Do kids play PC games?

[subcalvin]

As I write this I am working on a term paper in Pedagogy. My topic is on games, the internet and social media and how they are used by kids in school. As I read through the various course books I stumble across the following statement (I am paraphrasing since the book is in Norwegian) “A Playstation hooked up to a TV is a popular medium for kids, though this is mostly used by younger children who lack the competence to master a PCâ€

 

[Longo_2_guns]

Nowadays, PC's are only used as a real gaming platform by people who know how to use them and casuals. Kids fall into the latter category, but overall tend to go for stuff like the Wii and 360 over a PC.

 

[cyberjim2000]

It depends on the kid and how they are raised. My sister grew up sitting on a computer chair so she's a bit proficient in using them and gaming on them and my friend's little brother plays World of Warcraft all the time and curse him, he's way better than me.

I think computers (PCs, Macs, and laptops) are a bit more widespread than consoles since you do more than just game on them. Like doing your term paper.

Is book talking about computer gaming or just computer usage in general? If it's the latter then I think the quote meant that kids nowadays are playing console games so much that they couldn't master the PC (I don't know, like formatting the hard drive or type at an insanely slow speed). If he's talking about PC gaming then I don't know, he probably being an elitist or something.

 

[danielrbischoff]

Short answer: No, they don't.

 

[keepithowitis]

I use my PC for games way more than i use my xbox, but all my friends do the opposite.

 

[De-Ting]

Short answer: Only the cool kids.

 

[subcalvin]

Though these statements are nowhere near empirical evidence, I choose to tear author of the book a new asshole, in an academic fashion of course.

 

[FrozenBacon]

What do you mean by kids? Teenage children or young kids? Kids tend to start on consoles and then discover PC gaming as they get older.

PC gaming doesn't seem like something one could just jump into without knowing much about PCs. The things that make PC gaming superior requires some sort of computer know-how.

 

[subcalvin]

What do you mean by kids? Teenage children or young kids? Kids tend to start on consoles and then discover PC gaming as they get older.

PC gaming doesn't seem like something one could just jump into without knowing much about PCs. The things that make PC gaming superior requires some sort of computer know-how.

Their age is not that important. But between the ages of 8 and 15. Though it is true that playing PC games does require some more knowhow than a console, this can hardly be called a challenge in a country where almost every home has at least one computer.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

Most of the kids that I know that play games on their computers don't do it by choice. They do it because their parents won't buy them a console. They are then stuck to the games that their computer can handle.

 

[Delorean88]

I don't remember if I started with a PC or console, probably console/handheld but I did have a history with PC gaming (still would if I had a decent comp.). I poured hours into starcraft, warcraft, the sims, sim city, rollercoaster tycoon and a bunch of other RTS games because thats really what I coould only run on the 1 GB PC my family had. Honestly I agree with the statement that kids don't really get into PC gaming because PC games aren't typically for the casual gamer. For the longest time I assumed that the WASD controls were easy to pick-up but various friends told me they hate PC shooters because they aren't good with the WASD philosophy. Especially now kids will start with consoles and most likely stay but PC gaming will define whose serious about gaming or at least has a awesome PC.

But maybe that'll change with the new rise of free to play games (like the thousands of free MMOs out there) and with the huge popularity of WOW maybe the younger crowd might get into PC gaming. If not then hey at least PC game lobbies won't be littered with immature pre-teen youth... But instead a bigger amount of hackers and cheaters