When my kids were little I used to lay on the floor and play the Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of time with them. Okay, technically, I played while they watched, but very often they directed me, telling me where to go and what to do. While I may have held the controller, it was definitely a collaborative effort. The game was important to me because it was released in November of 1998 a few months before I entered the video game industry. Zelda Swept the Game Awards and virtually everyone at E3 was talking about it. I had to play the game. I was playing that game half a decade later with my kids.

I bring it up because Matthew would go into the backyard and make “potions” with empty bottles his mother gave him. When we went to the renaissance festival, we bought wooden, “Master Swords” and a “Hyrulian Shield”. I always thought that video games could be a fun way to explore experiences that might be too dangerous to try in person (vis Motocross), but I was surprised and impressed that a video game could spark such imaginative play. 

That was the first time I had an inkling that interactive entertainment was fundamentally different than passive consumption. My kids grew up in the era where we would park them in front of a TV and watch Nickelodeon or anything from Disney and Pixar. I can still recite some lines to my favorite Sponge Bob episodes such as, “Too bad Sponge Bob is not here to enjoy Sponge Bob not being here.” Despite the many hours of TV watched, video games brought out something else from them. 

The question: Are games better than TV?

Recently, Patrick Coleman the managing editor at Fatherly wrote an article making the case that video games are better than watching TV. He is not the first to make this case. Jane McGonigal is famous for promoting the virtues of playing video games in her 2010 Ted Talk. She expanded upon her ideas in her book Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. But Dr. McGonigal was writing mostly about adults. What Patrick Coleman was touching on is the standard parental fear. He refers to the American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Screen Time. And he makes an interesting observation. The guidelines do not differentiate between engaged screen time, and passive screen time.

Active Screen Time vs Passive Screen Time

Is there a difference? Some researchers are beginning to believe so. In 2017, researchers Paul J. C. Adachi from University of Rochester, and Teena Willoughby from the Brock University in Canada reviewed video game literature looking for a connection between video gaming and positive youth outcomes. Adachi & Willoughby discovered that children who play games often experience feelings of mastery, autonomy, and relatedness.

These are not any random emotions. These emotions form the underpinning of Self Determination Theory (SDT). Most people are familiar with Carrot and Stick motivators, but as Dan Pink wrote about so eloquently in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, human beings are much more effective if our motivation comes from within. In a nutshell, threat and incentive – are external or extrinsic motivators. They come from outside of us and therefore they are limited in their ability to unlock our greatest potential.

Engagement Comes from Inside Us

Feelings of mastery, having a strong internal locus of control (autonomy), and connectedness – those come from within, therefore they are intrinsic motivators. The psychology theory put forward by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in their 1985 book Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. Now here’s the thing about their book. Most people think of SDT as a motivational tool.

However, as you can see in the title, Deci and Ryan connected intrinsic motivation to development and to wellness. Even more surprising, in 2017 ago, Researchers Maria Lera and Shadi Abualkibash students and discovered that cultivating self-determination in school age children increased their resiliency. In fact, it is part of meeting a child’s Basic Psychological Needs.

Can Video Games Make A Child Resilient?

Am I trying to tell you that a video game can make a child more resilient? No. What I am trying to tell you is that there is a connection between children experiencing feelings of mastery, autonomy, and relatedness that help then develop resiliency. It stands to reason that if video games can produce these feelings, they can be a part of helping our children have more positive experiences. 

Coleman focused on a balanced approach that video games, in fact all screen time should be placed on a spectrum. From completely passive, to completely engaged and active (with physical activity being the best). Personally, I think that is a brilliant approach. After all, children didn’t just play the video game, they also went outside and played creatively and imaginatively as well. What I can tell you is that Video games were a part of developing our children’s basic psychological needs. And the research would seem to support that a video game can help children develop these feelings. 

Here’s the interesting thing. I can find no corresponding research for passive video consumption. In fact, what I do find is that not only TV, but also social media, seem to be having the opposite effect, shortening our attention span, fracturing focus and concentration, and depleting dopamine (our reward hormone) with endless triggers rendering most other normally rewarding human interactions dull in comparison. 

I also tend to agree with Mr. Coleman. I do not see a future without screens in it. Therefore It would seem to make sense that if we are going to have screens, that we try to as Ray Dalio said in Principles: (I paraphrase)

Maximize the benefit while minimizing the risk

No one is advocating unlimited unsupervised screen time. However, a growing number of voices – not the least of which are children who grew up gamers, and who now find themselves as parents (surprise! the oldest millennials will be entering their 40s in the 2020s) are looking for a more rational less fear driven approach to gaming. I find Colemans argument compelling.

Of course, you agree- you invented GameTruck!

