Microsoft exec feels parents need to recognize consoles aren't 'toys'
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 10th 2009 at 11:00PM } 
So, sit down this weekend with a clueless parent (obviously, that wouldn't be a parent who reads this site) and educate them on responsible console ownership with children. Or, if you'd like to be more passive aggressive, send them the link to the ESRB's resource page on how to set up parental features.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ArchiGamer [thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 11:08PM
But...they are toys....
Moptimus Slime (The Return of Princess Griffin) @ Jul 10th 2009 11:13PM
no
only the Wii is a toy, everything else is srs bsns
ArchiGamer [thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 11:17PM
So true, I could feel all the srs bsns when I was playing Guitar hero on the PS3.
MystileArmor @ Jul 10th 2009 11:59PM
Yeah when I dance around in my living room in my underwear with a midget-guitar with big bright coloured buttons, I feel pressured to perform well by it's seriousness as well.
imding @ Jul 11th 2009 7:01AM
look at the majority of games on the market? violence, drugs, sex references, fantasy worlds.
start making games that appeal to adults (by adults i don't mean more violence, more drugs and more sex), then the adults might start to recognise games as other than pastime toys for youngsters.
BigD145 @ Jul 11th 2009 3:31PM
GI Joes are not dolls!!
*goes back to playing with Barbie*
Gio @ Jul 10th 2009 11:14PM
Maybe, just maybe, this will stop that 9 year old who screams profanity into the microphone in Call of Duty...
Drago Dracini @ Jul 10th 2009 11:15PM
+1 for having a dream.
ArchiGamer [thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 10th 2009 11:16PM
This like 1000 times.
cloud858rk @ Jul 10th 2009 11:30PM
This is why you should always be in a party while playing CoD, or go into the settings and mute the in-game chat.
Jocaju @ Jul 11th 2009 7:23AM
Agreed, those kids ruin the experience.
Drago Dracini @ Jul 10th 2009 11:17PM
If games aren't toys... what are they? let's have a vote.
Games are...
A. Toys
B. Food
C. Raptor Jesus
D. A serious form of communicating ones thoughts and feelings through a visual medium(you're a complete tool if you choose anything but C)
BPMOmega [GT,Steam] @ Jul 11th 2009 1:58AM
The answer is... C?
Drago Dracini @ Jul 11th 2009 3:26AM
good boy, you get a cookie.
Blank-Mage @ Jul 11th 2009 4:53AM
I think Raptor Jesus is a serious form of expression, provided you're expressing your feelings on Satan. With a dewclaw.
rodriguezsean @ Jul 10th 2009 11:19PM
I feel that Microsoft might have a better chance of convincing parents that their console is more than just a toy by actually getting some educational games on XBLA instead of having an empty file in arcade.
The Dark Wayne @ Jul 11th 2009 1:03AM
You know the education he was referring to wasnt like, school, but educating parents that consoles arent toys right? Besides, adding educational games would only further the idea that consoles are for kids. Im an adult, i dont need educational games, and arcade is certainly far from an empty file.
Ryan @ Jul 10th 2009 11:21PM
I LOLZ VERY MUCH YES AT MICROSOFT
Bandit5317 @ Jul 11th 2009 5:34AM
You aren't helping the cause.
Arcaria @ Jul 11th 2009 7:43AM
Christ you're an idiot.
stormtrooper190 PSN= (im not telling you that) @ Jul 12th 2009 3:23PM
i thought Christ was smart ?
SoulBlade @ Jul 10th 2009 11:24PM
funny they say this now that Natal's out of the bag
ExoticÉlanVital @ Jul 10th 2009 11:42PM
what if just has a trigger finger. :( I wish I had a finger trigger.
vI Demon Iv @ Jul 10th 2009 11:26PM
EDIT: This is an untrue allegation and has been removed for being totally off-topic as well. Sorry, buddy!
cloud858rk @ Jul 10th 2009 11:31PM
Yeah modded controllers are BS. Get real skill.
Xav de Matos @ Jul 10th 2009 11:57PM
Yeah... cuz I want to win THAT badly.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jul 11th 2009 12:01AM
If that's true that's fucked up. I think some of the people use stuff like that in 1 vs 100. How else can your average answer speed be 0.00 for the whole round?
