Betta Lines
Member
SMB is timeless. It is as good an introduction to gaming today as it was in 1985. Go for it.
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I want to bring my son up on the NES/SNES/etc...
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Dog Problems
Banned
I think it's a good idea to let them be his first experience with video games. But after that let him decide if it something he wants to keep doing or move on to newer stuff. When (and if) I have a son I plan on doing the same thing but I won't push them on him. I'll let them be his first experience and go from there.
Also, why not introduce him to some old point-and-click adventures like Sam & Max Hit the Road? ;-)
Also, why not introduce him to some old point-and-click adventures like Sam & Max Hit the Road? ;-)
Would anyone here not want their children to ever see the Disney animated classics, from Snow White to Alice In Wonderland to Aladdin? Why not have then experience the timeless classics of gaming's past? But it should be no means be forced.
The exact same thought has crossed my mind to just fill my house with old games until my children have played them and then move them up, but that is sorta ridiculous. Just have regular current gen systems in the main entertainment center, and then a super cheap little 20' CRT is perfect to set up in the kid's room for their own anytime play.
NES is iffy, it depends on the personality of the kid. If they've got it in them, some old MegaMan could build a lot of base skills and teach them some self discipline. But SNES, there is no problem there. I think any kid can appreciate Yoshi's Island and Link to The Past.
The exact same thought has crossed my mind to just fill my house with old games until my children have played them and then move them up, but that is sorta ridiculous. Just have regular current gen systems in the main entertainment center, and then a super cheap little 20' CRT is perfect to set up in the kid's room for their own anytime play.
NES is iffy, it depends on the personality of the kid. If they've got it in them, some old MegaMan could build a lot of base skills and teach them some self discipline. But SNES, there is no problem there. I think any kid can appreciate Yoshi's Island and Link to The Past.
He's going to piss all over it and then scream for the newest Nintendo console almost immediately after.
Wait until he's like 5 or 6; I assume he would be able to appreciate the NES's genius by then. Oh, and bring him up on RPG's. That Shining Force man, you gotta train kids in that stuff early.
Disclaimer: I was playing Shining Force by the time I was 4. Needless to say, I had a soldier named bob, and he was already up to bob#63.
Wait until he's like 5 or 6; I assume he would be able to appreciate the NES's genius by then. Oh, and bring him up on RPG's. That Shining Force man, you gotta train kids in that stuff early.
Disclaimer: I was playing Shining Force by the time I was 4. Needless to say, I had a soldier named bob, and he was already up to bob#63.
GhostWriter24
Member
Pretty cruel, man.
So to recap:
1. Let him go outside for at least one hour a day, but no more than two.
2. Let him smell things.
3. Tie him to the console, but not all the time.
4. Leave a dish with at least one cup of water next to his TV to keep him from thirsting to death.
5. Do not let the neighborhood kids make him out to be some sort of Hunchback character for their amusement.
6. Children like to live in their parents footsteps, and shouldn't be able to experience their own things.
Anything else?
This is all great stuff, guys.
1. Let him go outside for at least one hour a day, but no more than two.
2. Let him smell things.
3. Tie him to the console, but not all the time.
4. Leave a dish with at least one cup of water next to his TV to keep him from thirsting to death.
5. Do not let the neighborhood kids make him out to be some sort of Hunchback character for their amusement.
6. Children like to live in their parents footsteps, and shouldn't be able to experience their own things.
Anything else?
This is all great stuff, guys.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
I'll just chuck this in:
My nephew would love to watch me play my DS.
At about 4 I'd let him mess around with PictoChat. He'd make little doodles on there for hours and really loved it.
At 5 he started playing actual games. Simple ones, like WarioWare Touched (his very first game actually I think)
He's 7 now and his favourite games are RPG's. He's completed Dragon Quest 5 & 9, Final Fantasy 4, Mario & Luigi Bowsers Inside Story and Pokemon Gold + Black amongst others.
Playing RPG's has had a great effect on his reading and writing down all the stats and things (he writes down Pokemon stats on paper) has also helped his maths.
Dunno what this has to do with anything :lol but yeah, kids + games is a good thing IMO
My nephew would love to watch me play my DS.
