Sure, a lot of the mistrust between gamers and non-gamers comes from simple miscommunication, but that doesn’t mean some points aren’t valid.  Below are 25 popular (and not so popular) reasons why gamers annoy those who don’t play games.

1. Halo is not a sport.
That’s great that you’re really into playing online games, but they’re not a sport.  Not anymore than playing Boggle competitively is.  Doing something where you get physical exercise rather an avatar is the first step to playing a sport.

2. The controllers are indeed too complicated.
Nintendo isn’t crazy.  The controllers for the PS3 and Xbox 360 are unwieldy, especially for someone who last played a video game in the Pac-Man or Super Mario Bros. era.  Manipulating it is a skill lacked by many, so why be annoyed at them?

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Posted by Justin | 80 Comments »

Is this a silly list? Sure, but then it’s also useful when someone says to you that video games are full of negative messages. Not true, you can say, there are some that promote a healthy eating lifestyle.

10 Super Fruit Fall (DS / PS2 / Wii / PSP)
09 Fruit Machine Mania (PS2) (more…)

Posted by Justin | 2 Comments »

The last useless lessons feature was incredibly popular, and many pointed out it wasn’t a comprehensive list. This is true, as five is rarely the comprehensive list for just about anything unless you’re talking about elements or members of The Beatles. With that in mind, here are five more of the useless lessons that video games teach.

Crates are considered decoration in some cultures
Just like the barrels in the original list, crates are a favorite staple of game design. Play just about any game and you will find copious amounts of crates lying about. Sure, much like barrels they often contain valuables, but unlike barrels they are also often part of the local décor. (more…)

Posted by Justin | No Comments »

Video games may teach players many useful things, including better hand-eye coordination and how to save the world with just one clip, but they also teach plenty of useless things. Sure, how to manage your own NFL franchise is pretty useless, but there’s even more useless trivia being inflicted upon gamers ever day. For this reason, gamers owe it to themselves to be aware of this misinformation.

Barrels contain valuables
There are only two kinds of barrels in this world that contain valuables. One is a whiskey or wine barrel, and the other is the candy barrel by the cash register at some old-time candy shop. Otherwise, barrels are where people store things they can’t possibly imagine touching themselves. Yes, oil is quite valuable, but no one wants to burst open a barrel of the black goo to get at it. Plus, there’s always the risk that toxic waste might be stored inside. Such realities should be portrayed in games more often. (more…)

Posted by Justin | 9 Comments »