Dad and son game together -- now that's parenting!
These photos (snapped on the train to the Tokyo Game Show on Saturday morning) demonstrate the rare skill known as "parenting." (Judging from the antiquated hardware, this also demonstrates another rare life skill known as "frugality.")
In six years of riding the New York City subway to work (and around town), I never saw a scene like this. Add these shots to the stack of evidence that demonstrates that gaming in Japan is both a family and a public affair, free from the stigma that plague the hobby in the United States.
Then again, we never did get a good look at the screen. They could have been paging through super ecchi manga on the thing, for all we know.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ill trooper @ Sep 24th 2006 4:03AM
My friend and his son game together; the son would frequently ask his dad to do the harder parts, until a few years ago when he became the master of anything GameCube and PS2 at age 7-8... Now he's 10, and totally infatuated with 'Ruby' and robots... It's great watching him grow up.
Windmill @ Sep 24th 2006 4:16AM
I wish that was like that here.
Jonathan @ Sep 24th 2006 4:31AM
There's NOTHING antequated about the GBA SP!
Vlad @ Sep 24th 2006 4:52AM
awwwwwwww...
my parents are crazily awesome, but they would be just about perfect if they were into gaming like this guy clearly is. heartwarming stuff, for sure, good post Vlad, from one Vlad to another.
pangit @ Sep 24th 2006 4:59AM
maybe American lifestyle is too fastpaced and individualistic.
The Third Strongest @ Sep 24th 2006 5:01AM
That's how I'll be with my kids. Or else I'll eat a hotdog backwards.
pointfour @ Sep 24th 2006 5:27AM
Apart from my dad's brief addictioon to 1080 Snowboarding, neither of my parents have really been interested in gaming. Until I bought a DS with brain training - I took it with me on holiday and they both played it every day.
I go away to Uni today, and my mum's considering buying a DS of her own so she can play while i'm away. She's even shown an interest in getting a Wii. Nintendo's tactics are working.
Jay @ Sep 24th 2006 7:04AM
Back in the old NES days my parents used to play Mario Bros when I was at school. Only found this out a few months back too! I Showed my mum that pretty much any gaming device in my room is now playing my (legally ripped) Mario Bros rom. Still can't get past level 1-3 after 19 years.
My dad used to make colouring books of Mario characters for me. *ah*
good good times.
Now onto the obligatory Wii piece - I sincerely hope the Wii does this again. I would love to play Wii sports against the elder members of my family. I read a review in Live today that said "[the Wii] is the most toy with microchips I've ever seen", and seeing it's written by and for the disposable income people, well I just hope I can carry my Wii controller and play against everyone from my little sisters mates to my girlfriends grandparents. I WANT A NEW COLOURING BOOK.
SparckZero @ Sep 24th 2006 7:18AM
My parents are great, apart from when it comes down to video games. Dad's a mean shot on CS, and Mum will happily take on all comers at Bomberman.
Pure. Evil.
Eric Von Shpeel @ Sep 24th 2006 7:42AM
my mother used to love playing gauntlet 2 on the amiga, we used to play for hours until we got bored of trying to get to level 100. On the first day I got my 360 i downloaded the gauntlet trial and handed her the pad and after five minutes she gave it back to me saying she didnt like the joypad
SuperChuck @ Sep 24th 2006 7:46AM
I think the next generation may see a lot of this.
My generation, who grew up with Atari and NES, is starting to have kids. In a few years, those kids will be old enough to hold a joystiq.
One friend of mine already has kids of mgae playing age... They play together ALL the time.
Michael James Nock @ Sep 24th 2006 8:01AM
First PC game I can remember playing, I was trying to prove that I could be better at it than my mum. Do you have any idea how destrictive to a childs self esteem to be worse at a game than his mother?
ThornedVenom @ Sep 24th 2006 8:29AM
How cute... perhaps the next generation (of people, not consoles!) is going to look like that all over households. ^^
I know a guy who plays with his dad and such. Makes me shed a tear of happiness. =)
Ramen Junkie @ Sep 24th 2006 8:56AM
I play games with my kids. It actually presents a bit of a new challenge because I don't want to discourage him by completely crushing him every game we play compedetively.
It's pretty much impossible to "let him win" though when he's constantly spinning out of control in Gran Turismo or getting caught on trees in SSX.
Another thing that has to be considered is game rating. Before, I played and bought whatever I wanted. Now I have to keep all my M rated games in the closet. I generally keep all my RPGs in there too because he's not old enough to read well enough to play them. I don't want ot have to sit around all day trying to explain whats going on.
gaudium @ Sep 24th 2006 9:08AM
heyy GBA's a really good portable. can kick PSP's ass anytime.