At about 4 I'd let him mess around with PictoChat. He'd make little doodles on there for hours and really loved it.
At 5 he started playing actual games. Simple ones, like WarioWare Touched (his very first game actually I think)
He's 7 now and his favourite games are RPG's. He's completed Dragon Quest 5 & 9, Final Fantasy 4, Mario & Luigi Bowsers Inside Story and Pokemon Gold + Black amongst others.
Playing RPG's has had a great effect on his reading and writing down all the stats and things (he writes down Pokemon stats on paper) has also helped his maths.
Dunno what this has to do with anything :lol but yeah, kids + games is a good thing IMO
My cousin's son is two, and I like to give him games to play. It's strange, he can pick up an iPhone, unlock it, pick the games folder, play Tiny Wings and Angry Birds. But he can't play Mario at all. He can play lots of WiiSports stuff too.
Although I would have thought those NES games were about as easy as anything, it's actually a lot more difficult it seems.
Although I would have thought those NES games were about as easy as anything, it's actually a lot more difficult it seems.
Wow, when I was a kid, I just went with intuition, and guts. As in, my pokemon somehow were just beasting all through the game, and even competitively. I don't really like to waste time with IV's, etc, so to see him doing that, he's alot more level-headed than me.Jo Shishido's Cheeks said:
RPG's are always a great game gateway for kids OP. Also, if you get him up on RPG's early on, he probably won't mind the dated graphics on the NES, N64, etc, as he'll be looking forward to the story, gameplay, and experience. I find that kids (I assume you would be reading the text to him, or no?) really like it (I know I did) when they have someone backseating them when they're playing a game/RPG. That way they can relate their experience with another person, etc.
Edit: What the hell happened to Shining force man; game used to be the breakthrough TRPG. Now what-oh right, SEGA.
revolverjgw
Member
StuBurns said:
My mom bought me games like Castlevania, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Contra and Rygar when I was starting out. I took it for granted, but now I realize how much I should thank her. I'm going to call her right now.
Just let him be born first. You won't be able to even be playing games during the first months. 
Then just play games as you do and let him watch or play with you. Then if he shows more interest, start introducing him to other games.
That's kinda what my parents did. They took me to arcades; then got an Atari "for the family"; then a NES "for the family"; then the put the NES in my room. Then came my first RPG, got Final Fantasy but as text-heavy games in english, and Puerto Rico getting the same games form the US; there were no other options but full english. So played the game, with dictionary in one hand and my father in the other helping me translate things.
In general, just wait.
If anything, start thinking on games you would be interested in playing with him. Games like New Super Mario Bros., Kirby Return to Dreamland, are relatively simple and also offer multiplayer and is not like the games will be less fun in 2-3 years.
Then just play games as you do and let him watch or play with you. Then if he shows more interest, start introducing him to other games.
That's kinda what my parents did. They took me to arcades; then got an Atari "for the family"; then a NES "for the family"; then the put the NES in my room. Then came my first RPG, got Final Fantasy but as text-heavy games in english, and Puerto Rico getting the same games form the US; there were no other options but full english. So played the game, with dictionary in one hand and my father in the other helping me translate things.
In general, just wait.
If anything, start thinking on games you would be interested in playing with him. Games like New Super Mario Bros., Kirby Return to Dreamland, are relatively simple and also offer multiplayer and is not like the games will be less fun in 2-3 years.
crazy monkey
Banned
Do not show them gaming make them play outside and enjoy if they are interested in gaming than start with nes.
bob_arctor
Tough_Smooth
Both my son & daughter love my old school stuff. Contra and anything Mario generally. Super Metroid they still find too intimidating though. I just started letting my son use a stick to play Street Fighter (but only one of my stock Hori's of course). They are 8 & 9 respectively. I started gaming with them when they were about 6.
Don't force anything you like on your kid for a hobby. Let them find shit they like. You're opening up big can of worms trying to even start them on games so young. If he ends up wanting to play games and sees you playing something, then cool you can share in some fun. If he isn't into it and would rather be into basketball or rock climbing or w/e, then just support wtf he wants.
