Yesterday was day one of the two day NY Games Conference. Didn't bother to go to todays sessions. I hate to rag on something that's well intentioned, but it just seems like any attempt to emulate the west coast game scene here on the east, just plain doesn't work. First there was Digital Life as NYC's answer to E3 (which it most certainly was not, hence why its gone) and now this. The GDC is most certainly was not, and I more or less had to leave during the extremely inept closing keynote, which centered on the iPhone as an emerging platform. Nevermind that you kinda want a somewhat well known name to such things, instead of a guy that happens to be doing well (maybe?) because he was the first out of the game with a ton of mediocre iPhone games (which I guess counts for something, but still...), and how "humorous" Power Point presentations usually are not, but when the guy began telling people about 20 minutes into his presentation that the iPhone does not have any buttons, I almost lost it (I'm pretty sure the people who all paid about a grand to attend some game industry conference pretty much knows the obvious already).
BUT ANYWAY... there was at least one really interesting panel! Basically eight teens were brought on stage and asked a bunch of questions about their gaming habits, since stuffy business types, even those making video games targeted at such a demographic, ultimately knows little of what are in the minds of kids today. Some folks around here might get a kick out of their answers... while others might grown (and speaking as a guy who writes for such a market, most of what they said was not surprisingly, though some were).
- When asked what they liked to do the most, the eight teens, which was split 50/50 when it came to gender, and aged between 14-17, all answered that they like to hang with friends. They all enjoyed gaming, but it wasn't a priority, so they weren't hardcore gamers to say the least.
- Every single one of them had access to a Wii. Either they owned one or had a family member that has one. All the girl games, plus one guy owned theirs. Of the remaining dudes, two of them had a Xbox 360 as their main console, while the last one mostly payed games on his laptop. Three of the girls also had 360s at home, though it was not specified if it was theirs or a family members. No one had a PS3.
- One guy was a Nintendo diehard: he has, and still plays on a regular basis, a Wii, GameCube, and N64. The other kid who had no major consoles (well current ones) still played with his GC and N64. Both guys stated that they still get new GC games every once in a while, as did the girls. Mostly because most could be gotten for dirt cheap second-hand.
- The girls stated that they didn't like stuff found on the 360 and PS3 because they found their games too difficult. One stated that she still plays Super Mario Bros for the Game Boy Color every-night, because it was "relaxing" like all old games. While she did play more contemporary, more "interactive" games on occasion, mostly against her brother.
- The girls also stated a preference for logic games. One Nintendo fangirl stated that she loves to play Zelda games, but with her brother in a non-competitive manner; they would take turns trying to solve puzzles. A strong affinity for stories in general was also stated.
- Of the kids that had access to a 360, everyone played games online via XBL, but all the girls only liked playing with friends.
- None of them played PC games proper, except for the one kid who mostly plays with his laptop. The other guys only gamed via their television. The girls all stated that they played various online, casual games.
- Of those who use Facebook, all the girls admitted to playing games on it, and was a prime motivation for joining for some. Also, that laptop kid engages it in as well, and stated that he's really into some kind of Pokemon game that's available there. The girls knew exactly what he was talking about.
- As for where they get their information, they all stated that they go their info from friends. Next was television commercials. After that, it was magazines like Nintendo Power and Game Informer. None of them, with the exception of the two guys that own and regularly play 360, goes on the web. But even then, they only go to Nintendo.com, Xbox.com and PlayStation.com. Sometimes YouTube to see something in action. No blogs, no message boards, no nothing. Most had friends who frequent such places and are the ones they go to for questions and answers. Sometime their local Gamestop employee (ugh).
- For the two Xbox dudes, XBLA demos are pretty handy. One is a diehard Guitar Hero fan, so he has purchased a number of songs. Otherwise, no one else purchases and downloads games for the Wii. The Nintendo kid who only plays their stuff was in fact unaware of such an ability But he has no WiFi at home, so I guess that sorta makes sense.
- Almost all of them check out games based on their favorite movies, despite knowing that they are usually bad.
- Each generally gets a game a month. Mostly at Gamestop because they can trade in their old games for new ones, though they also usually get used titles since they're all on tight budgets.
