Video games: why do we play them?

[Crimson King]

I have to say there was quite a few times when I was going get a PS3 that I stopped and said do I really need this? Needless to say I haven't gotten one yet because they are sold out, but the point remains.

 

[Pustulio]

No! Video games have a lot of logic and deep thinking skills. Not to mentoin hand and eye coordination.
Take Meteos and Tetris for example, you must have quick thinking and strategy to be good at these games. I don't know why you would think video games would make you stupider, especially with brain age out now. Video Games is for something to do when you are born. As long as you aren't playing them 24/7 I think it's safe to say video games cannot be compared to making more mistakes. And Video Game industries show no signs of quitting anytime soon so just tell your stepdad to lay off or just ignore it.

I absoloutely agree with that statement, I feel like I get alot of my problem solving skills from playing video games, they aren't the only thing that I like but, I feel that they've made me smarter and excercised my brain over the years. I started playing video games at my cousin's house at the age of 2, I got my SNES when I was 3, I played Super Metroid and beat it at the age of 4. The escessie play throughout my life has helped me in school, I've always been a straight "A" student, I have always been good at problem solving situations. I took an IQ test and found out my IQ is over 115. The point is video games take alot of intelegence and help problem solving. Somebody with an IQ of say 70-80 isn't going to just suddenly pick up a Legend of Zelda game and zip through it, heck I take forever on those games and I'm a smart kid. Be aware though, certain games will do bad things to your mind, porno games will do that, that's it. Porn is more addicting than alchohol and drugs in some cases and it can ruin somebodies life. Anyways, people will sit there and tell me that video games are bad, they rot the brain, they actually keep you stimulated and thinking, those same people watch TV all day which keeps you idle and doesn't help your mind much, unless you're watching a murder mystery were you figure something out. Video games= Very Good!

 

[commonyoshi]

I learned basic math through math video games. My favorite game had one where you'd go around killing evil aliens (using math) and to pass on to the next stage you'd have to solve a math puzzle boss. I played this everyday so I was basically a math prodigy by the age of five, a video game addict by the age of six, and a complete couch potato by the age of seven. THANKS MATH GAMES!

 

[Jazzy Jinx]

I love Mario games and have yet to find out why I do.

I guess I just have a natural attraction to fat middle-aged plumbers that can shoot fireballs and fight every breed of enemy there is...

Throw some shrooms and a princess into the mix and you have the best selling video game franchise of all time...

 

[pikachun00b7]

No! I play video games all the time(well not all the time...) and my math level is 4+ years ahead of my age.

 

[HXY56]

i play smash because its so fun, and there are lots of things that are worse than video games. like smoking, now thats pointless. but my mom bought me DDR because she said that i would be playing video games and get some excersize in the end. and now its like my fav game.

 

[Zenith]

I play fighting games.
The constant mind pressure gives me a lot of concentration.
I can do anything that school or life throws at me.

My parents think that I spend time thinking of VG's at school, I don't.
I'm slowly learnin to deal with the fact that I will keep playing VG's and going to tournaments.

I think its the fact that my grades are low, and I don't have many chores like most teenagers.

 

[Armygeddon Bomb]

Well here is an answer. It is because it is an addicting entertainment game that people say they could never get enough of. As the more advanced and the more games are made, the more entertaining they become. But, one day in the far far future, they will run out of ideas to make (unrelated thing I just realized).

 

[Cupcakes]

The answer to the question," Why do we play video games?" is quite simple. Allow me to elaborate.

Why we play video games can be simply answered with one word: entertainment. Without entertainment, our lives would be dull, lifeless, and straight up boring. Now, video games, it seems, are the best source of entertainment. Most people that are addicted to Video Games are children.(MOST of them.)
In the past, video games were just Plain-Old-Button-Pushing-Games. But, the Dance Dance Revolution(DDR) franchise, didn't make you use your hands. The game actually required you to dance along with the music being played.
Also, with Nintendo's new game console, the Wii, it gets you into the game even more. With motion sensors in the wireless remote, Wii is one to remember.


