Video Game Czar a Role for Older Players

The difference between men and boys is in the games they play.

And — ask any woman — sometimes those lines get blurred. Wait … let's be honest here; the lines are always blurred. The only difference between men and boys is that men can afford more expensive toys.

It's with this in mind that my wonderful wife got me an Xbox 360 and a couple of games for my birthday two weeks ago. For those who don't know, an Xbox is a video game system. For those of you who do know, I'm currently accepting your high-five.

I know, I know. What business does a 47-year-old man have getting a video game system? Video games are time wasters, designed to be used by teenagers.

There has been much consternation by parents and killjoys over the past 40 years that video games are a bad influence on children that turn them into zombies, and at times make these same children turn violent.

Recently, a New Jersey attorney who is defending a man accused of firebombing several synagogues blamed violent video games for the crimes. Many times when a heinous crime occurs, the blame is usually leveled at video games or rock music.

But think about this for a minute. A recent study from the Entertainment Software Association found that the typical gamer is 37 years old and that nearly two-thirds of American households have a game system. In addition, the percentage of gamers older than 50 has more than tripled since 1999.

The best selling video game of all time is "Call of Duty: Black Ops," a game released last year that has sold more than 13.7 million copies in the U.S. and earned more than $360 million. Most Hollywood movie producers would kill to have those kind of numbers. In fact, sales of video and computer games generated more than $11.7 billion in 2008, and it's only grown since.

So just because I like to unwind by killing zombies doesn't mean I can't tell the difference between real violence and made up violence, and apparently a lot of people agree.

There is some bad news, though. The government is getting involved with video games. According to a story in USA Today, the Obama administration is studying how video games can help children learn how to conserve energy, eat a balanced diet or solve math problems.

These sort of games exist already, and, if we are being honest, are lame. I'm not saying there isn't a place for educational games — both my children loved their LeapPads when they were little. Now, though, they both feel they get enough of the education thing at school, and, to an extent, I agree. Putting pressure on our little ones to constantly be learning is counterproductive. We all need to relax from time to time.

So the Xbox joined the Wii we got for the kids several years ago in our house. Except that my Xbox is located in my man cave (which in truth has turned into the room where everyone hangs out, go figure). The kids must get permission to use it. In essence, I have become the Xbox Czar, a role I cherish.

The boys have learned a very important lesson, though: The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys; and, sometimes just because there is a boy inside a man, it doesn't make him any less of a husband and father.

Contact Rory McClannahan at 823-7102 or by email at editor@mvtelegraph.com.