One of my favorite game writers, Clive Thompson, writes for Wired magazine and often writes about very timely and interesting articles about the gaming life style and games in general.  After a comment from a previous post implied I might be a little too interested in games, I wondered about that topic myself.  I do realize I spend a lot more time with a controller in my hands than most people.  I will even justify it to myself as well by saying it's better than watching TV. 

Well in this weeks column Clive writes about the topic of "Gamer Regret" that I occasionally feel.  There is a excerpt that I laughed at as I read the article:

"On and on it goes, the argument with myself. Thirty-six hours, what's wrong with you? Hey, I only watch one hour of TV every two weeks. Everyone's got their way to chill out, and mine's far more mentally stimulating than television. You're ignoring your family! No, I'm not. When I play games, I do it in the wee hours; I'm ignoring sleep. But that's not healthy! Screw being healthy!"

As a gamer with a family I do some of the exact same things Clive does.  I have almost stopped watching TV entirely.  I regularly watch Big Brother and How I met your Mother with my wife but that's it.  If anything I watch more Wiggles or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with my son.  I normally don't power up the 360 till both kids are asleep and I tend to play till midnight on week days and well past on weekends.  I think sleep is something I can sacrifice.

Give the article a read.   It is funny to see how we hard core gamers can justify our gaming habit and that we actually feel the need to do so.  I doubt people sit down and think, "gees, maybe I shouldn't watch 20 hours of TV a week."  That's less than 3 hours of TV a day.


http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/commentary/games/2007/09/gamesfrontiers_0910?currentPage=2