of video games are like Soda, empty calories.  I have also found that personally video games stifle ambition.

[brawndolicious]

making pixels move lowered your ambition?

[Yeti]

Traveling, reading, meeting new people, studying. Look I'm not saying that its evil or bad and that no one should do it, but let's be honest here, the majority of video games are like Soda, empty calories.  I have also found that personally video games stifle ambition.

Travelling, meeting new people, and especially studying aren't really forms of entertainment. And travelling and meeting new people aren't really something you could do to unwind for short amounts of time. I suppose I will give you reading, although some people could argue it has the same merits as video games (I wouldn't)

[FlameOfCallandor]

And some could argue that anything not related to survival or reproduction is entertainment in some way.

[Candyflip]

Traveling, reading, meeting new people, studying. Look I'm not saying that its evil or bad and that no one should do it, but let's be honest here, the majority of video games are like Soda, empty calories.  I have also found that personally video games stifle ambition.

-I read plenty.
-I don't have the means to travel anywhere outside of Sacramento.
-I fucking hate 80% of everyone I meet. I hate bullshitting, I hate small talk. Every time I walk away from someone I feel like I just wasted 2 hours of my life talking about a whole bunch of nothing.
-When the hell was a last time anyone below the age of 30 spent the majority of their free time studying?

I've got plenty of ambition. I know where I'm going, I know what I want to do. You're going to be a lousy father. Please don't procreate.

[Flannel Boy]

People are creatures of habit and are often scared of new things. For people that did not grow up playing videogames the whole process of playing a videogame is odd and foreign to them. Just trying to work the controls is a serious barrier.

And there is the problem of content. The content in many videogames scare parents. Killing a space alien is one thing, but killing a hooker is something else. 

There is also the issue of cognitive decline. As people age their processing speeds and reaction times slow down, making it difficult to play many games.  If they can't play the games well, they just might not like games at all.

And yeah, it is a time waster. Though, this complaint is often made by people who watch 5+ hours of television a day.

[Cyanista]

Except that that guy is able to raise two kids.  You can't even be bothered to read, FoC.

He raised two kids while playing WoW? 

Hmm thats weird considering WoW has only been out for a few years.

It's been out five or six years.  It only takes most women nine months to have one baby.