Now I get it, you’re saying, “but you’re the founder of GameTruck, what else are you going to say?” But if you go back and look at my articles (I’ll link them below) – I never advocate gaming alone. GameTruck is about playing video games with your friends. My other two companies, in fact, focus on creating experiences where people play games together (with people they know) in a time limited way. A GameTruck party lasts between 90 minutes and 2 hours. Bravous Esports Video game tournaments also last only a few hours (less than 5% exceed 3 hours). Compare that to your average block buster motion picture which pushes three and a half hours or a day of binge-watching Netflix and you can see we play games a lot less than most people watch TV. 

So while you might be thinking, “of course” the GameTruck guy agrees games are better than TV, the specific distinction I want to make is that I was not convinced believe that solo game playing is better than TV. That is, I was not convinced until I dug into the research myself and checked the sources.

Video Games Are Better than TV

While I might be convinced, the real question is are you because at the end of the day that is all that matters. The reality is that most parents are staring at an enormous economic challenge when it comes to raising their children and time is the perhaps the one thing parents feel intense pressure to optimize for grades so their children can get a good education (hopefully with tuition assistance in the form of academic scholarships).

So the question is not really one of unlimited screen time, but much more about what would be the most effective use of the time your children are on their screens?

My kids grew up where video games were an equal choice to watching TV, not banned, or constrained separate and apart from watching videos. That worked for our family.

Hopefully, I have given you enough information for you to be able to make the best choice for your family.

—

References

1. https://zelda.gamepedia.com/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_Time
2. McGonigal, J. (n.d.). Gaming can make a better world. Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world
3. McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (1st edition). Penguin Books.
4. Where We Stand: Screen Time. (n.d.). HealthyChildren.Org. Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Where-We-Stand-TV-Viewing-Time.aspx
5. Pink, D. H. (2011). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books.
6. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness (1st edition). The Guilford Press.
7. Visions for 2020: Key trends shaping the digital marketing landscape. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://blogs.oracle.com/advertising/post/visions-for-2020-key-trends-shaping-the-digital-marketing-landscape
8. Dalio, R. (2017). Principles: Life and Work (Illustrated edition). Simon & Schuster.

At my house, we have completed nearly every single Zelda game on nearly every single platform.

We even had a Wii-U. Most people had never heard of it. But when I came home and found my then 12 year old daughter parked in the Den in front of the Wii-U playing this oddly colorful game where squid like creatures splashed ink all over the place – I had a feeling Nintendo was onto something special.

She had never shown this kind of interest in games like Call of Duty (which her brothers couldn’t stop playing), or the insanely hot Borderlands. No, the motion controls were intuitive to her, and she completed the entire game.

That got my attention.

Well, that and the fact Nintendo did something no other company had ever been bold enough to do. They wrapped our entire fleet with Splatoon Branding.

From that single project grew a partnership that has lasted half a decade. And today, I am excited to share that our partner Nintendo has taken another bold step.

Last week, they rolled out – for the first time ever, an online store dedicated for our customers who experience GameTruck@Home featuring the Nintendo Switch.

Check it out for yourself (I’ll be here when you get back): https://store.nintendo.com/gametruck.html

I have to say, seeing the name GameTruck, on a Nintendo website in any fashion is a tremendous honor. It is also an amazing experience to see that Nintendo is so committed to supporting their customers and (customers to be).

Here’s a little secret: The store is open to ANYONE. That’s right, you heard it here first. If you are a GameTruck customer, or you have been to a GameTruck hosted celebration, or heck, you’re just reading this post and you want to check it out. You can.

The store features not only the Nintendo Switch, but Also the Switch Lite and all of the video games I told you about last week. You can order any of the games that you played at your event, including additional accessories like Splatoon 2: Splat Fest Skins and screen protector for your switch.

Personally, I find this amazing. So many big companies are focused on creating an experience for the masses. What Nintendo has done here is tremendous. They have created a store front curated to make it easy for you to find what you have experienced. How awesome is that?

I think one of the best things about the GameTruck@Home featuring Nintendo Switch celebration is that if you like what you can see, you can have it. We’re not showing you something out of reach, or unavailable. This amazing experience can be yours.

And if anything, I hope you are able to see how powerful this unit is when everyone has their own. The incredible network effect that comes from each person being able to connect to each other creates a whole new kind of experience. Everyone has their own controller, screen, and game.

This is one of the single biggest challenges with multiplayer games on other systems. Not everyone has the game, or the same console (very few games support cross platform). Even if you get all of that, you may need internet access to reach publisher servers so they can track your play. Nintendo really did a spectacular job of solving all those problems.

Perhaps this is why we are so pumped about featuring the Nintendo Switch in our GameTruck@Home program. You can play together on a big screen, you can connect wirelessly, and some games even support sharing the portable unit (go Mario Kart!) And yes, if you want to play online, that option is available.

I could not be more proud to be Nintendo’s partner, or to work with my franchise owners to make this experience available to you.

Great New Games For GameTruck@HOME Featuring The Nintendo Switch

A few weeks ago, I was excited to share that GameTruck had created a contactless event we call GameTruck@HOME. This program features the Nintendo Switch, and one of the things I love about this program is the ability to upgrade the program as time goes on. In partnership with our owner operators, we are able to distribute new games quickly and easily.

