Generation Why?

"A lot of the threads at these sites crow about victory despite the winner's declining years, and at least imply a hearty taunt delivered over the body of the fallen foe. If they're playing Halo, they typically recount a 'tea-bag' (a motion where the victor puts his genitals on the victim's body). If they're playing World of Warcraft, they talk about ganking gankers. So, really, the subject matter is the same here as everywhere else."

Roger Travis explores the mature gamer arena, and the creation of the "normal gamer."

"My downward spiral into casual gaming didn't happen overnight. The first baby was easy. All she did was eat, poop and sleep. Blizzard released World of Warcraft right about the time I started my paternity leave, so I spent most of my journey to level 60 with a sleeping baby in my arms."

Aaron Griffith describes his slow, downward spiral into casual gamerhood.

"However, as the recent debates over the PlayStation 3 have illustrated, a console is a significant purchase for most consumers. Few teenagers have access to the amount of money required to purchase multiple consoles. While the experience on each console may be roughly equivalent, the disc formats on each console are proprietary. The high cost of the console to the consumer must be amortized over a large number of games, and publishers tend to abandon any console without a large user base. Those who have already purchased a console have a vested interest in the believing it will continue to remain viable in the market, and even have a motivation to convince others of the fact, evangelizing their purchase."

Charles Wheeler asks the question, "Where do Fanboys Come From?"

"When viewed in this context, MMOGs simply represent the latest in a string of frontiers to be colonized by transmedia integration. Yet MMOGs are also forms of play, which puts them in a different category from television or comic books. Like licensed toys and previous forms of licensed videogames, MMOGs represent something of a hybrid, bridging the gap between narrative and play. And because play is such an important part of childhood, the expansion of media brands into its content warrants special attention."

Sara Grimes scouts the coming wave of child-centric marketing.

"Dad played Zaxxon, Donkey Kong and Centipede; I evolved into obscure text-parser adventure games. We put our heads together on titles of the early 16-bit console era; I'd call him at work (often to his consternation) to tell him when I'd cleared a new level in Keith Courage in Alpha Zones or Legendary Axe. My mother never embraced technology - on the contrary. She called me downstairs once in hysterics to "fix" the computer; I complied, moving the mouse to disengage the screen saver."

Leigh Alexander describes her childhood, Growing Up Gamer.