In the ongoing discussion of whether violent videogames are bad for kids or actually a great way for them to learn to focus, here comes an interesting survey:

The Entertainment Software Association, in conjuction with Peter D. Hart Research Associates, surveyed 501 parents with children between the ages of 2 and 17 to understand how videogames are becoming a part of parenting life.

Now, that is an interesting thought: If videogames are now increasingly played together with parents, can they still be classified as “evil”?… here are some key findings from the survey:

The average “gamer parent” spends 19 hours a month playing video games, and spends roughly half that time playing alongside kids.

Two-thirds of the gamer parents said they feel that playing video games has brought their families closer together.

In my opinion, this stats further solidify the fact that videogames are here to stay as a key part of family entertainment. After all, playing videogames with your kid can be as satisfying as taking him to watch a baseball game together. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with playing videogames if it is done with measure. The key part of the experience is the bonding that comes with showing care for each other, and the pride in teaching your kid a skill or hobby that you enjoy.

Here is what Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA (trade group representing U.S. computer and video game publishers) said:

“The data provide further evidence dispelling the myth that game playing is dominated by teens and single twenty-somethings. It tells us that parents see games both as an enjoyable activity on their own, and one that allows them to engage with their children as well.”

Also, The Economist couldn’t have said it clearer in an article last year:

Like rock and roll in the 1950s, games have been accepted by the young and largely rejected by the old. Once the young are old, and the old are dead, games will be regarded as just another medium and the debate will have moved on. Critics of gaming do not just have the facts against them; they have history against them, too.

So here is great excuse for all current and future fathers to buy the new PS3 …
… Darling, I am buying it for the kids!

Via Yahoo! News