A reader describes his experience of what kind of video games his kids, and their friends, are playing, and he doesn’t consider it healthy for the future of the industry.
I’ve been a video game fan pretty much all my life. It’s not my only hobby; I don’t base my personality around being a gamer, as some people seem to online, but I think video games are pretty cool and I play them quite a lot. When bringing up my kids I made a conscious effort not to push games, or any of my other interests or beliefs, onto them but inevitably they were influenced, especially by my love of Nintendo.
That meant they grew up playing a lot of Mario and Pokémon, and more recently Zelda, and it’s been great to see them get the same sort of enjoyment out of them as I always did. Like me, they’re not superfans, and have plenty of other things they like, including things I’d barely qualify as a video game, like Minecraft and Roblox.
What I have noticed though, or realised by talking to fellow parents, is that most kids are not like mine. Most don’t seem to have their own console and instead their knowledge of gaming is based on using phones, tablets, and laptops, to play Minecraft, Roblox, and other no-name rubbish that I can’t believe holds their attention. What’s strange to me is that none of them even seem that interested in Fortnite.
Since I’m not using any real names here, I will say that I think some of those parents act very oddly when the subject of games come up. Most of them do actually own a console, or even a gaming PC, but it doesn’t seem as if their children are encouraged to use them. There’s no attempt to introduce them to child friendly fare, like I did with Nintendo, and instead they’re just given the phone or tablet to shut them up.
Ironically, some of these same people have now started to complain that ‘kids’ (kids in general, somehow never their kids specifically) aren’t interested in video games and that they’re worried that it’s having a negative effect on gaming and what publishers prioritise.
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I have been surprised that they were insightful enough to realise this, while at the same time it never dawned on them that they were the problem. That because they hogged the gaming machines and didn’t ensure access to age appropriate games, their kids just gravitated towards low rent, and usually free-to-play, rubbish.
It’s like a parent complaining that their children don’t eat well enough and yet all they feed them is junk food. Not only that, they don’t seem to realise that it’s their job not to feed their kids junk.
Obviously, video games aren’t as important as basic nutrition but some of the absolute mindless rubbish I’ve seen kids play on Roblox, in particular, blows my mind. I try not to be a monster, and I do let my kids play it too, especially when friends come round, but I feel very proud that they eventually always return to their Switch.
My point is that we are creating a generation of children that do not play traditional games and associate the concept of video games with things that are free and only played as a joke or as a kind of social experience – the infamous ‘friendslop’.
I’m not suggesting that Mario and co. are essential for young minds but I know for a fact that Pokémon has been very helpful with reading, with my kids, and Zelda for puzzle-solving and critical thinking. Playing the average Roblox game just seems to be the mental equivalent of eating a bag of Haribo in one go and immediately starting on another.
It doesn’t help that Sony and Microsoft make almost no effort to appeal to kids, with games they’ll like, and when you look at what they’re playing it’s very obvious why publishers are currently obsessed with live service games and other things we veteran games would consider beneath them.
It’s been obvious for a while now that big budget single-player games are largely only being bought and played by older fans, but one of the main reasons for this, I believe, is because kids are not being introduced to the joys of it from a young age. Maybe they’ll grow into it when they get older, but I wouldn’t bet on it. For many kids, traditional video games are just one of many old-fashioned things their parents do and are not for them, and I think that’s a real issue.
By reader Kane
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