Since recent polls state that "99% of boys and 94% of girls play video games" it makes more sense to me to blog about ways to help parents get involved then to tell you to throw them away! In my experience I would say video games are probably the most common activity that teens do that parents ignore (often just because of how fast the games, platforms, etc. change... it's hard to keep up). Though I'm not encouraging you to jump in and become a full on "gamer", I do think if your son or daughter loves playing video games you should read this blog and see if you can find another connecting point with your teen.I know for some video games are a sore subject but sometimes they lead to good things too... For example this week some online gamers witnessed a robbery and were able to call for help for their friend (read more here) OR that fact that many platforms are trying to develop games to stretch and grow students learning capacities since the future is in computers (here's a list of "5 games that won't rot your brain").
This blog has taken information from all over to give you a quick overview to "get you in the game" or at least educate you on enough to help you stay in the conversation with your son or daughter...
The Basics… Genres of Games
- Action-Adventure
- First Person Shooter (FPS)
- Roll Playing Game (RPG)
- Simulation (Sim)
- Strategy
- Sports
The rating system...
 | EARLY CHILDHOOD
Content is intended for young children.
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 | EVERYONE
Content is generally suitable for all ages. May contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.
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 | EVERYONE 10+
Content is generally suitable for ages 10 and up. May contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language and/or minimal suggestive themes.
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 | TEEN
Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.
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 | MATURE
Content is generally suitable for ages 17 and up. May contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.
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 | ADULTS ONLY
Content suitable only for adults ages 18 and up. May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and/or gambling with real currency.
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 | RATING PENDING
Not yet assigned a final ESRB rating. Appears only in advertising, marketing and promotional materials related to a game that is expected to carry an ESRB rating, and should be replaced by a game's rating once it has been assigned.
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Top PC (Computer) Games:
- World of Warcraft ($10.5 billion)
- Minecraft (over 5 billion hours)
- League of Legends
- The Sims
- Diablo
Top Console Games:
- Tetris (143 million copies)
- Wii Sports (81.9 million copies)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
- Call of Duty (10 games currently)
- Grand Theft Auto (15 games)
Connect with your Teen through Video Games (by Eric Rogers):
- Talk
- What are you playing and what do you enjoy most about that game?
- Are you playing with any of your friends? If so, who?
- Are there any games coming out soon you are excited about?
- Play
- Watch your son or daughter play for awhile
- Find a good starter game
- Portal 2 (FPS)
- New Super Mario Bros. (Strategy)
- Burnout Paradise (Sport)
- World of Warcraft (RPG)
- Ask your son or daughter to teach you!
- Watch
- When you watch the professionals, you are watching the best (yes, I said professionals)
- When we watch we learn
- When we watch, we share in the experience
*Go to YouTube and type in "Let's Play _____" (insert whatever game you are looking for) Disclaimer that many will have foul language
**Want to blow your mind... Here's the full documentary on some professional gamers playing free online games, click here to watch "Free to Play" (You can also find it on iTunes)
Picking out a game for my son or daughter...
- What game would my teenager be interested in? (Ask & start keeping a list!!)
- What content is in this game? (See Rating system above)
- Is this game any good? (PluggedIN & Metacritic)
Parental Controls (Set passwords, manage time, block users, etc.):
- WiiU: http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu/parents/
- Xbox One: support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/security/xbox-live-parental-control
- PS4: support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/5097/~/ps4-parental-controls
Did you know!?!?!?!?
- There are “Glasses that eliminate eye fatigue for gamers”
- Carpal Tunnel or “Trigger Finger Surgery” for excessive gamers
- “Predators Targeting Online Gaming”
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The Bergs
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