When I was 41 years old - I decided I wanted to figure out what this "video game thing" was all about. I went out, bought a Playstation 2, plugged it in, inserted one of the free games that came with it and started gaming.
No game instruction, no real help, no clue about what in-game play Vs. online multiplayer meant. I had no one really to turn to because my friends weren't gaming (or at least not talking about it) and at 41, I only knew about 5 people in their 20's. I was kind of screwed. I would just have to figure it out through trial and error.
The problem was, with two young kids a full time executive position job, a wife, a mortgage, blah, blah, blah, it took me forever to really understand what the hell was going on. Time is not what I had a lot of. It took me months to complete my first game, on easy mode no less.
Had I had access to video game training or video game lessons I'd have been clued in so much faster and been able to better enjoy what I was doing.
Recognizing that men don't want to ask for directions or help of any kind, my wife came up with this site and concept... A place where anyone could get help understanding video games and how to really play them.
Of course, video game instruction is no replacement for plain old practice. No amount of gamer-god wisdom on Halo3 strategy is ever going to replace the coordination and muscle memory you must develop on your own.
BUT - the rest of it, the finer points that these hardcore gamers know can be invaluable.
That is why we created this site. To stop being the last guy on the rankings, to maybe bond with our kids in something we can all enjoy, to level up and get access to cooler weapons and environments to GET MORE OUT OF THE GAMING EXPERIENCE.
"At this year’s E3 Media And Business Summit in Los Angeles... the presentations made by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were devoted to demonstrations of party games, music-based titles, and online experiences designed with whole families in mind.
Gone were the teen-aged and hip twenty-somethings to demonstrate the latest titles, and in their place were middle-aged models, dressed as parents, to take the stage and play in front of the assembled crowds."
- According to a recent Ipsos Reid report, the average age of adults playing video games in Canada is now 40.3 years-old.
- That’s up from the results of past years where the average has been 32 and 34.
- Another study, performed by PriceWaterHouseCoopers finds that families around the world are now spending $48 billion each year on video games, more than they do on DVDs or music.
- Microsoft - Video Game Lessons Need
The image that best sums up this change was to be found at Microsoft’s E3 presentation where three middle-aged models walked out on stage to play a new family-oriented game called “You’re In The Movies”. Dressed in slacks and corporate casual shirts, the three gyrated and twitched in a laughably un-cool, parentally un-hip display that would seem inconceivable for an Xbox 360 event, but was positioned by Microsoft with all the emphasis and importance that they normally reserve for one of their Halo games. - 57% of parents are playing games alongside their kids
- Pew Study: "... There is a significant number of parents* who report spending at least an hour a week playing video games with their children."
- The Entertainment Software Association pegs the average age for gamers at 33. According to our August 2006 survey, 35% of adults report playing video games online, and that number becomes even greater when one includes adults who play console games.
- Some surprising statistics from a new AOL/Associated Press poll shows 40% of American adults play games on a computer or a console.
- Ready made coaches? "76% of youth report helping others while gaming."