Not all gamers are Male, or under 25

I'm not ashamed to admit it: I Game.

An article in the Boston Globe a while back raised the question of whether is more socially acceptable to admit an addiction to drugs or porn, than to a game. Not that I have an addiction. I can stop any time I want to. Right after I finish up this quest...

I consider myself a casual gamer, a few steps above playing the Solitare that comes with Windows, and more than a few steps below having game-controller calluses. Why is this even worth mentioning? Well, I'm part of a new gaming demographic. Companies like Nintendo are hot to get my type of player, and I'm willing to let them.

Before I started playing games, I thought 'gamers' where under-socialized males living in their parents basements way past the age on consent. Oh, sure, I dabbled in a few games: "You Don't Know Jack" was a favorite in the mid-'90's, but never considered myself a gamer. Two years ago, I was visiting my brother in Georgia when he said "Take a look at this, I found this game that I think you'll really like." It was World of Warcraft. When I got back home, I loaded up the trial version, and played for a couple of hours. I was hooked. I promptly went out and plunked down my $39.99 (now it's available for $19.99) to get my full-access product key, and have been killing off mobs in Azeroth and Outland ever since.

I play most of my games on my Windows-based PC, but recently purchased a Nintendo Wii. Subconsiously, it might have been a secret plot to get my kids playing the Wii so they'd quit hogging my PC and cutting into MY play time. But I enjoy playing on the Wii as well.

In later blogs, I'll get into what games I play, what games I allow my kids to play and how I manage to balance real life with gaming.