PixlBit

That's a load of bullshit I'm 63 and I'm still playing video games. Most of them are JRPGs but I find puzzle solving and figuring things out in general keep my mind sharp. I'm an IT consultant and I can translate that into problem solving and analysis skills. 

Whoever this guy is he's really stuck in the past. So if beating a game accomplishes nothing what does playing a game of football accomplish? Is the world a better place because one team won over another? Does it help end poverty? I guess they've "earned" another piece of the millions they get paid every season.

Great point about football! Also, thanks for sharing, I didn't know your age, and I appreciate your points. Video games do help the brain (we know that now). 

Nearly every adult I know plays video games to some extent.  I think that's all you need to know.

Yeah, it's not a "kid" thing anymore. 

Videogames are media, and like all media, it can be consumed.  There isn't one medium that is greater than the other, it is all personal preference.  Some people prefer to play videogames, some to read books, some to watch movies/television/sports.  

It's like somebody who only reads non-fiction looking down on somebody because they read those cheap romance novels.  Does is really matter what you are reading?  No.

I don't really like watching Sports, but i can appreciate them.  So, don't crap on the fact that I like videogames.

Excellent points, thanks. Video games are simply another medium. I like to think of it as a hobby, and a hobby can be literally anything. 

No. Tell your sports bud to shut the fuck up.

LOL, Five stars for you!

I agree - tell him to fuck off and do what makes you happy. Life is too fucking short to listen to assholes who want to dictate to you what you should be spending your time doing.

Wow, you guys are the best!

Ask him how much time he spends watching sports, TV, and movies. I’d wager it’s more than the time you spend on games. And gaming isn’t a passive media; you’re constantly thinking on the fly, reacting to AI, making strategies, and solving puzzles. 

Right. Thanks for the input, Julian!

Every so often I start thinking like that guy. I think it's from the time when almost all video games were pretty basic and aimed at kids. The 80s. I have then ingrained in me from that time. But, I'm slowly growing out of it. Lately I pull out my 3DS just about anywhere without worrying what anyone thinks. I still won't talk about games openly with my family though. No one is really much of a gamer, aside from some casual stuff, and I couldn't have a conversation with them. They'd probably think like your friend there and tell me to stop, or assume I've got some addiction and play games constantly. 

All those points he mentioned, I can see now are completely opposite. I've noticed lots of problem solving skills, coordination, and patience benefits from gaming. I think I might be acing my school work right now because of my skills learned figuring out game mechanics and whatnot. 

Addictiveness is something I've thought about lately, but I often think of those extreme sports fans spending thousands on following their team all over the country. Seems a bit more addictive than what I'm doing. 

The accomplishment thing makes me think of Conan Obrian and how he accused one Final Fantasy dev of being a serial killer of time for players. How they could've been writing plays and poems and such. Games can get addictive, but so can everything else. Maybe games are more engaging than film or tv, but then I think of a friend of mine who binge watched every Star Trek episode of every series. Do you have any idea how much that is. It's way more than the longest RPG. 

Oh yea, and the social thing. I'm pretty socially awkward, and you could argue I'm into games because of that, but I also read a lot, also something frowned upon by sports jocks, but I've actually gotten more interesting in socializing because of games. My blog, the times I actually allowed randos in my game. It ain't much, but it's better than I used to be. Plus, gaming is all about social right now. The single player game is in danger of going extinct. I had a friend who would only play multiplayer games. He got a job through it talking to people too. It can be as social as you want it to be. 

Well, that's a lot. I defend the passtime, but I also sometimes think like that guy because I grew up in a time (80s) when games were aimed younger. Maybe he was too?

Thank you for your personal view. I feel like there's a lot of misconceptions about games out there. The industry has changed A LOT since the 80s. Back then, it WAS aimed at kids, but certainly not anymore. 

My oldest brother actually learned to read partly from playing RPGs when he was young; he struggled in reading for school, but playing games like FF6 helped him. So video games CAN help people in certain areas like that. 

Game theory is moving into all sorts of places like education. I always thought there was a lot of potential there to make learning easier and just better. I'm doing simple simulations in my classes to learn MS Office Suite right now. They're not very complicated, but I think they will get more so in time. 

