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Video Games and Parents: A Current Problem

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by Ric White on January 22, 2011 at 10:02 PM
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I see it all the time, especially around the holidays. Innocent parents, walking into a Gamestop, and looking like a lost child. Whatever they're looking for, you know they're not gonna find it without help. Fortunately, the sales associate offers advice, gets the parent guided to where they need to go, picks out a great game for them to bring home to their kid, then walks away. Oh, if this were only true. Unfortunately, most situations like this are handled poorly on both ends. Parents usually charge into a store, not knowing what they're doing but basically 'judging a book by its cover' and looking for key words. Meanwhile, the sales associate is a 19-year old high school dropout who couldn't care less about customer service, saying things like "Yeah, Silly Bandz is a fantastic video game. If your kid loves Silly Bandz, they'll love this game!" (By the way, that's a real game. I saw it at a store today.) It pains me to be in a video game store and watching this happen. Hearing a mother talk to her son on the phone, saying "Well, they have Call of Duty 3. Is that the one you want?" or "Here's a hunting game... I don't know, it's got a bear on it!" It gets even worse over the holidays. I was at the midnight opening for Walmart to pick up some cheap DVDs and saw parents surrounding a cube of video games. When I checked them, they were all either games I've never heard of (and I check this site and others daily) or licensed pieces of garbage. Yet these parents were freaking out over how quickly they could throw the games in their buggy. I try to offer suggestions whenever I can, but it's really hard to do this without being awkward. I feel strange telling a parent, "Hey, maybe Madworld's not really what you want to get for your 5-year old", or "Imagine Babyz Fashion is gonna suck! Please don't get your daughter this game!" You can't do that without them giving you weird looks. So what do we do? Do we continue to let game companies like Zoo make total crap and then let ignorant people buy them, thus furthering the idea that shovelware will make good money? I have an idea, but I doubt it will ever happen. I think Gamestop should sell only quality games. I think when crap comes out for certain companies, it shouldn't be put on the shelf. There are crappy movies and music that come out all the time that never make it. Why can't that be true here? Also, let's bring some meaning back to the Seals of Quality from Nintendo and other companies. Instead of putting out anything, make it to where you're giving a quality product to your consumer every time. This will never happen, but it'd be nice. Meanwhile, I'll just continue sitting there, watching families pick up disc only copies of Rock Band and expect to have a ton of fun when they get home.
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  • by Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    But those are the games Gamestop makes money off of. I can't tell you how many times my little sisters have wanted to buy games like babyz or something that has to do with horses. Do they take my advice? Course not I'm not a gamer...or have a clue what I'm talking about...or well...anything. But that's where the problem lies. Ignorance in the buyer. When they won't listen to someone who actually knows what they're talking about.

    It would be like me trying to by a gold club or a car part. I have no clue about any of those things. I mean I can point out a driver or an iron and I know they're used for but can I golf? Hardly and I can't tell you why The 3000 dollar club is any better then the 30 dollar one.

    Which is exactly where those parents fit in. They don't know the difference between the 10 dollar game that has been our for six years and the new ones that the kid actually wants. I remember one time I was buying a Madden game awhile ago and my mom wanted to know why I was buying 08' instead of 07' both me and my Dad looked at her only said one word...really?

  • by Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 08:26 AM

    "Crappy" is a subjective word.  However, I know what you mean.  Parents just buy something because of the box art, it's a shooting game, or something similar.  My father in law bought a Xbox-Kinect bundle for my nieces, and bought some shovelware title for it.  I tried to give advice, but he just can't comprehend that not all titles are created equally.  He assumes the motion tracking and design will on par with any other game...it's a shame.

  •
    by Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    I understand what you mean it pains me to see parents buying some lousy game and all I feel like doing is replacing that game with another one. But I can't do anything. Luckily, my mother now officially knows her way around game stop and thus always gets me the game I want. I just hope parents the best when they enter that game stop store.

  •
    by Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    MOST parents aren't THAT clueless. I get your point about it, though. On another note: OMG, THEY MADE A SILLY BANDZ GAME!!! AHHHH!!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE AS TONS OF 8-YEAR OLD GIRLS COME POURING INTO GAMESTOP, BUYING A GAME ABOUT STRETCHING RUBBER INTO STUPID SHAPES FOR THEIR EVEN STUPIDER WII!!!!!!!!!! "Hey mommy, look, I made a Silly Bandz who looks like a guy going blind as he watches me play this game!"

  •
    by Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    I know what you are talking about and I cringe every time I see it happen.  The GameStop I use the most is actually pretty good at steering clueless parents toward games that are appropriate for their kids age and are decent games.

    I think the main problem stems from the fact that a lot of parents don't really care about games.  Not just the they don't play it type of not caring but the they just don't care at all about the games or rating system on the games.  To them there ISN'T a difference between the 10 dollar game and the 60 dollar game other than about 50 bucks.

    During Christmas time there have been a couple times I've helped out a random parent at Gamestop.  I don't just go over to any person and start spewing my opinions at them but you can usually tell the parents who don't know what they are doing when you see them pick up a random clearance priced game and stare at the back of the case with a deer in the headlights look.  Usually a 'M'am/Sir not to be rude but if you're looking for a game for your kid for Christmas you may want to check this out' and then kind of back off.  Sometimes they ignore you but other times they might ask a few questions.  

  •
    by Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 12:33 PM

    Lol, I gave my mom a list (for some reason she likes to actually give stuff for Xmas and Bdays, not just gift cards which is all I really wanted, but whatever, as long as she is happy)... with the name of the game and the system... so she could just walk up to the salesperson and there would be no confusion.

  • by Monday, January 24, 2011 at 09:25 AM

    That is why I strait up tell my parents what game I want. That, or they just get me a giftcard.