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Thread: "Expert" on the today show says playing video games in your 30s is not normal

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Orion Pimpdaddy's Avatar
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    Default "Expert" on the today show says playing video games in your 30s is not normal

    It's close to the end of the video. The guest, Donny Deutsch, says it is NOT normal for men to play video games in their 30s and 40s. He said at that age, there should be something more on their minds than video games. Kathy Lee also said that it was weird. Then there was the usual cracks about men in their mother's basements.

    http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/290543...4965/#43674965

    My posting of this thread is not about "I can't believe they insulted my hobby." It's more about the negative perceptions older people have of gaming. Where is comes from. Where it's going.

    What's interesting is, if the question for Donny had been, "Is it normal for men in their 30s and 40s to watch TV or see a movie?" the response would have been different. Obviously, older people see a MAJOR difference between "watching something on TV" and "playing something on TV." Do you think this attitude will just die off when that generation dies off, or do you think their attitudes will change over time?

    With the Wii and the DS, it seems that Nintendo was able to make inroads into the older crowd. I have an older sister in her 40s and she actually started playing a few Wii games in the past few years, the first video games she has ever played. It's not a total transformation (she's not going to buy a Genesis), but there was definitely a change in the perception of gaming for her.

    If companies are able to penetrate the walls of the older generation, then I wonder how their inclusion would effect gaming as a whole. More family-based games perhaps?

    If you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free to express them.
    Last edited by Orion Pimpdaddy; 07-13-2011 at 12:22 PM.

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    Cherry (Level 1) jupitersj's Avatar
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    Donny Deutsch?

    ..More like Donny Douche.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) Vlcice's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jupitersj View Post
    Donny Deutsch?

    ..More like Donny Douche.
    Just FYI, you're not helping things.

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    First of all, I wouldn't really expect a solid anti-video gaming message from a 30 second chunk of throwaway daytime TV and I wasn't surprised by what I saw. I suppose there's the assumption here that video games would be taking time away from the family, that it's some kind of unhealthy distraction or that it's just overall too childish. These folks were fine with the idea of a 30-or-40-something dad playing games with his kids, but not as a solo activity? Video games have as wide an age range of appeal as any other entertainment medium.

    Bahh, whatever, as was said above, it's just a hobby. Someone in their forties has seen the evolution of video games and is in the best position to appreciate them, anyway. It makes sense why there'd be criticism in a video like this, though. I can't imagine many people in Kathie Lee Gifford's circle being retro game collectors or really open about any possible "nerdy" interest, they're probably as conformist and as fearful of rejection by their elite clique as the shallowest of highschoolers.

    The stance taken by segments such as this crapfest "The Other View", that there's some impossible divide of understanding between men and women, cracks me up. Maybe if you have the communication skills of a mollusk, then sure, helplessly complain about the mysteries of "the other side".

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    Insert Coin (Level 0) Twin Paradox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drixxel View Post
    First of all, I wouldn't really expect a solid anti-video gaming message from a 30 second chunk of throwaway daytime TV and I wasn't surprised by what I saw. I suppose there's the assumption here that video games would be taking time away from the family, that it's some kind of unhealthy distraction or that it's just overall too childish. These folks were fine with the idea of a 30-or-40-something dad playing games with his kids, but not as a solo activity? Video games have as wide an age range of appeal as any other entertainment medium.

    Bahh, whatever, as was said above, it's just a hobby. Someone in their forties has seen the evolution of video games and is in the best position to appreciate them, anyway. It makes sense why there'd be criticism in a video like this, though. I can't imagine many people in Kathie Lee Gifford's circle being retro game collectors or really open about any possible "nerdy" interest, they're probably as conformist and as fearful of rejection by their elite clique as the shallowest of highschoolers.

    The stance taken by segments such as this crapfest "The Other View", that there's some impossible divide of understanding between men and women, cracks me up. Maybe if you have the communication skills of a mollusk, then sure, helplessly complain about the mysteries of "the other side".
    What he said^
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    Banana (Level 7) Zing's Avatar
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    There are people who think there are much more important things to spend time with than watching television. There are people who think the Internet is a complete waste of time.