So the answer to the question is, Entertainment.

[cupcakes]

 

[Spirithawk]

Wow, I stopped coming to this board in August 'cause I don't have a computer at school. I come home for spring break, and this topic is still up. That caught me by suprise. O_O

 

[pikachun00b7]

I have nothing else to do , and studying is for stupid people who do not pay attention in class.

 

[Red Exodus]

Videogames are my antidrug, as well as antisex, antigangster, antisportsman, anti-thinknormally [seriously, I can relate anything to videogames lol].

But seriously, I play them for fun, I can't play sports here without the risk of playing with *******.

 

[SLIM]

I play video games because they are fun

 

[dragon duce]

hell no, you know me J, i play a lot of video games and you see how smart i am. I took all honors classes dammit. o yeah your stepdad was kinda intimidating, cheer up foo

 

[Zenith]

welp

I've grown up a lot now, and I really don't give a **** anymore about what ppl say
it took some balls for me to change so drastically, but **** happens

I don't go by this account anymore, my new account is the_judge
neither do I play smash much anymore

Thread over, The End!

 

[afterlife]

Okay now we all have video games and consoles, but why do we play em?

My stepfather says playing video games only makes you stupider and everytime me or someone else I know makes a mistake or accident he flames us on how video games will make us make more and more mistakes.

Now I'm not asking on how to respond to my stepfather because he is always right and he has me scared to touch a controller.

But back to the point, we all play video games for our entertainment, but is it pointless? Do we become stupider through excessive play? Are we wasting money on stuff that'll do this to us? I just wanna know what everyone else thinks. (I'm kinda depressed)

And ppl just pressure me until I wish that they were gone.

Thanks for your consideration - Zenith of TPS

I know you didn't want me to say this but, show your dad the brain games and stuff.
then he can't say they make you stupider...
but he might say they're a waste of time then...

A funny story: my aunt went out and bought two DS's and two brain age games JUST so she could play brain age. She bought the other DS for my grandma. then my grandma lost the DS.....

now she has brain age, brain age 2, and big brain academy. Now she's buying a wii so she can get big brain academy for that too.

nintendo hit it right on the nose with their marketing scheme.
older people w/ money + brain games = more sales....ALOT more sales.

!{(But they haven't been making good games for us hardcore gamers!!!)}!

I'm sure you all heard of this...
aside from this, the games help your brain out. there are schools that have brain age in them because of it.
ok i'm done speaking at you...

 

[adaptor17]

i believe that people first start playing video games because of friends or because they heard it was fun.but once you start getting video games for yourself,i think that theres is some sort of subconscious love of them.the love that you can be something that you arent normally in real life.like say youre some random high schooler.to everyone else youre just a high schooler.but when you play video games youre a clutch basketball player,a heroic spartan, or a fighting angel.in other words and in summary, ITS AN ESCAPE FROM REALITY.and sometimes thats the one thing that people need in their lives.

 

[notftomearth7]

Because they're fun.


Question answered.

 

[jgrant1100]

i hate people like that i have gained alot of knowledge though video games and my vocabulary would not be as exstinsive without them

 

[omfgomfg]

brain games are utter bull
im not even going to try them out seriously
what a marketing scheme

 

[RazeveX]

coz theyz riil gud lyks and makz me uBER sm4rT

yeah.

 

[antimatter]

they actually can help your eye-hand coordination.

 

[omfgomfg]

I PLAY VIDEO GAMES BECAUSE SCHOOL IS BORING AS HELL AND I HATE STUDYING (i dont get bad grades either)
video games are fun, entertainment, much more productive than grinding your books every day

 

[SmashALLSTAR]

I play video games because:

-They are great forms of entertainment
-Creativity is my passion and video games is all about creativity
-I aim to be a video games designer
-LOVE EM!

