The Generation Gap isn’t what it used to be, but it still exists. When the term was first coined was its heyday. The difference between what adults were into and what kids were into was so vast when the term was originally coined, the two camps couldn’t even figure each other out, much less decide how to reconcile their different tastes in music and clothes.
This was the Golden Age of Rock and Roll, when long-haired hippies were squaring off against the generation who brought us World War 2 and television. Scary stuff. It’s hard to imagine the severity of the culture clash today since so much of what was new and shocking then has been fully assimilated into our modern popular culture, but the screaming of guitars and adolescent girls that came along with Rock and Roll’s invasion of the US was so shocking to the older generation, who were raised on Perry Como and who, in their racier moments, listened to Mo-Town, that they literally thought the end of the world was approaching
Yet, the generation gap still exists, and you see it nowhere as clearly as you do in gaming. Games have now been around long enough for dudes with kids, who grew up with games as kids themselves, to be playing games with their kids. And not just kids’ games, either. In fact, it can be said that a large part of the reason gaming is about to undergo a seismic shift as an industry is because of these kids and their evolved tastes. As an industry, we could be facing a future in which gaming PCs and consoles are taking a backseat to “always on” gaming platforms like mobile phones and social networks. Some would say that future is already at hand. You can bet your tootie it’s because of the kids.
This week, in honor of the Gaming Generation Gap, we present Issue 294 of The Escapist, “Shit My Dad Plays.”
Chris Plante unveils his grandfather’s secret addiction to FreeCell, Michael K. Stangeland Jr. gets schooled by his old man at Civilization IV, Brendan Main goes to court to convince his father that games aren’t a waste of time, and our own Steve Butts passes the love on to the next generation by playing games with his son. Enjoy!
/Fingergun