Tell your friend to fuck well off! It's none of his damned business what you do on your spare time at all! He reminds me of a friend who really hates video games and gamers, and to a certain extent I hate a lot of gamers too (the evil abusive ones that harass women and journalists online when they give mario a 9 instead of 10 or whatever). Anyway, he watches A LOT of sports, full games for hours and hours nightly and goes to sporting events at least twice a month, baseball, hockey, etc. Honestly, I don't think he's getting anything healthy out of consuming all that stuff at all. He even buys a lot of expensive jerseys and collectible nonesense to decorate, yet he sees gaming as a waste of time? While I have cut back on gaming time,  I still make time to read novels, comics, manga, watch tv, film, anime, and also go to the gym, go out and socialize and video games are just one part of my free time. I think that if you completely cut yourself off from reality, like those idiot parents who let their baby die because they were too busy playing WOW, then it is a problem, but I've seen abusive parents yell at their kids and couples fight when they interrupt their dumb sports thing. Come to think of it, I hate sports fans too. Drunken loud idiots. I do watch sports things from time to time, and get quite into them, but not a whole lot.

I personally don't really discuss gaming to anyone in public. I see it as my nerd thing that I do as a hobby like manga, anime, and reading. Yes, I really love horror and violent type books/movies/games/music and discussing this in public might make people think you're a psycho, so my nerd things are MY nerd things. I will play video games until the day I die!!!! I also think video games still have a negative conotation associated with them unlike sports which is more acceptable hobby for grown men to have. I also watch a lot cartoon and teen dramas and superhero shows and love them and will never stop watching them either!!! EVER!!!

I'm with you there. I enjoy watching football, but that's the only sport I watch, really. I try to keep the whole gaming thing to myself too. I only open up about it if someone mentions it, or I discover a like-minded gamer. Thanks for your input!

Sadly I too have had people tell me either I'm too old or even that a girl shouldn't play video games. Hell I remember several family members trying to tell my mom video games make you violent. However I'm a firm disbeliever in that. I don't think video games make someone violent. If your violent, you were like that to begin with. I've played games for years some quite gruesome and over the top but I couldn't see myself harming another human being unless trying to defend myself. I just don't have it in me and I don't see a video game bringing in that much change in someone. If your violent a video game didn't make you like that, it was there to begin with.  Thats my take on that issue anyway. However despite the critics I've stayed with the hobby and will continue to do so. Video games are an outlet, just like other media to enjoy and relieve the stress of life and its many hardships.

I don't understand the appeal of sports. However I wouldn't call someone out on enjoying it. Its not my cup a tea but to each their own. Enjoy what ya love!

Yes, people like sports because they're fun, and likewise people like video games because they're fun for them. It's as simple as that. Thanks for your input. 

I see video games as a form of entertainment just like movies, music, tv, sports, etc and I'd like to say over the past 10 years or so games have moved from something kids play to mainstream. I think it's evolution started to change when there was a channel on Directv that was about video games, and ESPN started to air the Madden Challenge. People who didn't play video games growing up, or stopped see the hobby as what they remembered it, a kids game but in today's world many people see games as something to do with friends, relaxation, and recently a job with all these eSports events poppinng up on TV. 

I found his point about finishing a game and getting nothing out of it funny because we all have a favorite movie we've seen a thousand times or a favorite album that we can listen to over and over again. The emotions and memories associated with those forms of media are special to us, and video games are no different. With certain songs I can be transported back to a certain point in my life, and playing certain games can trigger the same emotion in people.

Video games have grown up and evolved and I feel it now has the same status as other forms of media. 

I completely agree. Video games are no longer just for kids; in fact, in many ways they're MORE for adults now. Anyone can play games. It should not be looked down upon; it's a legitimate form of entertainment. Thanks for you input!

Can I just  say

"HELL NO!"

I believe you just did!

If I didn't play video games, I have no idea what I would do with my time.

The only way it's immature is if it becomes your entire life. If it causes you to fail at studies, jobs, or if it's all you talk about.

 This friend probably thinks that's all gamers do. Let him know you have hobbies outside of gaming. Show him you are mature in other areas. Let him know of all the celebrities who play video games.

 Sports fans are nerds too. Let him know Fantasy Football is basically DnD but for sports geeks. Let him know how similar wearing your favourite player's jersey is to Cosplaying.

Great points, thanks!