    Anyone could make a huge list of activities they feel consume time that could be better spent thinking about more important things. Hell, my typing right now is time badly spent.

    This sounds like someone who just doesn't like a certain activity and is trying to bad-mouth it.

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    Cherry (Level 1) jupitersj's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vlcice View Post
    Just FYI, you're not helping things.
    When journalistic integrity returns to the USA, I'll take your advice. This is just an entertainment show and I immaturely poked fun; I apologize.

    However I take no media seriously that panders to the common populace for ratings. Adding fuel to the fire or not, these groups will always find something to complain about if it's not what every other mundane person does in their daily life. People can watch their Jersey Shore and Nancy Grace, I'll continue to play games until the day I die whether or not it's socially acceptable.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Drixxel View Post
    I can't imagine many people in Kathie Lee Gifford's circle being retro game collectors or really open about any possible "nerdy" interest, they're probably as conformist and as fearful of rejection by their elite clique as the shallowest of highschoolers.
    Yeah, but I think the "gaming is immature" crowd is a pretty large group. I run into the attitude a lot when I'm talking to older people (40+). I did see some changes in that attitude when the Wii was at the height of its popularity. The Wii even made its way into nursing homes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zing View Post
    There are people who think there are much more important things to spend time with than watching television. There are people who think the Internet is a complete waste of time.

    Anyone could make a huge list of activities they feel consume time that could be better spent thinking about more important things. Hell, my typing right now is time badly spent.

    This sounds like someone who just doesn't like a certain activity and is trying to bad-mouth it.
    Yeah, but the level of disdain those people showed toward the older gamer was much more than people show against the older Internet surfer. I know it's just a stupid show, but I think the segment reflects a larger sentiment out there. Gaming has a tough time separating itself from its toy roots.

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    I still attribute it to a generation gap. Mind you, this generation was raised on far different types of games... casual games, if you will (and I don't mean the entire Wii library- read: every FPS in the last five to ten years) and so it's not seen as such an involved thing as it was when gamers were "nerds" as recently as ten to fifteen years prior.

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    ServBot (Level 11) tom's Avatar
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    glad i'm 50+ (they did say 30s and 40s :-)

    and there's more on my mind besides video games, for example Kathy Lee ...things I could do with her :-)

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    The ESA says that the average game player is 37.
    http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2011.pdf
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    Define normal... *watch 'expert' shit bricks*
    /thread


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    That whole segment was troll fodder just to click the link (which I sadly fell for). The title of the video is totally misleading considering they spend the first 2 minutes talking about completely different things, then the gamer jab comes in the last seconds.

    Regardless, it's unhealthy to spend all your time on any one thing regardless. Plenty of men get enjoyment reading books on their own, or working in the garage on their own, or working on their car on their own. Does this make them guilty of the same flippant dismissal that Mr. Deutsch so quickly applied to gamers, many of whom play games not only on their own, but also online?

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    Let me get this straight, they were asking a divorced, notorious permiscuous man born with a silver spoon in his mouth (acquired his father's advertising firm) who has spent over 40 million buying and renovating his home to talk about or give insight on the average normal guy. I think he sums up this whole segment in his first sentence...

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    ServBot (Level 11) kedawa's Avatar
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    Of course it's totally acceptable for adults to piss their lives away watching shitty television shows.
    I think it's abnormal for anyone with an IQ higher than 30 to watch the today show.

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    Pretzel (Level 4) Orion Pimpdaddy's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing your opinions guys. I do realize the segment was short and from a show that's a dumbed-down version of the already lame Today Show, but essentially Donny was equating the playing of video games by adults with mental illness. That's what got me.

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    It's kinda the same thing as Roger Ebert saying games aren't art. Famous trolls are still trolls.

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    I'm 43, and I don't care a thing about golfing, hunting, or fishing. Instead, I play videogames, which is nothing more or less than a great way to relax, compete, have fun, and/or blow off steam. I'm also quite "normal" (I hike, cycle, read, and play basketball, and I've got a wife, kids, a mortgage, an aging mother-in-law to care of, etc.).

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    While I disagree, he's simply stating his opinion, which I see no harm in.
    I don't want you to hate me, I want you to want to hate me - GamersUniteMagazine.com

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