Do your parents like video games?

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DaHeckIzDat1
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Do your parents like video games?

Postby DaHeckIzDat1 » March 2nd, 2015, 10:25 am

I conversation in another thread made me wonder,what did/do your parents think about video games? Do they like that you play them, dislike it, or even play them with you. For me,my front console , a Super Nintendo, was a birthday present from my grandma when I turned 4. My parents thought it was a harmless toy,until I became hopelessly addicted to them. They never really accepted how much I loved games, my dad in particular. I don't think he ever really forgave my grandma for that present lol.

ptdebate1
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Do your parents like video games?

Postby ptdebate1 » March 2nd, 2015, 10:42 am

Great topic!

I daresay most people on this forum grew up playing videogames as children of parents who did not. 

I'm very grateful to my parents because they always bought me and my brother the latest games and systems--starting with the NES all the way through the PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox--although they had mixed feelings about us spending a lot of time playing them. They wanted us to have a well-rounded childhood that included plenty of physical activity and creative pursuits. They were awesome parents in that regard.

The only other major restriction placed on us was based on ratings--I couldn't play "Teen" rated games until I was actually a teen, and I couldn't play "Mature" rated ones (with the exception of Halo) until I was sixteen.

That being said, I still spent way too much time playing certain games during my teenage years, including Star Ocean: The Second Story (PS1) and Phantasy Star Online (Gamecube). 

Back then, they generally avoided actually playing games with me and my brother, probably because they were convinced that they'd suck at them. Lately, though, my parents have been enjoying Kinect Sports (they get a real kick out of the "highlight" reels at the end of each round) and Left 4 Dead. I'm probably going to try to get my dad into The Walking Dead since he loves the show.



Vexer1
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Do your parents like video games?

Postby Vexer1 » March 2nd, 2015, 1:09 pm

Nope, mine do not understand video games in any way as they have zero interest in them, my mother was a bit strict about game ratings(I.E. she wouldn't let me get Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, thankfully my cousin got me the game for Christmas) for a bit but she eventually loosed up.

I was pretty busy as a kid with several outside of school activities(most of which my parents forced me to join, like Boy Scouts which I despised), so ironically I actually have more time to play games now as an adult then I did as a kid.


Sut1
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Do your parents like video games?

Postby Sut1 » March 2nd, 2015, 2:07 pm

This was the great thing about home computers, my parents thought they were educating me when they bought my first home computer, an Acorn Electron which bust after a couple of months, thankfully they got me a Spectrum 128k the following christmas.
The only issue my parents had was gaming for long periods, which could be a pain when some of the later 128k games could take 20+ minutes to load ! But it was normally ok as I was a sporty sort and was out more than I was in.
My father likes really simple straightforward shooters he always had a go on Phoenix in the arcades, 1942 was his favourite Spectrum game and his all time favourite is House of the Dead on Saturn with the light gun.
I have tried to introduce him to slightly more complex games but anything with more than one button gets short shrift.

Rev1
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Do your parents like video games?

Postby Rev1 » March 2nd, 2015, 8:09 pm

My mom never played videogames but my dad always used to play Mortal Kombat II with me, growing up. He also put in just as much time into our PS2/Xbox when I lived with them. I think the biggest difference between my dad and me is that he's all about the newest games, on the most current consoles. As I got older I found more enjoyment from the generation of games that I grew up with. My dad also doesn't play videogames as much as he used to because he says they give him motion sickness.

bigladiesman
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Re: Do your parents like video games?

Postby bigladiesman » May 2nd, 2019, 8:00 am

My mother used to play Columns on our Mega Drive, and many years later she got started again with the Wii. Nowadays we play quiz games like Buzz or the ones that use PlayLink on the PS4. My father sees video games as a form of art he doesn't understand nor likes to play, but loves to look at. He plays some quiz games and that's it. I think it's some kind of revenge against me: when I was 5 he bought me a Sinclair Spectrum +2 (I threw it away when I was a teenager, damn me! :| ) and, being a scaredy kid as I was, I made HIM play those amazingly hard Euro-platformers! :lol:

Even his mother who’s 89 likes to play from time to time, but him, doesn’t. My other, late, granny also got hooked to the Wii in her later years. She was good at Mario Kart!

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Do your parents like video games?

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 3rd, 2019, 2:57 pm

My parents always thought they were a complete waste of time, and still do.

I remember one time during the Atari 2600 era they had some relatives over when I wasn't home, and the couple saw my Atari they went crazy over it, playing all my games. My parents were kind of taken aback; they couldn't imagine that "grown ups" would have any desire to play video games!

I guess it's kind of like rock n roll music in the 1960s. Why would old people ever listen to that?

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Retro STrife
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Re: Do your parents like video games?

Postby Retro STrife » May 3rd, 2019, 4:55 pm

Supposedly, my mom really enjoyed games during the Atari era. She recalls Dig Dug being her favorite. That was before I was born, though - because I don't remember her playing games when I was a kid. But she did have an Atari 7800 and a decent set of 2600 games, so that was my first gaming experience as a little kid.

As a really young kid (say ages 3-7), I remember adults talking about the NES. I remember playing the NES that my uncle had at his house (my mom's brother), or being at my mom's friend's house and the two of them talking about Mario games on the NES. My mom eventually bought an NES, but again, I don't remember her ever playing it. She definitely stopped totally by the 1990s. She doesn't play games at all these days, and I can't even convince her to give my Pac-Man arcade machine a whirl.

My dad is the opposite. He tells me he thought video games were a stupid hobby for adults when he was in his 20s during the 1980s. But he started picking it up a bit during the early 90s, getting hooked on NES adventure and RPG games, like Zelda, Dragon Warrior, and Ultima. I still have maps he drew in the 90s, before the internet, mapping out the entire Zelda world. He's retired now and, to this day, he plays a lot of RPGs using emulators on his computer. He is always working on some old school JRPGs, especially from the SNES and PS1 eras, and especially Final Fantasy and games like it. It's cool to me, because it's an era of RPGs that I'm a big fan of as well- the era I grew up playing. These days, my dad is always up for getting dragged to a pinball or video game convention if I need someone to come along.

What's interesting is that, despite my parents having these ties to gaming, I don't credit them for getting me hooked on gaming. It's not a situation where I have any memories of playing together with my parents. But because of their interest in it, they did buy the systems that were in the house - and that got me hooked on gaming from playing on my own or with friends/siblings.

Voor
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Re: Do your parents like video games?

Postby Voor » May 3rd, 2019, 5:47 pm

Mom. Never.

Dad. One time. He came into our room while me and my brother played Road Rash 64. Shocked us when he grabbed the controller and proceed to play with one hand. He thought the rag doll crash physics were hilarious. I’ve never heard him laugh so hard in my life.

After 5 minutes, he put it down and never played again.

Supposedly, he enjoyed some 2600 space invaders, but I was too young to remember.

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ASalvaro
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Re: Do your parents like video games?

Postby ASalvaro » May 27th, 2019, 6:01 am

My dad never played video games but in 1984 he really got addicted to Burger Time on my Intellivision..he started spending hours each day playing it and finally he had to get his own Intellivision with Burger Time but it was the only game he ended up buying for the system


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