- It was stated by the moderator that whatever they said would not get them in trouble with their parents in the audience, so they would be more honest, but when one of the girls blurted out that she owns GTA4, she immediately went "I don't know how that happened! Isn't it illegal for someone to sell that kind of game to me?!"
- If they had to chose between games and television, games came up on top. Almost none of them watches much tv.
|
Junior Member
(09-26-2008, 08:06 PM)
|
#2
Originally Posted by FortNinety:
i laughed  |
|
notag
(09-26-2008, 08:10 PM)
|
#6
Originally Posted by EverSoTrendy:
It will calm your nerves :) |
|
Member
(09-26-2008, 08:25 PM)
|
#7
When I play oldschool games I play them for that adrenaline rush you get when you have a sliver of health and manage to beat a insane boss or make it through a rediculous platforming segment.
Reading kids these days play these games to relax.... gives me a mental image of some guy sweating up a storm trying to flip a pancake. |
|
listen to the madman
(09-26-2008, 08:44 PM)
|
#8
Originally Posted by bigdaddygamebot:
Text messaging, hanging out at malls, instant messaging, Facebook, casual gaming, downloading music, school extra-curriculars, drinking, smoking dope. |
|
(09-26-2008, 09:05 PM)
|
#11
Wow. I must be some really hardcore type of gamer. And fucking nerd too.
But hey, i am not surprised that most people sound clueless... especially young people even if it might not be their fault. After all, i'm not born informed and with great taste. I'm happy for the TV thing though. Less TV = less stupid kids out there. |
|
ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
(09-26-2008, 10:38 PM)
|
#21
Quote:
I still can't figure that dang game out. |
|
a melancholic piano
a sea-blown wind (09-27-2008, 09:44 AM)
|
#23
Originally Posted by FortNinety:
Hear that, Sony? Time to start localizing Afrika and Aquanaut's Holiday! Goddamnit. |
|
Member
(09-27-2008, 10:02 AM)
|
#24
none of it was too shocking, but then again all my cousins are the typical uninformed average gamers. you wouldnt believe the fud that they hear from their friends. i have two cousins that have both a ps3 and 360 and both of them apparently buy all their multi plat games on ps3 cause " blu ray gives better graphics and processes faster". i can be biased towards ps3 sometimes but come on now really!?!
goes to show that your typical gamer sees things way differently than us. |
|
(09-27-2008, 10:10 AM)
|
#25
Originally Posted by Stumpokapow:
And if you live in a developed Asian country, studying our brains out. :( |
|
Member
(09-27-2008, 10:14 AM)
|
#27
Originally Posted by EverSoTrendy:
So I guess you were one of those little brats that shit under the mat in their room at night because you were to afraid to go to the bathroom al alone in the dark? |
|
(09-27-2008, 10:57 AM)
|
#29
Originally Posted by Guybrush Threepwood:
|
|
(09-27-2008, 11:03 AM)
|
#30
Originally Posted by Thunder Monkey:
My teacher in primary school once called my mom to school because I just wouldn't stop reading storybooks during class. Of course, while all this was going on, I was reading a storybook. |
|
(09-27-2008, 11:17 AM)
|
#31
Originally Posted by Pureauthor:
Sound asleep and turning the pages. It worked too until I faceplanted into my desk. Lacquered wood bastards. |
|
Member
(09-27-2008, 11:28 AM)
|
#32
Originally Posted by Guybrush Threepwood:
Originally Posted by Ranger X:
Last edited by Illuminati : 09-27-2008 at 11:33 AM. |
|
I AM A STALKER - DON'T TELL ME PERSONAL SHIT ABOUT YOU
(09-27-2008, 11:37 AM)
|
#33
Originally Posted by TheExodu5:
|
|
(09-27-2008, 11:41 AM)
|
#34
Originally Posted by Illuminati:
|
|
Member
(09-27-2008, 12:01 PM)
|
#35
Yeah, this is just... wow, so totally different from my own history. I started gaming on the NES shortly after it was released, moved to the SNES, and during the latter stages of that generation moved heavily into PC gaming and stayed there throughout the next generation (I played a ton of Smash Bros. with friends almost daily in college, and a few other N64 games) and well into the early parts of the next until I picked up a Gamecube, a DS a year or so later (June '05) and Guitar Hero finally convinced me to get a PS2 (Aug. '06). Recently I picked up a PS3 because as a PC gamer the 360 doesn't interest me and looking over the games I'd want for the Wii there just isn't enough to justify it. I still tend to prefer the PC and use it exclusively for FPS and GTA which I feel have inferior control on consoles and PCs tend to have better graphics, especially as the generation ages.
