Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean
So, are video game buyers any fatter than our average fat society in your opinion?
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Truly obese people were rare in my store. Perhaps they bought all their games online.
Although. . . the turnout for the WoW Burning Crusade xpack midnight launch was a bit on the chunky side, so I dunno.
Seriously, though. . . I will not try to deny that there are people who play games to an unhealthy degree, and should set the controller down to get some exercise and fresh air. I freely admit that games can be addictive and destructive if not used in moderation. But I would certainly not say that games are guilty of making people fat. Part of it is the old "guns don't kill people" argument, and in fact, I'd say that the perception may be backwards. . . perhaps gamers don't get fat; rather, fat people just end up playing games. Particularly in the case of MMOs, it gives them an opportunity to experience things and be social without their physical self "getting in the way." Ultimately, though, I'm with Brian on this one: we need to fix the country's
diet before we look at games. The fat folk would get fat even without video games, because there's still fast food and other lazy entertainment such as TV.
The average gaming community is changing anyway: 20 years ago, the average gamer was a skinny grade-school kid with an NES that got picked on a lot at school. The Playstation changed all that; the rise of popular games like Madden NFL made it ok for the jocks and "cool kids" to play too. Now adults and seniors play. There really is no average or typical gamer anymore.