MystileArmor @ Jul 11th 2009 12:05AM
Oh man that Mutantdog 123 was up there again... that shit is infuriating. I was actually thinking some people must have uber turbo controlers or something.
I actually had a couple of rounds where I had a 100% accuracy and alot of people actually were up a couple of thousand points just by answering faster. That shit is pissing me off.
Wiizer (Michael Pachter MUST DIE.. Professionally) @ Jul 11th 2009 12:07AM
I believe it! Xav's always been the slickest of the Joystiq bunch! Just read his articles...
AustinAM @ Jul 11th 2009 12:10AM
Proof? Video? Anything?
...Yeah, didn't think so. Try again (or, preferrably, don't).
ArchiGamer [thephilosophyofgames.wordpress.com] @ Jul 11th 2009 12:12AM
Of course Xav good, he's Canadian!
Courtney @ Jul 11th 2009 1:12AM
@tmac and mystile,
That douche who does the Live commentary claimed that the ridiculous uber scores and impossible reaction times were glitches. I would tend to believe that they were software exploits or actual bugs before I would believe that a controller had anything to do with it.
Feedback @ Jul 11th 2009 1:17AM
God christ shut up and present some proof. Stop turding this place up.
Blank-Mage @ Jul 11th 2009 4:56AM
I ask why we should care.
ExoticÉlanVital @ Jul 10th 2009 11:39PM
consoles arent toys there expensive entertainment centers. And for those saying I should just mute the 9 year olds, true but it would be nicer if the parents could kick the kid in the face and remove him from the system.
Dalrint @ Jul 10th 2009 11:45PM
I do not think we will see the end of the 'video games are just toys for kids' attitude until the baby boomers and a few generations after them are gone.
It's just not something that they can really Understand. My dad likes video games, but feels terribly guilty when playing them because they're 'for kids'. Even when we're playing Dead Space or RE5. Which obviously are too violent for kids.
Levi @ Jul 10th 2009 11:46PM
Is that a picture of the Holocaust?
WiiFTW @ Jul 11th 2009 12:23AM
Try the video for "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_bvT-DGcWw
At 3:29 this shot is visible.
Levi @ Jul 11th 2009 1:11AM
Well, I was joking, but I do admit I didn't know it was from Pink Floyd. It's not because I'm too young or not musically diverse enough, but that I was just never a Pink Floyd nut. A friend sat me down to watch The Wall in it's entirety, and can say that I didn't fully dig it then - when I WAS on drugs even.
WiiFTW @ Jul 11th 2009 1:25AM
My damned internet joke/sarc detector's always broken.
Levi @ Jul 11th 2009 10:52AM
Oh no you didn't buy the one Vince Schlomie was pitching did you??
WiiFTW @ Jul 11th 2009 12:07PM
I was too busy slappin' my troubles away with Slap Chop.
Uncontrol @ Jul 10th 2009 11:52PM
superheroes are for children *takes kids to see watchmen*
Blank-Mage @ Jul 11th 2009 4:58AM
Daddy, why is Nite Owl hurting the Silk Spectre?
offday @ Jul 10th 2009 11:57PM
Bottom line: The majority of parents today are ignorant.
LegendaryRedass @ Jul 11th 2009 12:56AM
Bottom line: the majority of everyone today is ignorant.
The Fish King @ Jul 11th 2009 12:02AM
Consoles aren't toys. They are computers. However computers are toys.
Kinetix @ Jul 11th 2009 10:23PM
If computers are toys, and consoles are computers, then consoles are toys.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Jul 11th 2009 12:13AM
i don't think it's that they aren't toys, cause they are. it's just that parents assume that kids are still only playing Tetris and Pacman. i think it's safe to say that parents don't lump the gaming industry in with the Music and Movie industries when they really should since they are structured much the same way. there is stuff for kids and stuff that kids really shouldn't be exposed to. i think i can say that because anytime you hear about a parent standing up against gaming, their argument is always "these games are aimed at children" when that couldn't be further from reality these days, especially when it clearly says "17+" on the cover that they more than likely took to the register themselves.
Dethgar @ Jul 11th 2009 12:15AM
If morons were castrated, this wouldn't be a problem.