Vince @ Sep 24th 2006 9:29AM
I game all the time with my kids (boy, 16 & girl 12). I'm 40 now and grew up with video games. I started with dedicated game machines (Telstar, etc) moved to consoles (Atari VCS, 5200, etc) and eventually to portables. I still have a functioning Atari Lynx around here. My kids have just about every current console & handheld. They're enjoying them, as am I.
nootau @ Sep 24th 2006 9:34AM
I think i detected a hint of sarcasm at the "antiquated" hardware statement directed at the PSP crowd lol
strider_mt2k @ Sep 24th 2006 9:37AM
It's probably just old loyalties talking, but I still like some games on the GBA SP.
The platform is aging, but has a charm that might be timeless.
The Pain Train @ Sep 24th 2006 9:56AM
I wish I could get my parents to play games that I play. My mom hasn't touched a controller since she tried to play NFL Blitz with me when I was about 10. My Dad plays Civilization 2 (which I acknowledge is a good game) and Champions of Norrath (PS2) all day. He plays through the game over and over again from level 1 to 80 with the Barbarian class. He must have done it at least 6 times by now. It's honestly painful to watch. I've even asked if he wants to play Halo 2 with me, and he has no interest. That dad in the article is the man, and I hope for there to be more like him in the near future. It's great that he takes an active role in the activities of his kid, and I think all bad press about video games wouldn't be there if more parents were like that. I don't see why most parents avoid games like the plague, it's not like they're a chore to play, they're games!
Kenny_Banya @ Sep 24th 2006 10:06AM
I used to play those fake pirate Street Fighters for the NES with my grandmother. She was actualy not bad at it.
Now, totally off, but... why is everybody eating hot dogs backwards? from where did this come? Is it a TV quote, a Krazy Ken quote? I just don't get it.
Ndric @ Sep 24th 2006 10:12AM
My mom prides herself in being able to beat the Super Mario game when it came out. She also owned Crash Bandicoot on my PS1 whilst I can't even beat the first island (although she shrieks pretty damn hard when she dies). My dad is pretty kickass using Maxi on SCII. He plays Red Alert II as well.
krizage @ Sep 24th 2006 10:24AM
Preach it! I could hold my head and say that I knit, jog, play cricket (I live in the States and people would think that hobby would be odd) or write poetry and people would only think me eccentric. If I say I play games, I am a loner living in my mom’s basement.
We need more games that are stimulating and fun, but also family friendly. I have yet to see if the MS zones for family will turn out to be useful for online play. I would love to play games with my daughter, but not if I have to listen to some 10 year old drop the f-bomb every two seconds. Family gaming might be the foot in the door we need to make gaming a respectable hobby. There is bound to be an emerging market for people looking for deep games that have family appeal for guys like me who don’t want to give gaming up, but don’t want to expose their kids to untold obscenity either.
MSaccarello @ Sep 24th 2006 11:08AM
my dad hasn't played a video game since Tetris for the NES. i however have NOT stopped playing video games since that system came out.
btw don't call the man frugal just because he doesn't own the latest videogame hardware.
Steve Roger @ Sep 24th 2006 11:36AM
What was the point of saying, "ain't see that in New York?" Are you out of your mind. The gaming console, software, and handheld market is huge in NY and the whole U.S. Do you really believe parents and kids aren't playing together in the U.S.? I play with my boys 5 and 8 nearly every day. So do a lot of other Dad's I my neighborhood do the same. I expect that my experience is pretty average. So bravo Joystiq for the photos. Boo, for the comment about Americans. I don't appreciate it one bit.
weatherman @ Sep 24th 2006 11:47AM
I saw a woman playing a DS with her daughter just the other day on the subway in New York. I think it was Animal Crossing.
Gangway @ Sep 24th 2006 11:55AM
Gaming with my son is awesome. He started playing Halo at 1 1/2. He got good at it at 2 1/2. He would cry sometimes if you beat him. When Halo 2 came out, it was like the biggest thing ever. We would look at pictures months before the game came out and I would explain how it would be. When he was 3 1/2 he could beat halo 2 by himself. He plays on X-box live and people think he is using voice masking. Whats really cool is that I break out the Famicom (nes) and turbo graffix and he loves the old school just as much. As long as you play with him. As a young father I always wanted a son to game with.
hemmy @ Sep 24th 2006 12:02PM
Earlier in the year I saw a mother and her son on the 2 train in NYC passing a psp back and forth to eachother. I don't know what they were playing however.
