A fact that seems to have slipped past Blogger Kevin McCullough. This lack of insight appears to have fueled his attack on the Xbox 360 game Mass Effect in this poorly written and grossly inaccurate rant. We became aware of this disturbing piece of “journalism” thanks to this post at Game Politics. I do not want to waste the space to quote from McCullough’s piece and point out the numerous misrepresentations. As it is, Game Politics did an impressive job of restraining themselves and limiting their selections. Suffice it to say that McCullough has so many mistakes in his story that once they’re removed, there isn’t much of an article left.

What is of relevance to us here is that this individual is apparently outraged at some mature content in a videogame. So much so that he doesn’t look close enough to see that the game is clearly targeted to an audience of 17+ years and that the 30 second risque scene is less graphic than what appears on most mature television dramas these days.

I appreciate any attempts to help us parents make informed decisions about content to which our children should have access. However, when the discussion becomes slanderous and seems to encourage censorship I have to question the true motivation of the writer.

In our households, we still need to ”baby-proof” things. The thought of a razor blade left in one of the kids’ rooms sends shivers down our spines. But what McCullough did here was like trying to have the local pharmacy shut down because they sell razor blades in their shaving department. And, in his horror to realize this, he chose to call them nuclear-powered and said that they would kill on contact. (My father will roll his eyes when he reads this and say, “All analogies are suspect,” but I couldn’t help it.)

Here at Game Apparent we’ve said it before and we’ll be saying it for years to come. Not all games are for kids. This is one of the reasons that we decided to create this site. If there’s ever a question, you ALWAYS have resources at your disposal:

• Check the ESRB rating for the game.
• Post a question in our Forums.
• Email us directly - Chris or Ted.
• Visit our friends at Gamer Dad and search their site for a review.

We’re all in this together and as long as we have the proper tools, we can make informed decisions on behalf of our families.

[Read more →]

Nintendo of America set a new record last week according to this article at gameindustry.biz. During the Thanksgiving week (including Black Friday) over 653,000 Nintendo DS systems were sold and 350,000 Wiis flew off the shelves as well. This is over one million game systems by one company in a single week! In this related article on their site, gameindustry.biz noted that more than 310,000 Xbox 360s and roughly 150,000 PlayStation 3s were sold during this same time period.

What makes this information valuable to us as parents is that getting a new game system for the family this holiday season is now difficult and it’s only going to get worse. This is usually the case during a launch year, but the 360 launched two years ago, the DS lite came out in June of 2006, and the Wii and PS3 came out for last year’s holiday season. The release of the Xbox 360 Elite and the new price slashes on the PS3 have kept interest high on these systems. However, Nintendo has really regained their dominant position in the gaming world with the DS and the Wii.

Since the introduction of the original GameBoy, Nintendo has always had the most successful handheld platform on the planet. The introduction of the GameBoy Color and GameBoy Advance continued that trend. But the DS has tapped into a market similar to the Wii where people are interested in alternative ways of interfacing with the technology. Further proof of their success with this approach is confirmed by the fact that retailers have found it difficult to keep the Wii in stock ever since its launch.

I’m personally delighted to see such interest in these systems, but I can only hope that parents are approaching these purchases reflectively and plan to use these as gifts for the family that can inspire opportunities to bond and relate on yet another level.

Keep an eye here for our upcoming vodcast and our follow-up articles offering our gaming recommendations for this year!

[Read more →]

Let’s hear it for people who are passionate about their beliefs! Adam Sessler shared this soapbox video on G4TV about parents playing games with their kids. He reacted to the same study that we reported here on November 12th. The big issue that he is pushing here is that parents should be involved with their children. I would hope that this concept does not seem foreign to anyone.

He provides a great analogy to his own childhood experience with Star Wars. (Check out the great Darth Vader in the corner of the scree capture!) He never knew that his parents didn’t like it because they watched all the movies with him. They wanted to be involved with their child and understand his interests. This is a crucial point that I know I have been at risk of overlooking - It doesn’t matter whether or not we (the parents) like something. We should take interest in all of the things for which our children care.

My wife has already demonstrated this on a level reserved for martyrs. She hates bugs. Really - Hates - Bugs. (Especially water-bugs and these wicked-fast silverfish things.) If something found its way into our house, she didn’t even want to look at it. Our son is now four years old and he adores bugs. He spends summer days turning over rocks to study them and begs us to go to the insectarium. My wife will go with us and read books that have pictures that show spider fangs blown-up 100x. She hates bugs, but she loves our son. Since he loves bugs, she plays with him and helps him draw pictures. Heck, even last spring she showed great restraint when she helped him hold a giant centipede at a special event at the local butterfly house.

The fact is, whether it be games and television shows or bugs and sports, we need to stay engaged with our kids. Gaming is just one opportunity to bond, but if it’s an important part of your child’s life, you owe it to your kid and yourself to try to get involved. Even if you don’t play the game, ask questions about it and find out what the draw is. You may be surprised at what lessons can be learned and what opportunities can arise.

[Read more →]