Make them play Suikoden II then demand that Konami make better Suikodens!

After that get them on Final Fantasy Tactics and tell them how much Final Fantasy VII isn't the greatest FF, along with pointing out it's every flaw.

Further more, get them into Metal Gear and Half-Life/Portal/Team Fortress to avoid raising the Halo nuts that believe it's the messiah of gaming.

The only responsibility a kid has nowadays is not to get pregnant/impregnate.

Honestly, hand a kid a DS Lite, send him off to school, let him make friends, and you're set until graduation.

Look at the wonder in those kid's eyes... It's a shame they'll turn into a bunch of Jaded bastards like us sooner or later. They'll be playing on their Playstation 7s and raving about how games aren't the way they used to be, back in the golden days of Halo and Half-Life and good old'fashion three-dimensional graphics.

That does it! Open letter to all game designers:

"Dear designers,
Stop making good games. Please give us more Atari ET and Pac-Man games. Our children cannot survive if you are good at your job.
Thanks,
Concerned Parent."

'look at him, he is ugly, ugly!'

- dr steinman

'they're slaves. slaves of the machines'

- bill o'reilly.

I feel shame every time I talk to a group of gamers and am forced to admit I didn't like Shadow of The Colossus.
Is kotaku implying that eventually video games will have required playing of the classics, just like books.

"Play through the Rufus boss fight in Final Fantasy 7 for tonight's homework"

"Tomorrow, Kill 3 more Colossus"

Ico ftw! Thats basically the point of this post, kids.

I think they should play this game : [wii.ign.com]
Or this game (N64): [ign64.ign.com]
*PS look at the ratings, OMG !!

I'm pretty sure these games will make them stop playing hehe !!

@Moonshadow101:

you mean... like the 'jaded bastard-sword of the tiger' from world of warcraft?

Ahhhh. They should do a study to see how many kids can actually live without games for a prolonged amount of time. This simple test would tell everyone once and for all that not everyone that plays games is hopelessly addicted to them. This test can be done, and very easily. I know, I've done it before, for about a year. I really had to get back into the groove of things once I started playing again though. :P

So that explains why more and more people you run into in online games seem to have next to no social skills.

I'm not surprised. I was playing Halo 3 in matchmaking for those last two godforsaken achievements, and while we were waiting for the game to begin, one of the others began talking in a clearly male, but incredibly high-pitched voice (spitting out explitives, no less).

The only other person with a mic aside from me asked "[GT], how old are you?" to which he replied "*long, drawn-out sigh* Ten."

I laughed, with my mic muted of course. Not so much when I lost to him, though. :(

I want a vasectomy.

This proves my statement of why the hell do older (jaded) gamers hate kids games.

Sure most of them are crap, but so are "adult" games.

I never understood that! "Nintendo is too kiddy!" Well? Kids have to start somewhere! Most gamers did not start playing WOW or Halo. My gen started with Mario, Sonic and Putt Putt.

I mean Baseball has a Little League, so WTF can we not have kids games?

If the kids don't play, who will? The adults? Ha.

Not too surprising. Kids like teh games. That's why it sad that they'll become cynical, jaded adults like us, as others have said. And it happens sooner than you think. I'm only 18! =(

@Kirbytheslayer:
Dont feel too much shame.....I've never even played Shadow of the Colossus....well I played the demo when I was at gamestop.

I'm going to be skinned alive now, aren't I?

Heh, average ages are 6-8 when they start? Wow, I've been playing Sonic since I was 3 O.o

As most people said, I'm not that surprised as much either, well maybe with the Females on the PC thing that was kinda interesting. I have 3 sisters and I can tell from their gaming habits it tends to be playing with my DS or quick light puzzle games. My older sister however did go on a gaming binge on Oddworld one week. It was just a dark room, her, a bed, a Playstation, and plenty of empty Cheeto bags.

Ideally just have them play Goldeneye and Perfect Dark and when they're jazzed up and wanting more more more, inform them that the only way shooters have changed since is to add a jump button. And less accurate analogue sticks.
*sigh* If only it had online...

Also the whole 6-8 thing is true. I got a SNES for Christmas when I was about 7, now BAM look at me now. Thank god I only have the pale thing going on, but thats fixable :P

@Heliophage: I'm a little confused by the tone of your anecdote. What part are we supposed to find surprising? Ten-year-olds playing games and using curse words? *gasp*

@TJH518: RE: Female gamers on the PC. Please see: The Sims, Second Life.

Hey! We're not all attracted to epic mounts! *goes back out of the sun and pokes belly*

"findings that between 6 and 8 years is the "critical age at which to capture the future gamers of the world" as that's when children transition into "serious" gamers."
---I gotta agree with that, that was when I first played games like Super Mario Bros, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Metal Gear, etc. and now I am a serious gamer. While my older relatives are not, but my friends are.

Kids playing games in fine. But please keep them off of online games- if I hear one more high pitched whiny voice on Live.....

@SidepocketPro:

Baseball has a little league, but it's not stereotyped as the MLB; older games see how games have evolved and how (most of) the industry has accommodated the older generation that grew up with them, yet games in general are still considered 'kiddy'.
@PurpleMonkey:

I don't mind kids as much because everyone just trashes the shit out of them now.

This is an incomplete study. They forgot about the kids between the ages of 18-78!

Excellent...if this trend continues, that accursed sun will finally be blocked out. Well, people won't be getting shined on by it, at least. I only regret I may not live to see that day...

Ok at 15 i count as a kid what the hell.....
We have to do something about this! Only 39% are playing video games, we need to abolish reading and playing outside damn that other 61%!

I had a Commodore 64 from the moment I was born... and even now, the madness continues.

a onclick="javascript:return jumpToComment(311560,'CommentBox', this.href);" href="http://kotaku.com/gaming/kids-today/kids-spending-even-more-time-playing-video-games-311560.php#c2682538">RiceBandit: So true. I volunteer you and me to be the next test subjects. After all, they need to include the old & grumpy in the test subjects!

Luckily I am both.

so what? Ender will one day save our galaxy!

I hate when the watchdog groups will throw this kind of data in everyone's faces. Then when I flip the channel to sooth my ears from their bitching I see Fisher Price's Video Game Learning center and now I'm just confused.

@Black-Dog-Howls: Quoted for truuuuuuuuuth.

@Gundam_Halo:

I know, that is the goal. Remember, Baseball has been around for many many years, so have movies and TV. So games, like comic books, are going to have to wait a while before they are accepted by society by such magnitudes.

Also, you have to realize that that perception is only in the United States and parts of the EU.

Lastly, my argument was not what the general population thought about kids games. They could give less than two shits about them as long as they are fun. I am talking about hardcore gamers. As soon as they see something cute, they piss all over it instead thinking that blood and tits are the way to go, makes them look manly.

That has to stop.