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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to not understand DHs obsession with his xbox?

19 replies

lastnightIwenttoManderley · 04/04/2014 22:02

I would generally consider DH and I to be reasonably 'civilised' in our activities; we like nice meals out, intelligent debate and cultural days out.

So why oh why can I not get my head around his obsession with his Xbox? In fairness, it's not just the Xbox but more what he plays on it; mostly involving games where the sole aim seems to be to shoot as many people as possible accompanied by the headache inducing soundtrack of electronically generated gunfire.

For the record, I'm not trying to say that all people who play Xbox are stupid, uncivilised or something, I just personally don't understand the appeal, especially when DH is normally quite a snob about certain activites. There are films that he refuses to watch because they're 'stupid' and yet the endless shoot-em-up games are a goer Maybe I just associate it with surly teenage boys rather than my lovely when not playing xbox husband?

Please can somebody explain this to me? I'm genuinely intrigued!

OP posts:

DontCareAboutYourShoes · 04/04/2014 22:04

It's fun!

WhatsTheWordHummingbird · 04/04/2014 22:05

Escapism.

Maybe he doesnt get the appeal of Mumsnet.

worridmum · 04/04/2014 22:28

gaming is a great stress relief you know. angry at your boss for being a total tit go take out the stress by shooting generated images (its how I get through the stress of working for one of the most twatish bosses ever)

LizzieMint · 04/04/2014 22:30

Fun?! Have you ever tried it yourself? Maybe not a shoot-em-up if that doesn't appeal, but have you ever tried any sort of game?
Me and my H used to spend many happy hours racing each other on Mario Kart before we had kids - if we had time, we'd still do it. There's nothing inherently bad or good about it, it's just another form of escapism that's all.

Glitterandglue · 04/04/2014 22:33

What's your favourite colour?

Why?

Not everything has a more complex reason than 'I like it'. We often try to rationalise our preferences or justify them but the truth is sometimes we just like stuff and we don't know why, and sometimes maybe there just isn't a reason. Maybe there's actually a bunch of genetic switches which go on or off at random and his aligned to make him enjoy these games. Mine aligned to make me enjoy The Sims, which is literally a totally pointless game, but I will happily play it for hours.

ApplesinmyPocket · 04/04/2014 22:44

I'm 57 now but have always loved computer games, right from the Bad Old Days of text-only adventure games on my state of the art (!) Amstrad CPC 464. There seem to be three kinds of people, those who quite enjoy a pc game (perhaps the Sims or Sim City or Candy Crush), those who can't stand them, and those like me (and possibly your DH?) to whom they particularly appeal... I just find them absorbing... gripping.. and can play them quite singlemindedly when I'm in the mood, more obsessively I think than those who 'quite enjoy them'.

It doesn't mean I never do other things or neglect anything to play, they just appeal to me in a special way. And your DH too it seems.

Shoot em ups tho - nahhhhhh - RPGs way better

PorkyMinch · 04/04/2014 22:47

It's like saying you don't understand why someone likes murder mysteries or Die Hard 2.

mumminio · 04/04/2014 22:59

There are some good fitness games on it - if you can persuade him to like those, you can enjoy the benefits of his exercise :)

TheLostWinchesterWife · 04/04/2014 23:05

I am 100% behind you. I understand that he can like his games and I can't see the appeal but it passes me right off that he'll be in bed by 10.30 on a normal night i.e. when hes just with me watching tv chatting etc but if he's on xbox live with his online buddies he'll be in bed no earlier than 12 am. And then complain he's tired. I hate the xbox. I wish I could pour wine on it to kill it. I hate it so much I would indeed sacrifice my wine to destroy it

Boaby · 04/04/2014 23:15

My dh just bought himself an Xboxone & I have to say its a fantastic console. I'm not a gamer at all but I can appreciate what he gets out of it after a long nightmarey day at work.

Lagos · 04/04/2014 23:18

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster

lastnightIwenttoManderley · 04/04/2014 23:37

I enjoy playing on it every now and then, though personally I'm more of a retro fan. I may have sonic the hedgehog on it...

I'm not anti gaming as such, I've lost many hours to simcity, theme hospital was a particular favourite and I do remember an all night mariokart marathon lizzie

I guess it's just the violent games which get to me and the obsessive nature of the way he plays it. Thelost, you seem to share my pain! It really changes his mood and he becomes so snappy that I struggle to see the benefit of it.

Maybe that's the bit I struggle with? How he enjoys something that outwardly seems to make him so angry? It's not even like the jovial frustration you get with some games when you just can't get it right.
Maybe issue is DH + Xbox rather than xbox per se?

OP posts:

CoffeeTea103 · 04/04/2014 23:38

My DH is the same but on the PS. But i really understand why he does it, it's very relaxing for him. He works in a very stressful job and it's a stress reliever for him.

JCDenton · 05/04/2014 02:44

It's fun, it's competitive, it's a test of skill, it's satisfying to win, it's tactical. I play games, not online shooters any more but I did enjoy them when I had a good group to play with. At the moment I'm mostly concerned with trying to do a flyby of the moon on Kerbal Space Program.

I love games because what you is reflected in how the game unfolds, it's something that other media can't replicate.

JCDenton · 05/04/2014 02:57

Also players online will be focused on winning the game, not the violence. Most people I know will play anything, as long as it's good.

Kafri · 05/04/2014 04:44

Another wife with a DH who loves his xbox! He has a respectable job though I hate the company and his xbox is his wind down.
We also go out for meals, visit NT places, days out with DS.
It's not a case of one or the other.

I regularly go to bed with the sound of guns in the background. And if it's not guns, it's bloody formula 1 cars - now that game (noise) does grate after a bit

JCDenton · 05/04/2014 14:24

Sounds like some of need headphones, I got some not long after moving in with DP, some Sennheiser HD201s which are good and cheap, I actually wear them when I'm the only one in the house now, I prefer it.

Indith · 05/04/2014 14:28

I don't understand video games in general. thankfully dh pretty much only plays civilisation on the laptop. bil though loves consoles and buys new ones when they come out. His dw has discovered the voice control on his x box so she just asks it to turn off when it is annoying her .

DontCareAboutYourShoes · 05/04/2014 14:37

I did read somewhere that interrupting a violent game can affect mood and make someone snappy or aggressive in their reactions. It's one of the reasons that CoD was banned while dd was awake when I was still with her dad. He would get snappy and more angry when she cried if it interrupted his games and I was scared he would overreact. I wonder where I read it.

In other news, I'm now really wishing I still had xbox live

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