| Mail |

You might also like: WoW Insider, Massively, and more

More Sites You Might Like

Microsoft exec feels parents need to recognize consoles aren't 'toys'

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jul 10th 2009 11:00PM

UK regional Xbox director Neil Thompson feels parents still fail to grasp that modern consoles aren't "toys." Thompson, who is also a member of ELSPA, explained to MCV that "every responsible member of the video game industry" needs to play an active role in keeping the education process "front of mind." He is speaking specifically about letting parents know that each console has content filters and other specialized tools for them.

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.

Source

Tags: clueless-parents, microsoft, neil-thompson, parents, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (88)

But...they are toys....

no

only the Wii is a toy, everything else is srs bsns

So true, I could feel all the srs bsns when I was playing Guitar hero on the PS3.

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.

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.

GI Joes are not dolls!!

*goes back to playing with Barbie*

Maybe, just maybe, this will stop that 9 year old who screams profanity into the microphone in Call of Duty...

+1 for having a dream.

This like 1000 times.

This is why you should always be in a party while playing CoD, or go into the settings and mute the in-game chat.

Agreed, those kids ruin the experience.

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)

The answer is... C?

good boy, you get a cookie.

I think Raptor Jesus is a serious form of expression, provided you're expressing your feelings on Satan. With a dewclaw.

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.

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.

I LOLZ VERY MUCH YES AT MICROSOFT

You aren't helping the cause.

Christ you're an idiot.

i thought Christ was smart ?

funny they say this now that Natal's out of the bag

what if just has a trigger finger. :( I wish I had a finger trigger.

EDIT: This is an untrue allegation and has been removed for being totally off-topic as well. Sorry, buddy!

Yeah modded controllers are BS. Get real skill.

Yeah... cuz I want to win THAT badly.

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?

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.

I believe it! Xav's always been the slickest of the Joystiq bunch! Just read his articles...

Proof? Video? Anything?

...Yeah, didn't think so. Try again (or, preferrably, don't).

Of course Xav good, he's Canadian!

@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.

God christ shut up and present some proof. Stop turding this place up.

I ask why we should care.

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.

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.

Is that a picture of the Holocaust?

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.

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.

My damned internet joke/sarc detector's always broken.

Oh no you didn't buy the one Vince Schlomie was pitching did you??

I was too busy slappin' my troubles away with Slap Chop.

superheroes are for children *takes kids to see watchmen*

Daddy, why is Nite Owl hurting the Silk Spectre?

Bottom line: The majority of parents today are ignorant.

Bottom line: the majority of everyone today is ignorant.

Consoles aren't toys. They are computers. However computers are toys.

If computers are toys, and consoles are computers, then consoles are toys.

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.

If morons were castrated, this wouldn't be a problem.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Breaking News

Microsoft exec feels parents need to recognize consoles aren't 'toys'

Reader Comments (88)

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:08PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:13PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:17PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:59PM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 7:01AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 3:31PM BigD145 said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:14PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:15PM Drago Dracini said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:16PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:30PM cloud858rk said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 7:23AM jocaju said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:17PM Drago Dracini said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 1:58AM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 3:26AM Drago Dracini said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 4:53AM The Blank Mage Returns said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:19PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 1:03AM TheDarkWayne said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:21PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 5:34AM Bandit5317 said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 7:43AM Arcaria said

Posted: Jul 12th 2009 3:23PM Namminamm said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:24PM SoulBlade said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:42PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:26PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:31PM cloud858rk said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:57PM Xav de Matos said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:01AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:05AM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:07AM Wiizer said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:10AM AustinAM said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:12AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 1:12AM Courtney said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 1:17AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 4:56AM The Blank Mage Returns said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:39PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:45PM Dalrint said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:46PM Levi said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:23AM WiiFTW said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 1:11AM Levi said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 1:25AM WiiFTW said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 10:52AM Levi said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:07PM WiiFTW said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:52PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 4:58AM The Blank Mage Returns said

Posted: Jul 10th 2009 11:57PM anoffday said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:56AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:02AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 10:23PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:13AM SoCoolCurt said

Posted: Jul 11th 2009 12:15AM (Unverified) said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW