What the hell are Hasbro, EA thinking?

 

 

What's more, the event is being promoted on Twitter by the @EAPlay feed, which represents the family-friendly gaming arm of Electronic Arts, who publishes Hasbro's electronic titles. These titles include the individual games that make up Hasbro Family Game Night on various consoles and platforms. In fact, @ESPlay is promoting the event today by giving away codes for console-versions of Hasbro board games.

 

Here's the rub: National Family Game Night is being promoted as a part of TV Turn Off Week. What's that, you ask? Apparently it is an advocacy event encouraging families to switch off their televisions, because televisions, as we all know, make you dumb, fat, and dumb. Think I'm overreacting? Here is the rundown from the people who run TV Turn Off Week.

 

Dammit.

 

Let's start with the obvious problem here... Electronic Arts is promoting an event whose roots are founded in an advocacy campaign against their very business. Do you see anything wrong with this? At the very least it's confusing. More likely, it's downright silly.

 

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know how strongly I feel about family gaming. A family can get just as much enjoyment--if not more--out of playing video games together than they can out of playing board games together. And in our household, we play both.

 

In fact, in many cases we have had MORE fun playing together as a family when playing video games. An excellent example is Scribblenauts. While there is no multiplayer, we take turns passing the DS up and down the couch, while everyone chimes in on solutions to puzzles, etc. The game is helping our twin five-year-olds learn to spell, solve problems, and work together. How is that a bad thing?! Mario Kart is another great example, as is the recently released Mini Ninjas. I have always loved video games, and it's something that I've always wanted to share with my family. So we have very purposefully worked gaming into our family's life.

 

I will be the first to tell you that our kids probably play more video games than your average child, and occasionally more than they should. Their doctor advised no more than one hour per day of video games. Well...sometimes they play two hours. Sometimes they play none. And some days we all go hog wild with a marathon gaming session. And you know what? My kids are in the 50th percentile for weight. They're not obese. What's more, they are further ahead in math and reading than the average child their age.

 

Don't get me wrong. We love board games at our house. And we love sports. We love playing outside, fishing, riding bikes, gardening, working in the yard... But we also love video games, and we disparage none of them. Because they all bring us together as a family. And ultimately, that should be the point of family game nights.

 

So I encourage you all to participate in National Family Game Night, playing whichever game you choose--board, video, or otherwise. In fact, let us know how it turns out. I'll go ahead and share my impressions tomorrow, too.

 

-Book