 

[Kio Iranez]

Video games are a form of entertainment. People who try to get you to stop playing video games are barring you from being happy through trying to escape the constant problems that this world hands you. On the other hand, you can do like they say and become a Work Nazi, who has no purpose in life but to work.

 

[Pluvia's other account]

Escapism.

Really fun and dramatic escapism.

 

[digitalmaster287]

Video games are a great way to relieve stress for me. Nothing makes you feel better like blowing a few people's heads off .

 

[Jammer]

I play video games because I have this fantasy of being able to jump really high that I can't fulfill in real life.

Actually, I don't play many video games, but when I do, it's mostly because there's not much else to do. I do play them a lot when I'm with other people, though.

 

[xiaonomercy]

for hand-eye coordination!! XD

 

[Cubemario]

I play games because they are fun. They provide much more entertainment then any movie I could watch. The only things I find just as entertaining are some good hockey games and good TV series.

I don't really play video games for escapism, I use to though . The biggest reason I play them is to relieve stress. Does it work? Yes it does.

As for video games making me stupid? Back when I was in school they affected my grades, but that was only because I was obsessed with them, being obsessed with sports would affect your grades all the same. Anyway, video games have made me smarter. Better hand eye coordination, and it inspired me to learn 3d modelling and animation. I haven't much with my knowledge though. I lost that spark that gives creativity, i'm currently searching to find that.

 

[Livvers]

I play games for fun and a sense of accomplishment.

Also, it's ****ing hilarious to beat someone repeatedly in a game and hear them start getting frustrated about it.

 

[Akiak]

Can you collect 486 little creatures in real life? No!
Or can you ride a spaceship and shoot at aliens? No!
What about saving the world from some invasion? Not even this because nothing that interesting is ever going to happen in this world.

Think of videogames as a temporary shift to another reality, another life where everything is possible. Everyone keeps saying that everything is possible in real life. Doesn't look like that to me.
But in videogames everything really IS possible.

 

[vonfinell]

The Jack Thompson "menace to society" standpoint doesn't have a crippled leg to stand on. Anybody that gives the industry crap are the people that have never played a single game in their life, and your stepdad is clearly an idiot if he's going as far as to give you crap about it for no apparent reason and try to say that clumsiness is based on your gaming.
My friend's older brother has played video games all his life, and he's in freakin' MENSA! By no means am I saying that video games make you smarter. Some of them do, but not all. However, there is NO basis of ANY kind made by ANY society that point AT ALL to there being ANY negative effect on the human intelligence made by video games. At the very least it increases handeye coordination and reaction timing, and at the most they can improve strategic abilities which assuredly does all that brain cell synapse building and all that other good stuff.

In short, your stepdad is an idiot, so is everyone else who holds on to his opinion, and you can go right ahead and look up some studies done about video games and through them in your stepdad's face proving me right.

These people make me so mad sometimes...

 

[fireb0rn]

..............

 

[ellelaby's younger brother]

Okay now we all have video games and consoles, but why do we play em?

My stepfather says playing video games only makes you stupider and everytime me or someone else I know makes a mistake or accident he flames us on how video games will make us make more and more mistakes.

Now I'm not asking on how to respond to my stepfather because he is always right and he has me scared to touch a controller.

But back to the point, we all play video games for our entertainment, but is it pointless? Do we become stupider through excessive play? Are we wasting money on stuff that'll do this to us? I just wanna know what everyone else thinks. (I'm kinda depressed)

And ppl just pressure me until I wish that they were gone.

Thanks for your consideration - Zenith of TPS

Video games are a waste of time.

99% of games are mediocre crap that you gain nothing from. Unless your a person that likes playing 99% of crap mediocre games.

I believe any high rated game or brilliant game is worth its time though. You know, classics like The Legend of Zelda, LOZ: Ocarina of Time, Metroid, etc. There are many great games to play but even then, theres only a few, most should know which these game are. Its sort of like watching a movie, but your interacting with it. So really, its a form of entertainment (who didn't know that?).

