Video Gaming Blog

I often hear how bad video games are for children and that video games increase violent tendencies. But I ask, is it video games or is it not just another scapegoat for parents blaming their lack of interaction with their children?

I remember watching Bugs Bunny as a young child. The happy go lucky rabbit constantly being chased by MR. Fudd toting his over sized shotgun, aiming to bring an end to poor ole Bugs.
If having the desire of blasting furry critters to pieces isn’t violent then I don’t know what is!

Being a parent of two now grown boys, along with my involvement in the video game industry, both of my sons often had a game controller in their hands.
Both of them could beat Mario by age 2! Both knew what a video card was at a young age and both could type better than they could print.

Both are also now fine young gentlemen with bright careers before them. One in mechanical engineering and the other in sound engineering.
These two interests both stem from their exposure to video games and technology I believe.

And trust me, I quite often gave the exposure to all of the high tech gadgetry on my sons some very serious thought.
Was gaming going to effect them in a negative way?
Would it cause them to react with violent tendencies when frustrated with a game? Worse yet, would it make them go out and steal cars and become the scourge of the earth?

As this was a major concern I kept a very close eye out for any effects that gaming may have.
And I did see effects! But not what one would think.
What I found was that they were learning to problem solve beyond their age! Their analytical abilities were being exercised along with their desire to exercise these new found abilities.
All of this was coming from playing video games!

I had been expecting the negative and never once considered the positive!
I will admit that there were times when they got frustrated at a game and I had to tell them to put it away. I have also had to do this for myself at times when playing games.

With moderation, gaming can teach an array of mental and motor skills.

For the most part these two young heathens were learning to use their brains and to teach themselves. And they enjoyed it! Instead if restricting their gaming I chose to use this technology as a tool for teaching them

Their interest in video games caused them to ask how they could make their own video games.
How could they possibly take their own ideas and make them into a game?
You might ask what is the benefit of this?
Just think about it, games are digital, and to work with it you use math. Programming is nothing but algebra put to use.
If they wanted to program they needed to excel in math.
Also in programming you must be precise and cannot rush through development.
You must create and coordinate a plan. And then you must put that plan into action.
Look at all of the abilities that these two young boys have just taken an interest in!

I do know that excessive gaming can be detrimental to a young mind as well as to an old one. As a Parent you have to take the responsibility and monitor the game play. I believe 2 hours of game play should be the max amount of time before a child should turn their attention towards exercise and other things.
I also think gaming has far more positive effects on children than watching television does. There isn’t a whole lot of thought processing going on when one veg’s to the television.

Just like anything video gaming can be abused and needs to be controlled.
But with the proper games and scheduling you can turn their love for gaming into a learning experience.

You just have to take control of the situation and not always trust the child to make the correct judgment without leadership. They are not born with good judgment but learn it.
As with anything else they do in their young life they need guidance and will look to you for this guidance.

So do not let all of the hype of video games being evil scare you. They can be a wonderful teaching tool if used correctly.

HomeComputerGames.com carries a wide selection of kids video games that you can use for training tools. Be sure to check out or Computer Games for Kids section for ESRB rating guides.

Thank you for stopping by,

Ken

At HomeComputerGames.com we get a lot of emails from parents asking about the various types of video games and gaming systems that are available. More than once I have heard “What exactly is a Halo 3? My son wants one for his birthday.”

I can see how this can all be a bit daunting to a parent buying video games for their children.
View Computer Games for Kids for more information on Safe Kids Video Games

With so many different types of systems available it is often hard for someone that doesn’t play video games to keep up with it all.
There is Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, PS2, PSP, RPG, ESRB…..

Here I have put together this Parent’s Guide to Video Game Systems in hopes that I might help prevent some poor parent from suffering the shame and embarrassment of not knowing what the hell your kid is talking about.

To start you may want to familiarize yourself with some of the components of a “Gaming Systems”.

Each Gaming System has it’s own technology and is comprised of the following:

Gaming Console: This is the actual component that the gaming media that contains the actual game, such as a DVD or CD, is played on. Without this there is no gaming system as this contains your CPU, memory, and other such input and output ports just like a Home Computer has.

