I never tire of reading about how games can be good for the family. Which is a good thing as we're hearing more and more of it these days - if you can pick out the positive stuff from the hysterical fear-mongering of the chattering classes who are now worried about something called 'junk sleep', an affliction suffered by teenagers with too many gadgets in their rooms. What. Ever.
Anyway, casual game giant, Popcap, has revealed the results of an online survery, carried out by the Information Solutions Group, which shows that of the nearly 7,500 people interviewed, 2,298 confessed to being casual gamers. Or 'family gamers' in the parlance of Popcap's press release. From that source:
"Among adult "family gamers," 92% overall (and 95% of grandparents in particular) said that they felt the games provided an opportunity to "bond with, or better relate to" their children or grandchildren. And fully 70% of respondents said they see casual games as providing valuable educational benefits. On a related note, only 28% of adult family gamers indicated they allowed their children or grandchildren to play "hardcore" video games - with fathers and grandfathers being significantly more inclined to allow the playing of such games than mothers and grandmothers (37% vs. 25%)."
More details here.
Casual games represent a convenient win-win situation for parents (and carers, of course). They're computer games so kids naturally love them, but they're often based on classic archetypes that parents can easily get to grips with. In this sense they shift the gaming power relationship back in favour of the parent: when mum or dad tries to play Half-Life with their child, they often just end up feeling confused and alienated, but when they play word games, they're in control. Casual games re-affirm the traditional family status quo, with mum/dad/carer as teacher and guide.
I wonder if that will change with the coming generation. We've all grown up playing games, we know games inside out - when my son starts playiing first-person shooters, I doubt they'll have changed so much that I won't be able to continuously frag him for several years.
Or maybe Wii will change everything. Maybe I'll be just as lost as my parents, because a new breed of social casual games will have taken over. I'd better start taking Wii Sports more seriously.
