nathangsm’s Recent Comments

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  Unfair (and unfounded) stereotypical imagery.

  "And since games are a bit addictive, appear antisocial, are mysterious to the general taste-makers and largely played by teenage boys, there is quite a lot of negative speculation."

  So we have several statements here, all of them leading to "negative speculation". Let me address them in turn...

  1) "games are a bit addictive"

  On what grounds do you make this statement? What supports that position? Yes, people may become addicted to games, just as they can become addicted to reading books, watching television, and posting comments to articles online, but that doesn't mean that any of these activities can be defined as an "addictive activity" (in the manner of such notables such as nicotine-containing cigarettes).

  I could continue on this topic at length, but I'll instead direct you to a feature in Gamasutra (a publication of the Game Developer's Conference), which examines the topic more concisely and eloquently than would be able to do here.

  The link is: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060228/clark_01.shtml ...

  But here's an except from the conclusion:

  ". . . so far research has simply suggested that at most, people are becoming addicted to games, not that games themselves are actually responsible for addicting people."

  2) "games . . . appear antisocial"

  First of all, that completely ignores the huge number of games where interaction with other humans is implicit (MMOs such as World of Warcraft immediately come to mind, as well as a plethora of online multi-player first person shooters, such as Halo 3 and Team Fortress 2, which can involve a great deal of person-to-person interaction).

  This statement also disregards the siblings who play together, the spouses who play together, the parents who play with their children, the children who play with their friends, as well as the many adults who socialize at the homes of their adult friends while playing games together.

  I could go on for hours, with antidotal evidence from my own life, and the lives of people I know, but how about I just direct you to this (one of many like it) press releases on research about the social lifestyles of gamers?

  The link is: http://www.theesa.com/archives/2005/01/new_data_shatte.ph ...

  But here's an except:

  "According to a survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, computer and video game players spend more than three times the amount of time exercising or playing sports, volunteering in the community, reading, or engaging in religious, creative, and cultural activities than they do playing video games. In total, gamers spend 23.4 hours per week on these activities, compared to 6.8 hours per week playing games. Avid gamers -- those who play games 11 or more hours per week -- spend 34.5 hours per week on the activities mentioned above."

  3) "games are . . . mysterious to the general taste-makers"

  I can only speculate that the "general taste-makers" must be the antisocial ones, because gamers are... Everyone.

  Since the support of this statement is the same as the next, I'm going to move right on to...

  4) "games are . . . largely played by teenage boys"

  Umbra, for shame! That attitude is sexist, ageist, and completely untrue! One highly relevant factoid is that Women age 18 or older represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population in the U.S. then boys age 17 or younger, in fact, 50% greater!

  There's a plethora of data out there, here are a couple more pertinent factoids (according to the ESA and NPD):

  72% of American's aged 6-44 play video games.

  69% of American heads-of-household play computer and video games.

  While just over a quarter of gamers are under 18 (28%), nearly a full quarter is 50 or over (24%).

  The average PLAYER (not buyer) of games in the U.S. is 33, and has been playing games for 12 years (Which makes the average age to begin playing video games 21, the same age they begin to drink alcohol legally... Regardless, it's not just a hold-over pastime from adolescence).

  If you want data on gamers who play a LOT, it starts getting pretty tricky, and for the comprehensive figures, you have to pay big bucks, but gleaning from the press releases and reported snippets...

  Just over 1 out of 50 American women between the ages of 18 and 34 fall into the category of "Heavy Gamer" (this segment averages 40 hours of gaming per week), and while I don't have data on the gender split for kids aged 6 to 17 who fall into this category, if it's the same as the gender split for that age segment at large, then just over 1 out of 50 American boys aged 6 to 17 would be there as well.

  Actually, the prevalence for boys to be "heavy gamers" might be somewhat lower, because while I've seen it reported that almost twice as many boys as girls play video games in the 6-17 segment at large, it appears that the gap may disappear during the teen years (and that, incidentally, playing video games is an important part of a young teen's social activities).

  So, if at LEAST as many (if not more) career-age women as teenage boys fit the stereotype for the gamer with little time for anything else in their life but games (about 1 out of 47 Americans aged 6-44), I think we can all agree that pointing at one age-group and gender (teen males) while ignoring another at least equally as prevalent (adult females), is is a bit unfair to the gaming populace at large...

  In fact, when 72% of Americans (age 6-44) are gamers, and the average adult plays 7.5 hours a week (and there's only a 12-minute gap between adult men and women's weekly game playing), it makes you wonder about the other 28%...

  Apparently, they're the ones doing all the "negative speculation".

  Aside from all that, I appreciated your commentary in general, regarding the ecological impact of video games. For certain, it's one of my biggest eco-vices, in terms of non-essential consumption. I don't own or drive an automobile (I bike, walk, and use public transportation), don't live in a stand-alone, single-family dwelling, eat almost no meat, buy organic (and fair-trade or local when I can), and in general, consume a whole lot less unnecessary "stuff". But, aside from the impact of producing the electronics to begin with, the energy consumption is my biggest concern, as the draw from my game console, TV, and the single source of ambient light I'll have on while gaming uses as much wattage in a single hour as my refrigerator does in 8. So there are certainly improvements to be made...On Umbra on video games saving the world posted 1 year, 7 months ago 10 Responses

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  No license at 25

  When I was 16, my parents wanted me to take driver's ed, which I staunchly refused. At 25, I still have not obtained a license. Between walking and biking, I manage, in Denver, Colorado, but it can be a real pain, when people persist in living in 'burbs...

   -Nathan G S-MOn Can a Brit survive in North America without a driver's license? posted 4 years, 6 months ago 5 Responses