PLAY

It's finally here. The Xbox One has launched, and the "console wars" have officially begun. However, isn't it a little silly to be calling these "wars"? Why does everything have to be a war? I get it. Two consoles bearing fisticuffs to see who's bigger and better. But, when did gaming get so competitive (I say this with a "please don't hit me" face)? Think about it. Just stop and think, for two measly seconds, about video games. If you play video games, you are a gamer. If we are all gamers, then why hate on one another? Or, how about this: When you were little, you would play any game you could get your hands on, right? It didn't matter if one was manufactured by Sega and the other created by Nintendo. You played it, regardless. Why? Well...because it's fun. Reading an article from Game Informercoaxed me into thinking about this topic. It's a topic that needs to be addressed. Why be loyal to a brand? Why not be loyal to...VIDEO GAMES?? Video games as a medium is constantly being (unjustly, I might add) thrown under the bus. "Oh, video games are just for kids." "Video games make people go out and massacre a school." "Video games are ruining our society." How about if we stood up for our games? Stand up for the unjust actions being taken against us. Yes, I said US. When people take a shot at video games, they are taking a shot at YOU. It doesn’t matter if you play your PS3, Xbox 360, or Nintendo Wii. These remarks are aimed at ALL OF US. If internal fighting keeps occurring, we are bound to get nowhere. If a person says GTA: Vice City is a "murder simulator"(this actually happened) and is turning kids into murderers, that negative attention isn't placed solely on people playing GTA. It affects gamers as a whole. Now, games that may be violent but use violence for completely different means are torn to shreds in the press. When people claim video games are a waste of time, they're telling you, "You're an idiot for playing games. They're just for kids. Quit playing and get a real job." They don't take into account that the average age of a gamer is 37. They don't take into account the fact that games increase the size of various portions of the brain. Just because we don't use our spare time watching soap operas or playing a sport doesn't mean we are wasting it. These people do realize that most of the technology they are using right now on their fancy phones is gamified, right? The cell phone's a game in itself. We need to stand as one, not divided. Guess what? SOME OF US DON'T HAVE A CONSOLE. I have one, but not EVERYBODY does. Some people are content with their handheld devices. Should we shun them because they didn't pay 400$ for a console? It doesn't matter if you're playing a game of Candy Crush Saga or playing Mass Effect on your Xbox 360. Notice which word was used in both instances? That's right: PLAY. It seems we've lost our touch with what was so fun about games: PLAY. Take brand names out of the equation. It's simple...just PLAY.