What is Digg?143 Comments
- mazerrackham, on 10/12/2007, -2/+218I'll never forget the bitter disappointment of losing my first war after trying to take my chess skills to the streets. The other guy's horses ran in all crazy patterns around my helpless pawns, slashing at their throats. And then when I tried to switch places with my castle to hide it wouldn't even move.
Now look at me -- dead-end job, low self-esteem...All thanks to my proficiency at chess. - mickeyknoxxx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+185Let me get this straight.
So violent video games get blamed for violence because the games *make* kids go out and kill people in *real life.*
However sports games are getting accused of how they *don't make* kids go out and play sports in *real life.*
So which is it? The games do or don't make kids do things? - threepio, on 10/12/2007, -0/+101This is a very serious issue.
No, no, not the fact that Wii Sports doesn't emulate the true sports experience (gee, the lack of arms on these guys might have tipped you off).
It's the fact that these "grown-ups" have difficulty realizing that yes, Virginia, there IS a difference between fantasy and reality. We, as gamers can figure this out (no matter our age) - why can't you? - kyledavis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+84News flash! Reading a book offers a false sense of what it's like to live in the real world. So why aren't books under attack?
It happens with every generation. Some new form of entertainment emerges that is embraced by the younger generation and it scares the pants off of the older generation. Swing music, the radio, the T.V., rock and roll...hell even dancing and alcohol had their day. In time, all the old cronies who don't get it will finally die off and all of us currently in the younger generation will get scared by the overwhelming addiction to virtual reality that's sweeps the world in the latter part of this century. Then we'll die off, too.
Such is the circle of life. - Methodius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+80I was under the impression that the fact that games weren't real was part of the charm.
- MechaZain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+52If only they were doing something more productive, like drugs or gangbanging...
- fiorenza, on 10/12/2007, -7/+49Wow just wow. Nevermind the fact that actually I've had better competition playing online games than anything else, but this complaint really misses the entire point of gaming.
- boobysaurus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+43Because any other game presents a real sense of competing in the world. What does that say about first person shooters...
Dad - "Son, I noticed you play too much of this game Halo. I can't have you all couped up in the house. Here, take my gun and go play out side."
Son - " Thanks Pops!"
And then it's slaughter on the playground with Little Timmy poppin' headshots next to the monkeybars.
- overbored454, on 10/12/2007, -0/+33I agree. I can't see a parent thinking that their kid playing Burnout: Takedown isn't really teaching them anything. "Son, sideswiping that truck and running it off the road like that seems fun, but the adreneline rush you feel at first is nothing like the rush you feel when you really knock a Coca-Cola truck over the side of a bridge. Also you don't get the excitement of riding in the back of an ambulance with your lung punctured and your spine broken in three places."
- lunarnall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26It's called Silly Six Pins!
- Actionjakson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26Better a Wii which involves some activity and incentive to play real sports than 50+ hours a week playin World of Warcraft which gives children a false sense of what its like to compete in medievil combat.
- commiecat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25Whatever. I still know that I could hit a baseball 618 feet in real life.
- shertzerj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21"...a drop in self-esteem may occur should the children attempt the real sport and fail"
I'm glad I played real golf before Wii Sports Golf! I know that the first couple hundred times I swung a real club, missing the ball or hitting poorly, I was filled with a sense of pride and enjoyment. I DEFINITELY wasn't angry about it that it wasn't easy. - Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20>>>"And then it's slaughter on the playground with Little Timmy poppin' headshots next to the monkeybars."
Dude. Sniping is an important skill. - CheezIt9109, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19As I said there, the Wii has helped my fiance improver her tennis noticeably (timing and topspin), and has inspired a group of us to head to the nearest bowling alley a few times (after a 5-8 year hiatus).
It's obviously not a replacement for sports, but seriously... Would you rather have them mashing buttons or butchering the english language to trash talk in some online game? - Zera, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Talk about missing the point. Do you hear her panting towards the end? I think SHE needs to go play some Tennis.
