Computer Games bring Families back together

For decades computer games have been seen as a piraha which split up families, responsible for sending teenage boys and fathers off to sit in different rooms completely engrossed in their lone slash ’em up, shoot ’em up games, or buried deep in a fantasy world with elves and goblins.

This is changing now dramatically.  This winter will probably be the first to see families uniting around the TV and games console, playing together, talking, laughing and joking.  For years and years Computer games have been seen as a device which drives families apart, but now the opposite is happening, and they are bringing families together.

Why the change? 

Firstly, the consoles them selves have changed, the Wii, innovative and simplier for young children and less experinced games playing adults to use.  Wireless technology also makes the consoles and control panels simplier, allowing for the whole family to play eachother at the same time.

Secondly the games and the choice of games has expanded hugely.  Many of the wii games are based around offline games, that try as they might, parents just don’t get to participate in regularly with their children in the real world, such as tennis, snowboarding etc.

This Christmas will see a rush of family friendly games into the Christmas maket place, inlcuding games which let you prented to be popstars, actors, and air guitarists in the extreme.  And these types of games put everyone of a level playing field, an 8 year old can compete fairly with their parents, even their grandparents, and enables proper competition, rather than the politically correct kind that we’ve seen of recent times.

A further positive change to come from the move to family friendly gaming is that the consoles are now generally appearing in the living room, where the biggest television, and biggest space for game playing tends to be.  This means that children are no longer secluded away in their bedrooms in the lone game playing worlds, but within the communal family space.

The recent economic downturn is seen by many in the games industry as being a positive opportunity.  As families cut back on expenditure and goign out, and evening in playing games together looks like a good fun alternative.

The scenes drawn above are remeniscent of the prr-television society, where families would gather together or an evening to play board games like monopoly, scrabble or cards.  It seems that the wii, and the playstation have just re-engineered those old fashioned games for the 21st century family.