Gaming Like Porn: Don’t Tell The Wife
It’s a bit of an old article, but I was forwarded this little ditty about the PS3 and its looming market arrival by a good friend of mine and I can’t help but chuckle at the attitude of one of the interviewees. In amidst the usual industry pander about how cool and hot the PS3 will be and how that conflicts with how expensive and shortage-prone it will be at launch (hey, haven’t we heard this exact story before?), is a small paragraph that I think very nicely sums up a common outlook on gaming.
Dyron Mack, a 35-year-old computer analyst, said he plans to buy a PS3 without consulting his wife or disclosing the cost. “I’m not going to tell her. You just show up with it and let her be mad,” he said. “You just say, ‘I’m sorry. I lost the receipt.’”
Rather like porn, this poor gentleman, humbled and afraid by his hobbies, has decided that high end console gaming is an addiction that his dear wife need not know of. In fact, as his statements implicate, it’s probably better that she doesn’t know at all. Like the little boy who is too embarrassed and afraid of being scolded for spending his allowance frivolously, this 35-year old (yes that’s right) intends to skim over what most would call a ‘mature relationship’ approach and instead resort to sneaking.
I’m not picking on Dyron per se, but I do think that his comments very aptly demonstrate a stereotype both of non-gamers not ‘getting it’ when it comes to early adoption at high prices, and gamers who seem to have the accountability and social graces of a newt. On one hand I want to stand up and tell Mr. Mack to stand up and proudly declare that he bought the most advanced piece of gaming hardware available on the market after being an adult about it and announcing his intentions to his spouse, but on the other hand, I do understand that a) the PS3 is a crapload of money, b) that a lot of people would be floored that anyone was willing to pay that much, and c) trying to justify that amount of money to the person that shares your bills can be difficult if they aren’t themselves all hot and bothered by the lean machine.
But honestly, does anyone think that just plum not telling her until it shows up in the living room is a good idea? Moves like that will find you wading through divorce court dear Dyron.
(Via| Wired)
Thanks for passing that along Kamyar!
2 opinions for Gaming Like Porn: Don’t Tell The Wife
Jade Reporting » Blog Archive » Friday, November 17: Launch Day Links
Nov 17, 2006 at 5:07 am
[...] Gaming Like Porn: Don’t Tell The Wife [...]
Lake Desire
Nov 17, 2006 at 7:36 am
Great analysis, Erin. I think that quote is rather telling of a greater problem in gamer relationships.
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