I still watch a lot of TV and movies, but TiVo means my TV viewing is much more focused. Games tend to dominate time when I know I have a chunk of time to put into it, but TV is more easily dropped into and out of filling odd chunks of time and watched socially as there are very, very few multiplayer games that interest both my girlfriend and myself. I also play board games (the complex, high-end stuff like Arkham Horror and Ticket to Ride... not Monopoly and such), read plenty of comics, read at least a book a week, surf the web heavily, listen to a lot of music (and try to get out to shows as often as possible), role-play and basically consume almost every form of media in one fashion or another. Along with, y'know, my other interests: cooking, kendo, etc. I'm passionate about what I do and I don't regard my possessions as transient (no trade-ins, ever... I carefully consider my purchases before making them and if I buy it, I want it forever). In short I'm almost the complete opposite of these kids. I can't possibly imagine how they live their lives in such a shallow, uninformed fashion. I especially find their terrible Internet activities to be odd. I think this shows how the web is changing. Our generation is one of the few ones that was perfectly situated between computers being accessible, but requiring effort. If you wanted to get into computer gaming seriously you had to learn at least a decent amount about getting games to work on your system and fiddle with your config files. Searching around on BBSs taught you more about networks and, again, making things connect and work correctly. Kids these days seem to be in a world where the Internet is so heavily commercialized that they don't really explore much. They see it as more of a tool that's just there and go to well-known, well-advertised sites rather than searching things out. It's not as much a separate place to spend time so much as an extension of what they're doing already. This, I feel, causes it to become more of a shallow experience. Sure we'll still get some as we always have, but a lot of the kids going online use it in the same way that my mother does and are unlikely to go much further than that. Many of us older generation were inspired to get more heavily into programming and engineering. I mean, when I was in that age range I was playing Civilization, Duke 3D, and Team Fortress on a home-built system and helping to write a major TF news site. I was heavily involved in high school debate and forensics. My major interest certainly wasn't "hanging out with friends". Sounds like the lowest common denominator to me. The fact that teens in high school think that Blu-Ray inherently means better graphics, however, that just accept hearsay... well, this just proves they're idiots. Sadly, they will probably do more to influence the games being developed and our culture and politics in general than the majority of us here. Last edited by Belgand : 09-27-2008 at 12:07 PM. |
|
Member
(09-27-2008, 12:55 PM)
|
#37
|
|
(09-27-2008, 01:30 PM)
|
#39
Everything was better when I was 12.jpg
|
|
Ladies! On my signal,
unleash boobs. (09-27-2008, 02:43 PM)
|
#40
Originally Posted by thetrin:
Today's teens are always lamer than yesterday's teens. Remember that when we were young, when we saw somebody power up, they kicked ass. But when they see somebody power up, it's to play cards. Heard this somewhere... |
|
(09-27-2008, 02:55 PM)
|
#41
Originally Posted by Haunted:
?? |
|
I AM A STALKER - DON'T TELL ME PERSONAL SHIT ABOUT YOU
(09-27-2008, 03:10 PM)
|
#42
Originally Posted by Stike:
|
|
Junior Member
(09-27-2008, 03:19 PM)
|
#43
Originally Posted by JoshuaJSlone:
^^false ;) The quotes mean to suggest that this sounds like a lame attempt to me to sound somehow statistically relevant or meaningful in any matter, which of course, asking eight teenagers about their gaming habits, is not. The only thing I refute here is any idea that might come up to give this "news" any relevance (see, I did it again! har har!) |
|
(09-27-2008, 03:51 PM)
|
#44
Originally Posted by Illuminati:
Not saying there's nothing good on TV. Just saying there's too much crap and most people eat that up like chips. It's probably better for their IQ to read and play videogames. Also, the internet (while having tons of useless stuff) still is having all those interesting informations you watched on TV. |
