I wouldn’t go as far as to call my parents “casual” gamers — I think I’d classify them in the “Hmmm we have a few hours what should we do? OH! Let’s play Tetris on that game console we bought ourselves a few years back! The PlayStation 2! Um, how do we hook it up again?” category. You know what I mean?
Growing up I was (obviously) spending a lot of my time gaming, and every now and then I’d find a game I thought my parents would enjoy, like Twisted Metal, Tetris, Spec Ops, etc. But once I moved out and took everything with me they were left with almost nothing — except the Cabela’s hunting games my dad received for Christmas — and, well, what little gaming habits they had slowly died. Looking back on it now, I realize I was a terrible daughter and should have at least left them with, like, a Super Nintendo or something. DEAREST PARENTAL UNITS OF ETERNAL GUIDANCE AND WISDOM, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!
Recently they’ve become obsessed with Peggle (in fact, I have some hilarious videos of my dad playing Peggle I must post) and I think they’re itching for some new puzzle games. In fact I had to make a trip to their house recently in order to hook up their refurbished PS2 so they could play Tetris. And guys, it’s the CUTEST thing watching them play videogames. My mom holds a controller so dainty-like, while my dad just mashes every button with hopes it’ll do what he wants it to. But of course that never happens and then he just rages everywhere. Sigh. <3.
So anyway, I’m going to head to Best Buy tonight and pick ’em up a console. Oddly enough, my very first thought was “GIVE ‘EM A 360!” and that was it — the decision was made, I didn’t consider it any more. But today while I was tapping into my femininity and enjoying a hot bath, I was like, “What the fuck, Britt? Why would you give them a 360?” Now, admittedly I give my 360 a LOT more attention than my PS3, but the thought of handing my parents a 360 and saying, “Okay, so, every month make sure you pay a fee so you can enjoy online connectivity, like Netflix and such. And good luck getting used to this controller, when you’re already accustomed to the DualShock. Also, all of your old favorite PlayStation games you once enjoyed with me aren’t available for download, and, um, this isn’t a Blue Ray player.”
Yeaaaaaah.
I don’t think my parents have ever SEEN a PS3 besides the occasional glimpse of mine while visiting my apartment, so I can’t wait to see their faces. They’re going to be like, “WTFBBQ, weird daughter, what did you buy us this time?”
I hope they actually say WTFBBQ, like “what the fuck bee bee cue”
That would make me SO happy.
hmm, I figured the wiiU would be more parent friendly… and don’t you already have 3 of them?
Hahaha — not reeeaaaally. But I can’t think of anything they’d want to play on it, anyway.
Excellent choice. Hope they enjoy it.
So far, so good! :)
yeah you have to post the peggle videos of your Dad, he is definitely a character. Normally I would be very much in the 360 as a great intro console(to be fair I do not own a PS3 so my opinion is severely biased.) But it is a smart move giving them something with a controller they are already used too. And after a few introductory games to get the gamer juices flowing in their veins again you should have them play Uncharted if Harrison Ford was incredibly uninitiated and enjoyed the theatricality of Uncharted, I am sure your parents would as well. Also this could lead to some great videolog reviews by your parents.
OMFG. My parents playing Uncharted — LOL. Well I bought him Cabela’s Big Game Hunter somethin’ somethin’, so that should provide some, erm, interesting results.