Gaming Controllers: These are your input device for playing the game. These are much like a mouse or keyboard that you use on your computer. Many controllers contain an array of buttons that perform various actions such as making a character in the game run or shoot a gun or some other assigned function.
**A PC is a type of gaming system and in turn gaming systems are a type of PC

Video Game Media: The most common type of Video Game Media are DVD, CD, Gaming Cartridge, and downloaded files.
**Note that each video game is proprietary to it’s own Gaming System but may exist for several different types of Gaming Systems. So you might find a certain game is available for the PC and for the Xbox 360 but not available for Nintendo Wii or PS3.
Each video game will state on the cover what Gaming System it is for.

Viewing Screen:The Gaming Console has to be connected to some sort of monitor or TV to view the game on. Some of the Portable Gaming Systems have small Monitors built into them much like many cellphones now have. In fact many cellphones contain gaming systems along with the rest of their many functions.

This section below explains several of the more popular gaming systems along with the necessary hardware. Some gaming systems may have gaming accessories that are compatible for other types of gaming consoles. But this is not the norm and for the most part gaming consoles have their own “proprietary” gaming accessories and games.

Gaming Systems

Listed are some of the more popular Gaming Systems

Some will argue that the PC is not the most popular gaming system but more games are created and played on the PC than on all of the other Gaming Systems put together.
The reason is the PC has been around longer and can perform other functions besides just being a gaming system. The PC is often an entry into video games as many families have personal computers and laptops. There are many thousands of video games available for the PC, many of which are not available for any of the other Gaming Systems.

There are also many websites that have video games free to download or play online at no cost. Just Google free PC games and you will find a ton of arcade sites that allow you to play their games for free.

Technical Specs

This list could be vast and would change almost daily so only the basic details are listed.

• Manufacturer: Various, Dell, HP, Gateway, etc..
• Game Media: DVD, CD, online downloadable files, online remote hosted media (flash games etc..)
• Viewing Screen: PC Monitor
• Online Playable: YES
• Available Controller Slots: Various
• Number of Games Available: Untold thousands
• Gaming Accessories: mouse, keyboard, guitar and other musical instruments, joystick (flight stick), airplane throttle controlls, gaming automobile steering wheel and pedals, headset, video / webcam, surround sound system, Data storage (hard drive), other

The Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s gaming system and is an upgrade from their original gaming system the Xbox. The Xbox 360 is probably the most popular gaming system outside of the PC though the Nintendo Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 in sales. Recently Microsoft lowered what was a very expensive gaming system making it more affordable to consumers. As a result sales have soared and has insured that the Xbox 360 will be around for some time to come.

There is a vast array of video games available for the Xbox 360 covering all genres from the hard core shooter games to the more family oriented classic games such as Monopoly. The Xbox 360 is also backwards compatible for many of it’s predecessor the Xbox.

Many new releases for the Xbox 360 are anticipated with zeal from gamers with many titles being sold out within hours of release. At HomeComputerGames.com we allow our customers to Pre-Order many popular games before they are released to the public insuring that the game is secured for the customer with the game arriving a day or two after the official release.
There are no extra charges in pre-ordering and this is a sure fire way to insure that you get your game before they are sold out.

Technical Specs

• Manufacturer: Microsoft
• Game Media: DVD, online downloadable files
• Viewing Screen: TV / Monitor
• Online Playable: YES via subscription based Xbox 360 Live
• Available Controller Slots: 4 with wireless controller capabilities
• Number of Games Available: The total number of games available seems to be a bit of a mystery. Not counting the Xbox 360 Live Arcade games there is a known amount of 587 games though I cannot verify how close this is to the actual number of games available. This is a list of Xbox 360 Games listed at wikipedia.org. List of Games
• Gaming Accessories: At this writing there are many accessories available for the Xbox 360 with over 250 of them being sold at HomeComputerGames.com. Multi-button controller (many various types to choose from), keyboard, face plates (for changing the appearance of the gaming console), guitar and other musical instruments, gaming automobile steering wheel and pedals, headsets, video / webcam, surround sound system, External Data storage (hard drive, memory card), carrying cases and storage units, auxiliary cooling systems (the Xbox 360 has had some problems with it overheating), remote control, dance pad, and other accessories I am sure that I am missing

A unique feature of the Nintendo Wii, and one that makes it stand out from the rest of the gaming systems is it’s wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect movement in three dimensions.
This revolutionized the gaming industry in that many games call for you to act out actions such as swinging a sword or a tennis racket as opposed to sitting in your chair and pushing buttons. Of course this was a big hit with parents knowing that their children would at least have to stand up and get a bit of exercise.

