Get your flamethrowers ready, ladies . . . is it only me who finds it weird when

[BalloonSlayer]

. . . I hear about grown men spending hours on playstations or xboxes or whatever?

Aren't they supposed to be for kids? My seven year old has one, I have been expecting him to grow out of it over the next, oh, ten? years.

The train of thought that set this off is reading a thread on relationships, in which the fact that a 35 year old man still lives with his mum was held up as a massive alarm bell in regard to his maturity or lack thereof.

Now I tentatively agree, but for me a far bigger "awooga awooga" would be going off at seeing a man sat playing on a playstation. I mean, the clue's in the name isn't it?

No I particularly meant playstation/xbox type things, the sort where if you ask someone a question you get a frantic look and a grunt or irritated fly-swatting wave because they are concentrating on getting someone to turn a somersault or similar and cannot possibly answer you. Those sort of games seem to exclude other people, unlike watching telly for instance where you can do something else - ironing, homework, sex, have a conversation at the same time.

I should have been more specific, I was thinking about the threads, "he came home from work and went straight on his xbox for 2 hours..." sort of thing, always said without much real complaint more resignation, I always think WTF? how old is he?

Hope DH never gets tired of me and I have to look for a new H - it seems I am a little odd and more than a little fussy

Perhaps it's me age. I really had no idea there were so many types of games which were not the ones to which I was referring!

I do get what you mean Balloonslayer, but then you could argue that reading can be just as exclusionary. If I'm deep into a good book I loathe being interrupted and anyone who tries is likely to be met with the grunts and fly-swat waves you mention

Personally I am crap at computer games - can never master the controls - so don't play them, but I like watching DP play them. I get quite into it, actually, so in that sense it's still social. Similarly, I used to love watching my friends playing Tekken, getting really into trying to beat each other - it was very lively and interactive.

My 65 year old mum still plays computer games. She's slowed down a bit now with what she plays, usually just sticks to her DS, but she used to be all over shoot 'em ups!

dh and I play City of Heroes (online super hero game) together, and we used to play Xbox together when we had one. 'Tis fun!

Why would they just be for kids?

I have no qualms about DH or me playing on a games console if we have free time (ha ha)

We are saving up for a Wii

I guess that is just about as ridiculous as grown women coming on to a computer to spend their time gossiping and discussing shoes

(and yes I know MN is about so much more - but you take my point!)

I have an NDS, I think it's fab. I have no problem with adults playing computer games occasionally but it would bug me if DP was always on the Playstation tbh.

DP loved his PS3, he has just sold it to pay for stuff on his car(his other toy) and is in the process of changing our broadband supplier and building a new pc so he can play some bloody star wars game online.

I don't see it as any more childish than me playing scrabulous, or us playing cards, or a grown man playing football.

Just because I prefer to laugh at yoghurt feeding incidents and natter on about mumstuff doesn't make it any more substantial as a hobby.

(I don't really think kids should be on the games stations much tbh, I'd prefer DP on one and the DC's reading than the other way round)

Only read the OP, couldn't be bothered to read any of the posts defending these bloody machines.

IMO YANBU, they are for kids - DH and I had exactly this conversation the other night.

I'd rather Dh was home playing PS3/X Box whatever, than down the pub getting pissed which is what a lot of my friends DHs seem to do. I like watching Dh playing games whilst I read a book/surf the net - I get to see the story whilst he does all the work, but then I like playing them too.

my dp works in computer gaming, so i can hardly chastise an interest lol.
not that he spends hours daily playing or anything, that would totally piss me off.
ive found all computergames dull as paint drying since even before i stopped getting stoned all the time

The market in gaming is not predominantly for children anyway. As I understand it young men are the main demographic, with Nintendo going for the wider audience (hence Wii Fit etc).

dh was given a Wii for a leaving present. It's good fun! I wouldn't be happy if any of the family played it obsessively though.

However I would be even more unhappy if the TV was on all the time. I don't agree that it is compatible with homework, conversations or sex!

I have this argument with P every now and again when i can be bothered.

He says: I dont like watching TV, so when I come home so i go on world of warcraft.

Well i cant argue with that. he lets me watch whatever i want and when CSI or a good film is on we watch it together.

I prefer it to football though, as long as i dont have to watch that on tv all the time when its the season!

There are plenty of console and computer games you can play with others. DH and I have a number of games that we enjoy playing together. We also play board games together a lot. DH has always been a big gamer, but we've compromised on mostly only buying games that we can both enjoy (we don't have kids yet) so we're spending the time together rather than him being hunched over the computer by himself. We don't watch TV at all.

I don't see why gaming should be regarded any differently to people who slouch in front of the TV all night to the exclusion of all else.

I have a PS2, a Wii, and xBox 360 and a Nintendo DS.

I play them all a lot, and I am good. And I really enjoy it.

I am not weird.

I think it is stranger that a 35 yr old man lives with his mother than a 35 yr old man playing console video games.

Except if the 35 yr old man has special needs or if the 35 yr old man is the mother's carer.

seeing as I have my own Nintendo DS, I'll get my pitchfork and flamethrower ready

We have a ps3, DD's 3 so its not for her its for us !

I am going to put it on in a minutes actually .. anything to stop me having to watch tennis !

My cousins DP will spend a whole day on his wii and thinks it is odd that DH plays with his occasionally with the kids but has no interest on pluggin away on his own - their son had a huge tantrum as I switvhed it off at the weekend and made them go out in the sunshine - he is 4!