[Podcast] Gaming With the Moms #5: “Crisis of Masculinity?” Wha?

Welcome to episode 5 of Gaming With the Moms! Host and Pixelkin Managing Editor Nicole Tanner leads the conversation about family gaming news, Dr. Phil Zimbardo’s recent appearance on a TV show in which he promotes his new book “Man Disconnected,” and gaming headsets and headphones.

Download the episode for free here!

In the news:

• The Nintendo World Championships have been resurrected! For the first time in 25 years, there’s going to be a tourney at Best Buy stores, with the finals slated for E3 on June 14.
• Nintendo no longer does a live press conference at the big huge Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), but they’ll be streaming their press conference June 16th. Courtney really hopes to get some news about the forthcomoing Zelda title, and while Nicole doesn’t want to burst her bubble, she doesn’t think there will be much real news. Nicole recalls meeting iconic Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
  

  Shigeru Miyamoto, the legend

• Ubisoft has announced they’re not releasing new games on old platforms any longer—except for Just Dance games.
• The new Supergirl TV show premieres in November. We’re kind of excited!

Dr. Phillip Zimbardo was the man behind the Stanford Prison Experiment and is a former head of the American Psychological Association (APA). But boy, is he out of touch with modern families! He seems to think all video games are violent, only boys like video games, video games are a lot like pornography, gaming is not a social activity, and video games somehow put the very concept of “masculinity” in peril. We have so many issues with all of this! All the feelings are represented: puzzlement, boredom, frustration, puzzlement, anger, pity, and ….puzzlement.  Take a listen (and read this) to find out why we think Dr. Zimbardo is really, really off base in most of his assumptions about video games and kids. Except the part where he says parents should talk to their kids about games. Yes, do that! But ask a lot of questions, keep an open mind, get the facts (like these from the aformentioned APA), and avoid getting hysterical.

Keezy talks about misogyny in video game culture and Nicole recalls a disastrous Fox TV interview with a reviewer who trashed Mass Effect without ever playing it. At all.

We empathize with adults who have a hard time picking up a controller and playing a video game. Controllers have a lot of buttons! You have to practice a little bit. But it’s worth it. And you can always learn a lot about a game from watching it and asking questions, too.

Finally, Keezy explains what to look for when you’re shopping for headphones and gaming headsets. And we talk about comfort and safety. Very important when kids are involved.

This podcast was recorded in the studios of the Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle. Music by Pat Goodwin at Novelty Shop Creative. Nicole Tanner, Linda Breneman, Simone de Rochefort, and Keezy Young participated in this podcast. Thanks for listening! And if you like this podcast, please consider rating us on iTunes! And subscribing! It really helps us out!