It sound like she's jealous that her children have gained some confidence through video games. What's wrong with her. Having something in her children's life that teaches children to have confidence is GOOD. Alot of parents really struggle to accomplish this with their shy children. - strabes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19$250 in tennis lessons is like 3 hours of instruction, let alone the racket.
- tlarkin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18yup just like guitar hero gives you a false sense of being a rock star, and just how madden gives you a false sense of being a professional foot ball player.
The real moral lesson of this article is to point out how much people complain. If you give them no reason to complain they will make one up. Welcome to consumerism.
The wii is getting kids off the couch and interacting with the TV, at least they are getting some form of exercise from it. - Tracon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17This just in.** NPR offers a false sense of what its like in the world **
- maglob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13@Kyledavis: This is different to books and movie ect. Just the other day after a long game of Red Steel I went to Japan to save my girl friend. Was doing ok till my gun needed reloading and i was just stood there shaking my left hand about, but i thought balls to it, i got always go back to the check point.
@catalysis: If them sad kids are gunna get "pwnz0r" in real life everyday, wouldnt it be nice for them to get some stisfaction winning something for once? - KlayBorg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12You mean that I can't sap in real life?!?
- Arcadian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Oh my, Wii Dodgeball would be most fun...
- evilesttoast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Spellbinding and paladins aren't real?!
*quivers* - totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Even worse, she's unable to TELL her kids to get off the Wii and go play some real sports as well. So she wants Nintendo to do the "hard part" of parenting for her. Notice how she bitches about how much time they spend playing videogames? Cluephone? Hello?
- ezweave, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Yeah, I agree.
This lady is a bad parent, plain and simple. If your kids don't get outside, you aren't encouraging them or leading by example. If they think it's like real life, you aren't teaching them properly. Who bought them the Wii? You did. If you want to use the TV/Wii as a babysitter, be aware of the consequences. Video games don't make kids fat, fast food doesn't make kids fat, lazy parenting does. You don't even need to be there 24/7, you just need to be more involved.
I love hearing how "fat" or "lazy" someone's kids are when the source of the complaint is a lazy couch potato themselves. - Philodox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Up next on NPR we'll talk to a woman who makes macrame belts out of old typewriter ribbon. *wahhhh wah wahhhhh...*
- Krakn3Dfx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Well, I will say that after bowling on Wii Sports, my 6 year old son wants to go bowl for real, and now that they've got the new indoor smoking ban here in Colorado, I might just take him!
- odmonk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Hey! Camping is a legitimate strategy!
- Hetman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9First off she bought her kids the wii. If she didnt want them to play it or any other console she could easily just buy them a glove, football etc. I hate parents blaming videogame industry when they are the one purchasing it.
- Bleeblaow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I don't get it. Are her complaints aimed at the Wii just because playing tennis on a Wii is more realistic than playing tennis on a PS2 or GameCube or SNES or whatever?
If anyone thinks that succeeding at Wii Sports will naturally imply success at real sports, they deserve to fail and cry about it. That's like somebody thinking that playing Guitar Hero is going to transform them into the next Jimi Hendrix. They're video games. The entire point is that I get to stay at home in air conditioning rather than fumble around with a hockey stick outside. - fauxXenophanes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Parent - " I never had this good-time ***** when I was a kid , so my children shouldn't either !! "
- nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8And T-ball may be seen by children as a pure substitute for baseball, giving them a false sense of the real game.
- teethman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Now I see why i'm not rich. Damn you monopoly!!!
- dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Hate mail:
"I feel ashamed. Kelly McBride's sensationalist and irrelevant commentary on her children's "false sense of pride" using their Nintendo Wii is the sort of thing I'd expect to skip over in the local television news station. Never on my NPR.
Rather than explaining why beating a video game or an opponent in a video game isn't something to feel pride in, she rather attacks the medium as a whole. As someone who follows the industry closely, it's very diminutive to see what is obviously a very strong attempt at changing the way participants engage in virtual competition.
