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December 1, 2009 by RawmeatCowboy
Filed Under: Nintendo in general
Should you make sure you start your child down a path to become a gamer? Of course not...you want them to become whatever they'd like to be, within reason. That's not to say that you should keep them from the world of gaming, just as you wouldn't keep them away from books, music, movies and TV. The question is, just what sort of games are okay for a young child to start off with?
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Well, I had an NES first, and a handful of games. I'm guessing Skate or Die was the most mature. Then I got a Saturn, and I had Mortal Kombat 2. No big deal with that. And when the N64 was the hot s***, my dad got it for me. I was about six or seven I guess. I got Golden Eye and Banjo Kazooie first. I didn't start off with anything too mature, and I'd say a little violence is okay. A game probably wont be too bad, unless it introduces some new super negative thing to your children, or goes out of it's way to encourage bad behavior. Maybe. All I can really say is that I was fine, and I didn't go around imitating things I knew were naughty or wrong.
I say, start young children off with games that are fun and easy to pick up. And not just fun for little kids who don't know any better. Also, I'm not saying to get kids GTA, but a game like House of the Dead 2 probably wont harm any children. Unless they're pussies.
I say, start young children off with games that are fun and easy to pick up. And not just fun for little kids who don't know any better. Also, I'm not saying to get kids GTA, but a game like House of the Dead 2 probably wont harm any children. Unless they're pussies.
You know how I started being a "gamer"?
By pretending to play Pac Man and Dig Dug in the arcades as a toddler. I was already hooked back then. It didn't matter to me that I was too young to understand you had to put in a quarter to play. I saw s**t moving, I was hitting buttons, and I thought I was making stuff happen. Imagine my amazement the first time I was given a quarter to actually play! When I was like 4 or 5, I got a hand-me-down Atari 2600, and I was hooked to a game called Asteroid (not to be confused with Asteroids, with an S). I was also pretty hot stuff at Combat.
The first time I played Super Mario Bros. at a friend's house, it was all over. I was officially a "gamer" at that point, and when I finally got my own NES at age 8, a little later than a lot of other kids, it didn't matter to me, I was STOKED. The Christmas I got a big box with Mario 3, Dr. Mario and Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout, along with a couple of Hudson Soft rapid-fire controllers, is still probably the single best childhood memory I have. I also remember getting grounded from the NES for 2 months because my grandmother caught me having played Mario 3 in it's entirety, every single level, twice through, and I was about halfway through it for a third time. Yeah, I was hooked.
You can bet your ass that if I ever have children, I will start them on gaming the RIGHT way, with the classics. I will dust off the old NES, and have them start out with Super Mario Bros., and they too will have that song stuck in their head for life.
However, I think that even though I resented having my game time restricted as a kid, I think as a parent I would do the same. I think video games can be a great thing for kids, it was certainly one of the best parts of my childhood. But they also need to get out and play, and read books, and do other things.
By pretending to play Pac Man and Dig Dug in the arcades as a toddler. I was already hooked back then. It didn't matter to me that I was too young to understand you had to put in a quarter to play. I saw s**t moving, I was hitting buttons, and I thought I was making stuff happen. Imagine my amazement the first time I was given a quarter to actually play! When I was like 4 or 5, I got a hand-me-down Atari 2600, and I was hooked to a game called Asteroid (not to be confused with Asteroids, with an S). I was also pretty hot stuff at Combat.
The first time I played Super Mario Bros. at a friend's house, it was all over. I was officially a "gamer" at that point, and when I finally got my own NES at age 8, a little later than a lot of other kids, it didn't matter to me, I was STOKED. The Christmas I got a big box with Mario 3, Dr. Mario and Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout, along with a couple of Hudson Soft rapid-fire controllers, is still probably the single best childhood memory I have. I also remember getting grounded from the NES for 2 months because my grandmother caught me having played Mario 3 in it's entirety, every single level, twice through, and I was about halfway through it for a third time. Yeah, I was hooked.
You can bet your ass that if I ever have children, I will start them on gaming the RIGHT way, with the classics. I will dust off the old NES, and have them start out with Super Mario Bros., and they too will have that song stuck in their head for life.
However, I think that even though I resented having my game time restricted as a kid, I think as a parent I would do the same. I think video games can be a great thing for kids, it was certainly one of the best parts of my childhood. But they also need to get out and play, and read books, and do other things.
Children catch on very quickly these days (being smart is different to being worldly), and they aren't innocent for long. The fact that a controller has a crap load of buttons honestly (tested it out for myself) doesn't matter as long as they are interested and can understand the action that's happening.
As for the type of games, Nintendo all the way. To be frank, as long as the game doesn't have a serious amount of malice in it (like MadWorld or something), I think it should be okay for a child to play. I played Goldeneye at a young age and found it to be one hell of a laugh.
As for the type of games, Nintendo all the way. To be frank, as long as the game doesn't have a serious amount of malice in it (like MadWorld or something), I think it should be okay for a child to play. I played Goldeneye at a young age and found it to be one hell of a laugh.
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--R.J.