HotShotX @ Sep 24th 2006 12:36PM
Now maybe American parents can take a hint and start playing video games with their kids, and not just blaming them for all the problems their kids has due to lack of parenting.
~HotShotX
burn23 @ Sep 24th 2006 12:45PM
thats totally how I am with my oldest.. He's six. Right now he's up in his room playing Pokemon Stadium on dads old N64. He's disabled and doesn't get most of the subtle rules and neuance of gaming, but he really likes Mario Kart, Pokemon and Lego Star Wars. Particularly because they're really easy for him to pick up and play. We play together all the time. He's especially good at Soul Calibur II. Its the simple things like playing games with him for an hour or two every day that makes coping with a disability slightly easier for him, and for us as parents.
lolersticks @ Sep 24th 2006 12:47PM
My mom had only really played Tetris and Mario Bros for the NES until I bought a DS with Brain Age and Cooking Mama last week. Now they play it more than me! I want my DS so I can play Mario and Animal Crossing.
H-QB @ Sep 24th 2006 12:49PM
Awwww, proof that gaming is supposed to be a social affair ...
...and not something whereby you sit all by yourself in your room, playing a single player game. Alone.
Lol, social gamers ftw.
HandOverFist @ Sep 24th 2006 1:02PM
Meh, I game with my dad. We're just kinda in that first generation of kids that have normal parents that know how to have fun.
TheHof @ Sep 24th 2006 1:10PM
I got into gaming thru my mom, she worked at Atari in the late 80 to the 90's and came home every day with some new hardware (2600, 7800,atari ST/E, lynx, portfolio etc) and new games every week.
Cant remember ever seing her play anything, but shes getting interested in the wii after numerous videos ive shown her, my dad to wants to play some golf on the Wii.
where2go @ Sep 24th 2006 1:14PM
Yeah back in the PS1 days my mother would help me figure out some of the 'harder' parts in Resident Evil, and my Grandmother would always come to visit and just kill my Tetris scores :) good times
bleh @ Sep 24th 2006 1:15PM
aw, you guys are so lucky. ive been playing games since i was 4(im 16 now), and i don't think my parents have other touched any of the games. they dislike everything about them. i don't play on consoles anymore though. its too troublesome to buy the console with them, and a lot harder to use burned games. at least with the pc, i can cover up my upgrades with excuses from my other hobbys, like 3d modeling and other stuff.
syxed @ Sep 24th 2006 1:50PM
I just spent 3 months in Japan, and I don't know what you guys are talking about. Video games still have a huge stigma. Yes, every little girl in Japan has her own DS, and casual gaming is getting more popular. But if you tell someone that you like video games, you are pretty much automatically labeled as a videogame otaku. It's very strange. It's like how everyone, including old ladies, reads manga, but if you watch anime, you're an otaku. While it seems to us outsie of Japan that the enitre culture is like what you see in Akihabara or Nipponbashi, that's really not true. Yes, there are those elements of Japanese society, but it's still frowned upon by the mainstream.
playclever @ Sep 24th 2006 2:49PM
From what I see in the UK, this is happening in the current generation (parents aged circa 30). I was on holiday recently with friends, and one guy and his daughter (both gamers) were taking turns on my DS (New Super Mario and Brain Training).
It's beautiful to watch.
The split between people who "get" games and their often-ignorant parents is very similar to the split between rock'n'roll and their parents, IMHO.
Jamesology @ Sep 24th 2006 5:27PM
You know what I find funny. You constantly hear about how violent video games are but when you at Tokyo, an enviroment that lives with technology including videogames, it is ranked as one of the top safest cities in the world. Japan also has one of the biggest illegal street races too.
Maybe its time these "smart" scientist try looking at what controls their troublesome nation. Let's try, umm, I dunno the government?
"Be all you can be join the army and kill" then come back home and use those same skills! I know of a sniper that did!
Give me Stars or give me Death! @ Sep 24th 2006 6:07PM
This is a pretty good article, but it would be even better if some dad was using a DS to spank the shit out of his kid. Now that's parenting!
Packwolf @ Sep 24th 2006 7:09PM
I have been gaming since the late 70's. I started with Pong, Odyssey II and Intellivision. I am now 41. My son, 15. I am still a hardcore gamer, good parent, father and provider. My son and I have been gaming together ever since he was old enough to pick up a controller.