I'm afraid she's completely missing the point if she believes that her children believe this to be some sort of substitute for real life activity. If anything, her children likely see these games as something interesting to be followed up on at school or with friends. "I have fun playing that tennis game. I should ask about being on the school's tennis team."
It seems that parents give their children little to no regard or faith in modern times to learn their own lessons and figure themselves out. The sad, irrelevant Kelly McBride is no exception." - datsclark, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Before you all send your hate mail, this was a commentary, the "view of one mother who is watching her children "excel" at video sports." I'm not saying agree with this woman at all, but its certainly a somewhat prevalent opinion. At least NPR usually tells both sides. A quick search ( http://www.npr.org/search.php?text=wii ) shows that.
The original NPR story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7361034 - PantherX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7So does Public Schooling. Which shall we spend our energy and time to change?
- Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Proof positive that you can't make everyone happy.
- odmonk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7What is this "typewriter ribbon"? (pretending to be too young to know)
- tlarkin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7yes but just like any simulation (like flight sims the military use to train their pilots, or the ones nasa use) it does not relfect real life expereince. Being able to physically hit a 90mph fast ball in wii sports does not mean that you could do it in real life. The fact remains that it is a video game, and is meant for entertainment reasons. Not all of us can be pro athletes or rock stars, but we can now with video games at least try to emulate that life style. The fact that it is a video game and super unrealistic should be enough proof that this will not transfer into real life. Even the realistic games aren't anywhere near real, because if you die you can keep playing. It is not like if you die game over period. This complaint is not a very valid one in my opinion. It goes along the same lines of people blaming movies for false hopes. Duh! It's a freaking movie, as in FICTION, not real, made up, for entertainment.
Guess I should throw some /sarcasm tags next time I be sarcastic - ezweave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I should add that I knew plenty of kids, growing up, who had inflated egos when it cames to sports they never played. And that was without the Wii. It seems anecdotal, but her whole argument is anecdotal.
- horizontaleight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6God forbid the kids have fun! This epitomizes the psychopath parents that ruined everyone's good time growing up... never ceasing to find something absolutely ABSURD to complain about. 100 dollars says her kids don't cross the street until they're forty under her watch.
- strabes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6That's pretty cool actually. Glad to hear it.
- dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This is appalling. NPR's always been good about distancing themselves from this sort of overreactive hyperbole. The only thing that might explain how "off" this article is is that it's a commentary from a random listener, taking another point of view on the popularity of the system, trying (and failing miserably) to be poignant and relevant.
They will certainly be receiving hate mail from me. - ParanoiaAgent, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5A game that really let you bowl in your living room might raise another set of concerns.
- zlintux, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I'd like to see the number of kids who play Wii Sports and THEN develop an interest in playing it in real life.
Either way, I doubt m/any kids would say "Screw real tennis, let's go play Wii tennis!", so the harm can't be too much unless they don't use that strap. - dheaddy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Hang on, does this parent really think that their children as too stupid to realise that playing a sport in real-life in going to be harder than playing in at home on their Wii? Give them some freakin credit!
I wonder what else on the Wii is represented unrealistically, like driving in Excite Truck, "Hey Mom! I tried to drive this truck off a 300ft cliff and it's actually much harder than tilting the remote! Why did you let this game trick me into thinking I could do it?! I've got no legs now mom!" - cyrilonline, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@datsclark
Yes it's commentary, but airing it shows it went through editorial approval. I'm an NPR junkie and am, quite frankly, appalled that they aired this. You don't see them airing opinions that whales should be killed. - treed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What about WoW players who are also in the SCA? :-D
- wiihuck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5then that's a problem that needs to be taken up with the kids who have no concept of video games or reality. not the wii.
- Jarasmen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You mean the Wii can't be a replacement for real life activities?! Outragous! What's next, you're gonna tell me that "Cooking Mama" can't really feed those children?!
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