Video games have been getting a bad rap by a lot of people recently, and it seems that a good deal of women (who make good points) are becoming increasingly upset at their boyfriends for spending more time playing video games than they are spending on their relationship.
Now, I don’t want to argue that women are wrong about the situation or that men are at fault for playing too much; but men do have some very good and specific reasons for involving themselves with video games. For most men, playing video games in moderation is a fun, exciting, and can even become a stress relieving experience. Here are a few of the reasons men love playing video games so much.
1 Friends
Video gamers aren’t the lonely guys in their basement anymore. There has always been this belief that men who play video games are loner, loser type of guys, but these days all the major consoles have large internet gaming communities such as Xbox Live that connect players to other players all around the globe. You could be running special ops with a buddy in Nevada or watching Peyton Manning cheaply throw passes over your head thanks to an unknown opponent in Bangalore in a matter of seconds. Either way, we are interacting with friends and fellow gamers all over the world. Oddly enough, video games have probably become one of the more socially active hobbies you can have these days.
2 We were raised on them
Most folks in the 40 and under crowd probably spent a portion of their childhood mashing buttons during Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out or feeling the wrath of the red turtle shell in Mario Kart. Video games are familiar to most of us and therefore give us a semblance of comfort while playing them. I mean, there might have been a point where I couldn’t go to sleep unless someone played the Legend of Zelda theme song on a sitar. My early twenties were a brutal time.
3 You can watch and rent movies on most consoles
Internet connection has really moved video game consoles to the forefront of many media/entertainment systems. You can surf the web, check your Facebook, and even tweet from your console. You can also add your Netflix queue to your console and watch movies instantly. Plus, the PS3 is a Blu-ray player. It often makes media watching easier and hassle free. So we can watch “Legally Blonde” with our beautiful girlfriend…right after we infiltrate and nuke this armory. Watch out if they ever combine these two, especially if you’re Reese Witherspoon.
4 We’re competitive
Men are almost always competitive on some level. Height, weight, and athletic ability really play no part in our PS3 experience. That kind of makes video games the ultimate equal playing field for men because everyone involved basically starts with the exact same/similar character or team. So even your not-so-svelte friends can run you down on Madden or kick your ass in Street Fighter 2. And have you seen Xbox Live? There are gamer scores and in-game achievements that pit everyone playing against each other for the title of free-time supremacy. I meant “on-line” supremacy…and a lot of gamers take their gamer scores very, very seriously.
5 It’s an escape from (most) people
Men often times enjoy getting away from the womenfolk for awhile. Most find golf to be horrifically boring, so each guy always has something he usually enjoys doing when in the company of his guy friends. A lot of times we just want bragging rights and a free 6-pack, but for a good number of men these days video games are used as a sort of mini-escape from the tedium of everyday life. Whether it’s in a group of friends or all by ourselves, men seem to need more “Duh” time than women. It’s nothing personal (unless it is), but sometimes guys just have to sit down and do something mind numbing to unwind from our day. Games can sometimes be a solitary solution to an annoyed with people problem and keep us from punching Steve from accounting, one ruined goomba family at a time.
6 We really like grenade launchers
Like a lot a lot. You’ll nary find a male who isn’t instantly enthralled by the thought of the possession of a grenade launcher. They are big, they are loud, and when we go down to the nearest Army base to ask if we can “borrow” one for “personal reasons,” the guards never give us one. Video game grenade launchers are as close as most men get to sending grenades wildly careening at tanks full of Nazi soldiers or (possibly) abandoned drug dens full of C-4. It’s why we love the 4th of July so much; men love when things are constantly exploding. It’s been that way for us from Day 1 and it’ll stay that way till the dirty apes pry the virtual grenades from my cold, dead hands.
7 It’s the closest we’re ever going to get to the Super Bowl or saving a Princess
Look, most men have peaked athletically by the time they hit 18. That doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy playing in faux games of great meaning, such as the Super Bowl or taking the Blue Jackets to the Cup. Usually the buildup in video games takes a great deal of time and effort, so what looks to be a meaningless game of Madden to most people may have taken months for the player to achieve. And that goes double for guys involved in role-playing games that could actually take years to advance their characters. Sometimes it feels like more than a game to us. We know it’s fake, but so are Heidi Montag’s boobs and Spencer Pratt’s talent; you don’t hear us complaining about you reading US Weekly, do you?
8 We got this giant TV for that reason
Look how awesome that looks on that television! I’m stating to think they did that on purpose! This TV was simply made for playing Rock Band. Or getting stoned and passing out and watching the Xbox visual screen saver. Either/or, really.
9 It kills time
Reading was a good past time for people back in Mark Twain’s day. But then again so was going on unaccompanied rafting trips with strangers and growing lawless mustaches. Things have changed for the world when it comes to entertainment. Video games have become more complicated than just running a little Italian man through a castle consisting mostly of molten lava and mutant turtles. Now most games have huge the sprawling landscapes that they you can explore and games with complex and complicated missions. Taking five other buddies on a mission to completely incapacitate a KGB spy ring or embarking on epic quests that sometimes last for several days on World Of Warcraft is not uncommon during a modern gaming experience. It’s a hobby for a lot of people and aren’t hobbies just another way of somebody saying that there is a certain way they enjoy wasting time in-between work?
10 They’re fun
I mean we all know this right? The graphics are sick, the game play is more intense than ever, and games these days are just more enjoyable for people of all sizes and ages. So now that I made my spiel can we get one, Mom? |
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