My gamertag on Xbox Live "Packwolf" My sons is "Reptile427"
Rivendale @ Sep 24th 2006 7:54PM
I've always wanted to just be able to sit down with my parents and play a game. My dad started me on gaming playing Frogger on an ancient DOS machine, but he hasn't even tried to play a game in probably 15 years. My mom was addicted to Tetris 2 back in the day, and played Brain Age a good bit...
I hope the Wii is as easy to pick up as it says. It'll be the greatest day of my life if I can get my dad to play some WiiSports. Video games are so much fun, but they generally become so inacessible
otakucode @ Sep 24th 2006 10:26PM
Jamesology: Don't forget that Japanese cinema is unquestionably some of the most violent faire possible (Battle Royale, Oldboy, etc, etc). Violent media does not translate into violent kids or violent adults. The idea is ludicrous and the fact we give enough creedence to this insane notion to consent to ESRB ratings and age limits on who can buy what is disturbing. And don't even get me started on the fact that childrens books in Japan feature incidental nudity, as does television, anime, etc. America just thinks too much and is obsessed with pop psychology to the point they're leaving kids with absolutely no entertainment or outlets for socially unacceptable ideas that everyone has.
FoX @ Sep 24th 2006 10:47PM
My mom was never a gamer but my dad used to game alot when I was younger and living with them. Doom was a huge game for him, beat it on nightmare. I also got him playing TFC for the longest time. I really need to get him a copy of HL2EP2 when it comes out so we can do some TF2 together.
Thank you joystiq. U just gave me an idea for his xmas gift. woot.
SetupWeasel @ Sep 25th 2006 3:44AM
Funny, I have lived in New York for 8 months and I see it ... ALL THE FUCKING TIME!
32_Footsteps @ Sep 25th 2006 10:22AM
I started gaming at the age of 2. My dad brought me to a bar and held me up to the controls so I could control Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. Now that's parenting.
More humorous to reflect on is the constant discussions during middle school and high school about my gaming habits with my mom. As long as I kept my grades up, she let me play games, although she'd always encourage me to take up other activities. The quote I kept hearing was "Video games won't ever get you anywhere in life, Rick."
Of course, now I help run a video game site and have gotten to plenty of interesting events due to that. And my mom regularly asks me advice on what games to get on the PS2. You have no idea how much I gloat to her, which she accepts because she's proud I managed to prove her quite wrong.
When the time comes that I have kids, I'm going to teach them to game, and to understand the limits of gaming. Because a parent who raises a child with gaming raises a responsible gamer.
Lampbane @ Sep 25th 2006 11:05AM
While I never saw that exact scene, I did once see an entire row of kids playing GBA's and DS's, and the mother was the keeper of the games, alloting them the games they asked for. It was cute. Then I sat down and played my DS.
Axel @ Sep 25th 2006 11:33AM
Family gaming is great. With my parents (including my mom) we play Brain Age and we joined the online brain gym Agogus.com. It's great to do that together.
Almack64 @ Sep 25th 2006 2:17PM
My dad was a big old school gamer (he was a pinball and pacman beast) so when NES came out and then SNES we always played together. I loved when Secret of Mana came out two player RPG's was a blast. He stopped playing at N64 said the controller got too complicated or something like that. When I visit my parents I can still sometimes find him playing the orginal Zelda or Monolopy on the NES.
PiratePete @ Sep 25th 2006 3:09PM
Yep, I game with my kids (Boy 9, Girl 4) all the time. Actually last night we broke out the old NeoGeo and finished Metal Slug 5 together. Usually were playing DDR or Super Monkey Ball. The wife plays SMB, Bonk and just loves Bomberman. Usually we get a group over (A bunch of 30 year old's) for a little Bomberman tournament. Trust me, the kids love seeing there parents play and actually enjoy gaming.
The only thing is this. Maybe someone can help me with this one. My son and I are pretty competitive when playing against each other. But I'm finding it harder and harder to beat him. I have a strong feeling not to let him beat me at ANY game we play (They adapt so fast). I guess I think that if he beats me he will look at me a little less then the great gamer that he thinks I am.
Am I wrong to feel this way?
Renarudo @ Sep 25th 2006 3:58PM
Firstly, good article. I imagine pwning my son/daughter that I will eventually have in many games over the course of their childhood.
Of course, I fear that I'll be like my parents, and games in the future will be too complex for my archaic gaming mind.
"Back in my day, we only had to use two hands, and we only had 14 buttons!"
And secondly, no one plays portable gaming devices here in NYC, we don't want to get stabbed/raped/robbed.