What makes GameTruck@HOME special is that every switch has all the games we promote. This creates maximum flexibility for each of the players at a celebration. I feel it is pretty cool that we now have partners like Epic Games and Microsoft joining alongside Nintendo First Party favorites.

The latest game update includes:

• Just Dance 2021
• Minecraft Dungeons
• Among Us
• Rocket League, and… 
• FORTNITE

These five additional games really connect on the multiplayer fun level. What’s more, they each dramatically diversify the fun play experience at your event.

Just Dance

Just Dance, has been a popular dance franchise for more than a decade. A perennial favorite on the Wii, and later the Wii-U this game can support up to four players dancing to their favorite tunes. The motion sensors within the JoyCon do a tremendous job matching player movement to the beats and dances of the songs. I can’t remember a single GameTruck hosted event I have gone to over the last 5 years that did not start out with Just Dance on some screen. In case you didn’t know, the GameTruck@HOME featuring the Nintendo Switch comes with a docking cradle, so you can connect a Nintendo Switch to your home theater.  Try it.  It’s an absolute blast. The girls may start Just Dance, but don’t be surprised if the boys join in too.

Sigh… if only I had rhythm. 

Minecraft Dungeons

Many people bag on the blocky graphics, but I am really excited about this game. Minecraft broke all the rules when the game launched, written in Java and released on Linux with horrible graphics – nearly every pundit who saw it thought it was doomed from the get-go. What no one except the creator knew, was that Minecraft delivered freedom. Most video games are highly constrained, limited to what the developers can design and render. Minecraft made the rendering trivial, this allowed the limited system resources to be used to do what the players really wanted: To experience freedom.  Not just freedom, but creative power as well.  Minecraft gave the power to the players, not the developers. This freedom was so compelling that millions of users played billions of hours building, discovering, and exploring their randomly generated worlds.

I feel it was only a matter of time however before demand for the challenge of a well-designed narrative made the scene.  Thanks to the folks at Microsoft, that demand has been answered with an outstanding dungeon crawler based in the Minecraft world. Minecraft Dungeons creates an amazing four player cooperative experience with all the attributes we have come to know and love from the blocky universe. Honestly, this is what I think Dungeons & Dragons was meant to be – jump into a world and explore with three of your bestest buddies. What could be better?

RocketLeague

From Dance, to Dungeon Exploration, now it is time to jump into one of the fastest growing Esports in the world with RocketLeague. This amazing physics driven team-based soccer game has exploded globally with one of the first truly cross platform, free to play games designed from the ground up to be an online esport. From the ground up means that the game and the technology mesh perfectly.  There are no compromises to try and match a real-world experience.  RocketLeague seems to be built on the premise that:

If you can do it in the game.  You can do it in the game.

The network code is cutting-edge allowing players to compete globally with high fidelity competition. But why worry about global competition when you can throw down with the people sitting right next to you? This is what makes GameTruck events, and a celebration with GameTruck@Home so compelling.  Everyone can play because RocketLeague is now installed on every system!

A game of both fantasy and skill, RocketLeague is quick, brilliantly designed, and hits that magic sweet spot for great sports. It is easy to pick up and hard to master. Did you know that you could connect one of your Switches as a spectator to your TV and watch the 3v3 match on the big screen? Do you have a future streamer or shout caster? Have them call the game to add that high energy feel players crave at big tournaments. If authentic esport competition is what you crave, Rocket League just might be what you’re looking for.

Among Us

What’s a little subterfuge among friends? At Christmas the Novis clan connected for a little Among Us mischief and we laughed so hard we cried. It’s hard to explain how simple, fun, and compelling this game is. The controls are simple, the minigames will get your heart pulsing, but nothing beats the shear energy that erupts when someone smashes the alarm and everyone has to figure out who the traitor is. If you thought you knew each other well before Among Us, I hate to tell you, but you might be in for a surprise. Unless of course… you’re a little “sus”

FORTNITE

I don’t think there is anything I can say about Fortnite that hasn’t already been written. Fortnite is currently a 600-pound gorilla of popular compelling games.  Fortnite is a competitive blast, and perhaps the number one game for kids of all ages. The brilliant characters, the compelling game play, and the fast turn to get back into a match make Fortnite the reigning champ. If you saw my article last week, you know that this game requires the internet and therefore is not available in every market when booking the Game Trailer.  However, GameTruck@HOME makes this game available because the players can connect to your home network! And I have to say from personal experience – Fortnite with friends is the best way to play, in the same space, the same room, shouting it out and dancing till it’s done. Show me a floss.

Conclusion

I am extremely proud of the GameTruckHQ team and our franchise owners for working together to make this tremendous offering even better for you and your celebration guests. The only problem I can see? You won’t have enough time to play them all!