Video Games

If you're a parent like me, you've probably got a list of games to buy your kid this holiday season. And if said kid is under the age of 11, you've probably spent some time online or in Best Buy trying to determine which Lego or Mario or Potter or whatever game on his list might actually be age appropriate and entertaining. You read reviews. Talk to other parents. Check the the ESRB ratings. All good, but -- even with an "E" rating, it's still a video game, right? Pangs of parental guilt.

A few years ago, I worked on the advertising launch of the PS3 console. I remember being briefed by the PlayStation brand team, and a question was asked of them: how does Sony view the Wii -- is it a competitor, like the Xbox? Sony's response was confident, and a little condescending. Basically, as Japanese electronics companies, the rep explained, Sony and Nintendo were "like family." Microsoft was the real enemy. Sony, she said, didn't want to put Nintendo out of business. Heck, Sony was rooting for the little guy. In fact, Sony didn't view the Wii as a competitor at all.

While we didn't exactly jump on the board, Wendy and I watched quite a few folks try their hand (er, feet) on Activision Blizzard's new skateboard controller. It's a potential reset for the venerable Tony Hawk franchise, which has seen renewed competition to a genre it once created and dominated, thanks to EA's SKATE franchise (excellent in its own right).

Our first stop today @ E3 was the Sony pavilion, where the upcoming massively multiplayer online game, DC Universe Online, was prominently positioned on a multi-screen end cap display. The first MMO set in the world of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman (and a whole host of Justice League heroes and villains), DC comic creatives -- Jim Lee, Marv Wolfman and Geoff Johns -- were intimately involved in crafting a narrative authentic to its roots. This is not the DC universe of the Hollywood movies. It's pure DC.

Straight from the press release: "JumpStart will be unveiling the first of its kind Wii learning game for pre-schoolers at the upcoming E3 Expo in Los Angeles. The game, JumpStart® Pet Rescue, marks Knowledge Adventure’s entry into the Wii market, targeting kids ages 3-5, as the company continues to evolve the JumpStart® brand—and its rich, trusted educational content—to multi-platform."

Hoping to get a hands-on demo of this tomorrow!

We're off to E3 tomorrow, that annual pilgrimage to gaming and geekdom in Los Angeles. Our plan is to focus on kids' games and offer some insight to what video games parents might be looking forward to later in the year. We'll snap a few pics of the glitz as well, and walk until our feet hurt and our heads are pounding from the noise... See you on the inside!

If the "M" for Mature rating for X-Men Origins: Wolverine video game doesn't give you pause--even as your comic-book loving 10 year-old clutches it hopefully in his hot little hands inside your local Best Buy--well, it should. It's a virtual blood bath. Don't get me wrong, as adults we enjoy good cartoon video game violence, even fairly mediocre franchise titles like this one from Activision. Even if your kids have seen all the X-Men movies, all of which have been relatively tame PG/PG-13 fare, skip this one unless your kid is in college.

The debate rages over "video game addiction." A new study finds that habitual playing can indeed cause unhealthy problems related to video game over-use -- problems similar to gambling addiction, and could be a symptom of depression. What's considered habitual? According to the article, 20-25 hour per week (that's a part time job!). But not to worry -- as a responsible parents, we moderate our kids' gaming habits. Don't we? Of course we do.

File this under "sarcasm" and "The Onion" - panelists debate whether games like Fallout 3 and Gears Of War 2 are teaching children skills they'll really need in the End Times. Great stuff.

My son and I have been anxiously awaiting Cartoon Network's new online game, FusionFall, ever since it was announced last year. Seems like it's shaped up to be a fun, family-friendly multi-player experience--and my son is just about ready to graduate from the cutesy igloos of Club Penguin to the more adventurous corridors of the Cartoon Network universe.