by Libe Goad on Friday, October 12, 2007
"My son will say to me, 'You know Mom, I want to play video games, would you come play with me?' said boot camp participant Christine Fiorella."It'd be nice to be savvy enough to play with him."
Fiorella was one of 12 brave moms attending the event, hosted by yours truly, GameDaily Editor-in-Chief Libe Goad, and editorial assistant Robin Yang. Dressed as digital drill sergeants, we gave the moms a breakdown on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, showing off the hardware and games.
We laughed at the puzzled faces on the moms when we showed them the off-road racer Motorstorm for PlayStation 3. Some of the moms had an easier time with Guitar Hero for Xbox 360 and positively lit up at the sight of Wii Sports. Many hesitated to volunteer to play most of the games, but they were like eager school children, raising their hands to be picked to play Wii Tennis for the Wii, even under the intimidating glare of several local TV crews there to film the proceedings.
After a quick "Mom's Got Game" tournament with Wii Tennis, the moms who won their respective matches were given Nintendo DS Lites, courtesy of Nintendo. The crestfallen expressions on the mom's faces who didn't win were priceless. So we pulled an Oprah and sent everyone home with a DS Lite and a copy of Brain Age in hand.
1. Research on the Web
There are lots of great online resources, including retailers such as Amazon.com and EBgames.com, and information sites like Wikipedia.com and, of course, AOL's GameDaily.com, can fill you in on what games are coming out and their ratings.
2. Talk to the Experts at Home
Kids know more than you think. Ask them what they think you'd like to play.
3. Take the Gaming System out of the Kids' Room and put it in the Living Room
Make video games a central focus of the family entertainment space.
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