A friend of mine has been trying to get me to quit WoW for over a year. His 1st
reasoning was that WoW was just too easy & kiddie. Next it was that Dark Age of Camelot
was better for PVP and more adult. Now he is trying to woo me away with Age of Conan
and the same ol argument about how much less kiddie. Meanwhile I never considered WoW
a kiddie game, actually I never considered any game kiddie really.

I was under the impression games were supposed to be fun; at any age. This
includes, sports, video games, board games, tag, man-hunt, etc.. What I do find interesting
is how video gamers specifically use what video game you play as some sort of "Maturity
Check". This validation of someone maturity level is just DUMB. Why am I more mature for
playing Gears of War than enjoying Toejam & Earl. If the game is fun that's all that matters
right? Well it doesn't to gamers apparently.

Since the launch of World of Warcraft I've heard from so many different sources,
usually people who haven't played WoW, arguing that very point; WoW is too kiddie, easy
and just plain lame. Yet for some reason close to 12 million players think otherwise. Now
popularity can't really be a good litmus test because Backstreet Boys were HUGE. In that
aspect video games different because a great story & graphics can be ruined by shitty
controls, so at some level it's the sum of all it's parts that player has to enjoy. I'm fairly
certain a teenage girl who most likely wouldn't like BSB if 1 guy was singing off key, ALL
THE TIME. It's something that hits that chord with them and that is all that matters really.

Nintendo has been a victim of this for at least 15 years. I'm basing this on the whole
MK debacle back in 1993 where gamers felt the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat was
better than the SNES version just because it showed blood. By proxy it made Nintendo look
like the "Disney" of gaming an image they have been shaking off ever since. Granted the
Wii doesn't really help much but regardless it shouldn't matter if the game is
good.



Sad thing is that it's easy to get caught up in the argument, especially as you get
older. I'm 32 years old and I know I get pissed if someone talks to me as if I was some
snot nose kid. As you grow and accomplish certain goals in your life and there is a sense of
self worth that comes with it. Like a child learning to walk then run then ride a bike. You
feel change and the experience affect on how you handle situations. I know that I handle
things much more diplomatically now than I did when I was in my 20s. Now if someone
questions it, yeah it fucking bothers me. I made my bones in life and to have someone
question my maturity would bother me. Except it doesn't bother me with video games and
maybe it's elitism but I honestly believe that I'm above that shit.

If you like video games, board games, etc you are most likely being perceived as
doing something childish and that's ok. At least till all these old fucks who are in charge die.
In the meantime stop fighting for fucking scraps over some sort of status of being "adult"
through games. It's not meant to be used for validation but for entertaining, nothing more.
I'm sure preaching to the Choir but anytime you find yourself defending your maturity level
about a game, sport, console, movie or book for being too kiddie, take a step back and
realize how dumb your argument really is. Just enjoy the fucking game. Flame on..

*Goes Back to playing Pokemon for NDS 8/10*