My 2 pennies. You're the dad though, but just put yourself back in your shoes as a kid if your dad had tried to get you into something he liked but wasn't your cup of tea.
My 2 pennies. You're the dad though, but just put yourself back in your shoes as a kid if your dad had tried to get you into something he liked but wasn't your cup of tea.
I did this with my much younger brother who's about half my age, and it is nice to see him playing a lot of the systems/games that I grew up with, or being able to buy him classic games ported to the newer consoles and handhelds that I really liked. Truthfully, I always thought younger gamers were always about the latest and greatest (as I kind of was), but not only does he appreciate older games more he's actually quite good at them now. He's even 1 credited a couple difficult shmups.
His last major gaming purchase this year? A used Sega Saturn. You never know OP.
His last major gaming purchase this year? A used Sega Saturn. You never know OP.
phisheep
NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
SneakyStephan said:
This.
Let, and encourage, the kid learn and enjoy the real world before the fantasy one.
I've spent a whole load of time over the last 30-ish years with other peoples' children (in addition to my own) and they keep coming back for more, even now when my kids are 18-25. I got to be the most fun dad in the universe by just having the kids join in with whatever was going on at the time: if it's washing they do washing, if it's gaming they do gaming, ditto weeding/playing music/picking fluff off carpets/rolling rocks down hills/woodworking/whatever.
Yeah, I still do roll rocks down hills sometimes. It's fun.
But the best environment for kids is lots of other kids. So long as whatever it is has other children involved you'll do OK. Doing Man.v.Machine at the age of 2 doesn't sound so good.
Joei said:
These kinds of remarks are absolutely baffling and show a real cognitive disconnect, making me wonder if some people ever actually attained an education at all.
Video games, if you were going to liken them to anything, is akin to literature, music, and art.
No one can deny that our education systems (provided you weren't home-schooled, and even then I would imagine it'd be even MORE heavily weighted) to have a knowledge and understanding of the classics. We studied Tess of the d'Urbervilles and The Odyseey to appreciate literature and poetry. We studied Picasso and Munch to appreciate paintings. We studied British rock and American blue grass to appreciate music.
Video games, despite their modern cultural impact, have not been brought into the educational fold to a great extend because of their relative newness as well as all the stigmas that surround them in our puritan-derived society.
I think it's a great idea to have your kid play these games. In fact, I'd tie it in with a reward system my parents used. For every significant literature classic I read and wrote a 1 page book report for, they bought me a video game. You can do the same thing for your kid. Play through Chrono Trigger and write a 1 page report (that way you're not just teaching gaming, you're pushing writing skills and critical thought) and he can get a modern RPG.
Like others have said, don't make it an issue of force. Instead, tie it to a reward system that promotes education.
Good luck!
I think 2 is a bit early man, maybe 4, and I can attest to the comments about how kids barely even out of infancy can use iPads. Apple has managed to make these things way more intuitive than Nintendo's devices. If kids are able to learn how to use an iPad touch screen before they can press two buttons on a Nintendo controller, Apple has essentially beaten them at their own game.
That said, I've pretty recently seen 4 and 5-year-old kids play original SMB right after some iPhone games and enjoy it. I definitely think your kids should have access to old games, but as an option. That's the great thing about Virtual Console on the Wii. Trust me, he'll probably be able to enjoy them alongside the newer stuff.
That said, I've pretty recently seen 4 and 5-year-old kids play original SMB right after some iPhone games and enjoy it. I definitely think your kids should have access to old games, but as an option. That's the great thing about Virtual Console on the Wii. Trust me, he'll probably be able to enjoy them alongside the newer stuff.
BanditKing
Banned
He should play COD and Halo.
A two-year-old is going to want to play what you're playing.
Put Uncharted 3 up on the big screen, then tell him to play the old tube TV in his room, and he won't be happy. The key thing is to do what you want to do together.
Also, his own TV in his room at two? I wouldn't do it...
Put Uncharted 3 up on the big screen, then tell him to play the old tube TV in his room, and he won't be happy. The key thing is to do what you want to do together.
Also, his own TV in his room at two? I wouldn't do it...