I guess Smash could be considered a waste of time if your playing it 6 hours a day... But its all a DEPENDS thing. It depends on the way your life is. For example, my life consists of this: Go to school -> Train (athletics) -> Come home, stretch -> Eat dinner -> Resistance/strength training -> Homework. In this case, if I do get to fit my Smash training into my daily routine (routine varies though, especially on weekends) I don't get to play Smash yet, but in agreeing with the above paragraph, not playing too much is perfect for me.

The only thing you get out of video games in general is enjoyment. Nothing else, playing games like Smash professionally will earn some money if your really good. My great non-sporting hobby is Art. I have a great talent for it, I draw and paint reguarly. TO ME, that is something worth doing, because not only does it bring enjoyment, but it develops me somewhat as a person. So does reading books and expanding your knowledge. I sound like ****ing nerd don't I? But it's true. After I'm out of school, I'll be going to uni to most likely study Fine arts and cocurrently train for the 800m (athletics). My goal is train for the next 9 years (16 yrs old to 25 yrs old, approximately). Really, uni time is like 1/4 of school time, it's like 20 hours a week (maybe more or less) as apposed to 35 hrs a week of school). Obviously I won't be studing full hardcore anymore. I'll have more time to do "things" and I'll obviously won't be PAINTING 24/7. Video-games could come into the equation as something to do (this would most likely be Smash or possibly Zelda).

Final verdict: Video-games are a waste of time unless played in little amounts. Though if video-games are your passion, proceed without caution. Its your life, you can do what you want with it, but my advice is to find something else, other than video-games, that is PRODUCTIVE.

That sounded ***, but I'll post it anyway.

 

[InfiniteSmash1221]

. I play games for fun, although i do take some games in as a way for a possible career. For instance if an rpg has an amazing storyline that everyone loves, i look at the story itself and try to learn what makes it so appealing to everyone, what plot-twists it used to keep people interested, were they believable, how did the characters develop throughout the game, etc. Kind of like research for if i ever try to work on video games myself in the future, or work on storylines/plots in another field.

 

[-Zangetsu-]

Games are fun,
Games are used as an escape,
But they are most certainly not useless. ^^

I'm sure that you're grand pappy played some form of game back then, most likely stick-ball or cup and ball.

Say you play a Role playing game or an FF game more specifically. I've heard some ppl tell me they were soo greatly affected by vidja games. I know of one instance of someone wanting to become a chef from Final fantasy 5. Also, certain themes and philosophies start to rub off on you, such as feelings on how life and love should be considered. In other words, it can make you a better person.

But remember games are ways to have fun, just cant let them control your life. If your playing and not having fun, then it's a waste of time......(Like fighting an Pit and the only thing he does is spams >:O ....)

 

[FrostedSoul]

I play games for the fun of it.I dont possibly see how they can make you stupid in anyway, maybe dangerous to your health if you intend to play 24/7 but if you dont they shouldnt be of any harm.Btw havent people died playing games for over 48 hours straigth?

 

[N.A.G.A.C.E]

It still trips me out tho.
He proves that it has corrupted my mind.

Like all adults he says that old stupid sayin:
WE NEVER HAD VIDEO GAMES WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, WE HAD TO PLAY OUTSIDE!!!

But he has experiense in almost all important fields so he outsmarts me at anything.

All this proves is that he went outside when he was younger not that video games make you less intelligent.
Also this type of activity stereotyping has been going on since he was a kid with comic books but no one now a days believe they hurt you in anyway.
Plus there are plenty of games that as many people on this thread pointed help with problem solving and in fact sharpen your brain

 

[DeathCoyle]

Hmm, I don't know. My roommate plays a lot of Playsation games, and he seems pretty dumb.

I think it's doing MASSIVE DAMAGE to his brain.

The question is, how smart was he to begin with? Was it the videogames, or is he just dumb to begin with?

I personally like video games. I enjoy playing Halo 3 and COD 4 against other people because I love to compete and there are few things more satisfying than a good bruteshot/mele combo kill.