The Nintendo Wii was the top selling gaming console sold during 2007 and revolutionized the meaning of video games by introducing a video game entitled the Wii Fit, that caused you to get out of your chair and exercise. The game includes all sorts of exercise competitions and has an exercise manager to help you keep track of your workouts.

Video games and exercise combined made for a newsworthy item and the Wii Fit sold off of the store shelves within hours. To date the Wii Fit is still hard to find except at inflated prices on Ebay.

Technical Specs

• Manufacturer: Nintendo
• Game Media: 12 cm Wii Optical Disc, 8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc
• Viewing Screen: TV / Monitor
• Online Playable: YES via the free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
• Available Controller Slots: Up to four Wii Remote controllers (connected wirelessly via Bluetooth), Nintendo GameCube controller ports (4)
• Number of Games Available: Here again the total number of games available seems to be a bit of a mystery. The Nintendo Wii is also backwards compatible with the Nintendo Gamecube. Meaning that you can play old Gamecube Games on the Nintendo Wii. This does not include games released on Nintendo’s Virtual Console or WiiWare but there is a known amount of 518 games though again I cannot verify how close this is to the actual number of games available. Here is a list of Nintendo Wii Games listed at wikipedia.org. List of Games
• Gaming Accessories: Outplacing the Xbox 360 there are many accessories available for the Nintendo Wii with over 400 of them being sold at HomeComputerGames.com.
  Multi-button controller (many various types to choose from), keyboard, guitar and other musical instruments, gaming automobile steering wheel and pedals, headsets, video / webcam, surround sound system, memory card, carrying cases and storage units, various play weapons, remote control, dance pad, and other accessories I am sure that I am missing

The Sony PlayStation 3, also known as PS3, is the next in line of the 7th generation gaming consoles. The PS3 follows its predecessor, the PS2, as Sony’s next line of gaming systems. The PS2 was and I believe still is the leading gaming system of all time with over 140 million units sold to date.

A major feature that sets the PS3 above the PS2 is it’s online gaming service, the PlayStation Network. The PS3 was also the first Blu-ray 2.0-compliant Blu-ray player on the market. Other features include its multimedia capabilities, connectivity with the PlayStation Portable, and its use of a high-definition optical disc format, Blu-ray Disc.
Several revisions to the system have been made with Sony now offering various versions such as the 20 GB model and the Premium model with a 60 GB hard drive.

Technical Specs

• Manufacturer: Sony, Foxconn and ASUSTeK
• Game Media: Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD (all models), Super Audio CD (20 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB (CECHExx models)
• Viewing Screen: TV / Monitor
• Online Playable: YES via the free PlayStation Network
• Available Controller Slots: up to 7
• Number of Games Available: Once again the total number of games available seems to be a bit of a mystery. The PlayStation 3 is also backwards compatible with original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games. Not counting the downloadable games from the PlayStation Network I found 442 games though again I cannot verify how close this is to the actual number of games available. Here is a list of PS3 Games listed at wikipedia.org. List of Games
• Gaming Accessories: Currently there are over 290 PS3 Accessories being sold at HomeComputerGames.com.
  Multi-button controller (many various types to choose from), console skins for changing the look or the system, keyboard, guitar and other musical instruments, gaming automobile steering wheel and pedals, headsets, surround sound system, hard drives to 160 GB, carrying cases and storage units, remote control, dance pad, cooling system, PlayStation 3 Eye, and more as I am sure that I am missing some.

These are the newest gaming systems available.
Not to be forgotten are the portable gaming systems such as the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the Nintendo DS. These gaming systems are small portable handheld systems perfect for the on the go gamer and for family vacations.
The two mentioned do interact with their big brothers the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii respectively. But this is for another article as I am sure you have read quite enough about video game systems for the moment.

For Great Prices on New and Used Gaming Systems, Gaming Accessories, and Video Games visit HomeComputerGames.com
Your one stop for all of your Digital Entertainment needs!

Thanks for Visiting,

Ken