In Defense of Video Games: The 300th Story
The many reasons why men love this hobby
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To celebrate 300 stories on Vocal, I want to talk about video games: one of my favorite hobbies and the reasons why us men love them so much. Before I go any further, let me tell everyone a bit of a story. I've been enjoying this amazing hobby for over 35 years. In other words, I've been playing video games since I was in diapers. I was born in the 1980s, grew up in the 1990s. The first game console I played with was the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the NES for short. I was born two years after it was released. In fact, October will the the 40th anniversary of this amazing game console. The first game I played on there was Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt. I loved playing that first game and Duck Hunt. For context, I was playing on my now estranged father's NES and yes, he had the Zapper Gun. The Zapper Gun was a controller gun used for certain games like Duck Hunt. The date was New Year's Eve 1989. As the decades went on, I played with different game systems, like the Sega Genesis, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64. If I had to choose between Nintendo or Sega, I would choose Nintendo. Nintendo was and will always be my first love. I'll always be a Nintendo guy.
One of the things that irk me is video games in general getting a bad reputation and unfairly being blamed for the world's problems or one's actions. For example, if an irresponsible parent buys their son a video game he shouldn't be playing to begin with, like say Mortal Kombat, they'll blame the game developers and the place where they bought such game instead of themselves. I started playing Mortal Kombat games when I was 11 or 12. My youngest brother and I loved them and our folks didn't care. We turned out fine and did well in life.
Ok. Let's cut to the chase and I'll reveal a few reasons why men love video games.
- The Nostalgia
Being born in the 1980s was an amazing and perfect time to be a kid. When I first laid my eyes on my estranged father's NES, I was eager to play on it. I'm almost 40 and I whenever I play a game, especially one I haven't played in years, those memories come rushing back in. For example, the NES Classic was released in November 2016. Everyone wanted one in their households, but whenever a game console is released, selfish scalpers would buy multiple game consoles and jack up the prices on sites like eBay or Amazon. They're taking advantage of people's desperation. My birthday was three days away and wanted one for myself. By the time I went to my local Best Buy and GameStop, they were all sold out. I had to wait two weeks before Christmas to finally get my hands on one (pic shown above). The day that I received it, I couldn't wait to play on it. The NES Classic had 30 games already emulated, with titles such as Ninja Gaiden, Super Contra, and of course, Super Mario Bros. If you want to relive your childhood, the NES Classic might be the game console for you. It'll be worth your time and money, if you can afford one in your price range.
2. Gaming has no age limit
I hear many people who are opposed to video games that they're specifically for children or we're too old to be playing them. Since when does gaming has an age limit? It doesn't! The ones who are against gaming have either never had a childhood or don't know what the meaning of what fun is. I dislike when people tell us to grow up and stop playing video games. There are many reasons why adults play video games, so please don't judge us.
3. You feel like a kid
The kid in you has never left. As many of my Vocal readers and subscribers know, I've dealt with abuse and a toxic household growing up. Video games became my best friend, since I didn't have many friends. It also became an escape from the awful things I went through. Just because you enjoyed video games as a kid, it doesn't mean you have to stop enjoying them. As I've stated in my last point, there's no age limit on gaming.
4. It's our time to ourselves
This is one of the reasons why I'm single. I've been watching numerous videos on YouTube of men enjoying their video games and their girlfriends or wives tuning off their game systems in the middle of their game sessions. To the women, they do this because they're not getting any attention and they're controlling them. Honestly, if my potential partner tuned off my game console while I was gaming, I would divorce him at the drop of a dime. Women and everyone else: leave us alone and give us some space. I'm not giving up my hobby for you or anyone else. If you have a partner or looking for a partner who loves video games, then that's a huge plus.
5. It's a hobby
I ran into an article from 2013, where it discussed the emotional benefits of playing video games. Part of it said that it can help with trauma issues, anxiety, and depression, based on a 2022 study, which I'll post a link to it down below. When I'm gaming alone, I'm in my own world and it's therapeutic. It's one of my favorite forms of therapy. So, please think twice before you call someone who enjoys this hobby childish and they need to grow up. If you're easily offended with someone doing this and it bothers you so much, then that's a you problem. Once again, I'm not giving up my hobby in order to appease you or anyone else.
Everyone, share in the comments below what are some of your favorite video games and/or game consoles. Let's show the haters that we love this hobby and we aren't giving it up anytime soon.
https://moderntherapy.online/2022-10-23-the-benefits-of-playing-video-games/
About the Creator
Mark Wesley Pritchard
You can call me Wesley. Former cosplayer, retro gaming fanatic, die-hard Texas Rangers fan, and nostalgic freak. Need I say more?
Threads: @misterwesleysworld
Instagram: @misterwesleysworld
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