We have a Playstation 3 in our living room because it's the only room we have a television in. We recently wrote a post about putting a tv in our bedroom, but the large number of comments we received made us realize we should just keep the tech out of the bedroom. So, now that our one tv is going to continue to be our only tv &mdash we're figuring out how to juggle its multiple uses.
We use the PS3 to watch movies and play video games. Well, my SO plays the video games and depending on the game, I'll sit and watch (currently Red Dead Redemption is pretty interesting to watch, sometimes Modern Warfare 2).
We haven't made any sort of schedule, because we're just not that sort of couple &mdash but it's funny because he plays videogames around the same time each day. What makes that sort of unscheduled schedule so great is that, well, we don't have to make a schedule. I know when to expect him to play videogames so it doesn't ever interfere with whatever I want the television for.
We're extremely lucky because video game usage in our house is about 10 hours a week. But, we're curious about how other couples fair with video game consoles. What's the average usage in hours for your household and how much is too much?
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Can't we give those dogs a little space? Hope no one rings the doorbell. They're going to knock themselves unconscious jumping up to bark.
If we need another monitor for video content, the person who isn't using something hardwired to the TV will usually just use their laptop. The TV is for the specialized content in our house.
If the conflicts grow, we may end up getting a second tv/monitor. I would hope there is a good wireless HDMI solution to that problem.
We recently discovered that our Wii actually logs the time spent on various Wii based activities into a database. My husband (who plays call of duty for no reason other than mindless time wasting) was SHOCKED to see that he averages about 3 hours of play time more days than not.
It's probably about 15 hours a week overall. I think it's too much, but he works hard and contributes to the household chores, too. So, I keep my mouth shut. Besides, I easily clock 15 hours a week surfing the internet.
Well, gosh, Ansela, I made a pretty good living playing video games for a couple of years. Fortunately, not everybody seems to too hung up on your ideas of what constitutes acceptable pastimes for adults.
My wife and I play video games together. If you don't think that's "productive", I guess we don't much care.
BF plays video games a lot, but I go to bed earlier than he does, so I couldn't give an accurate picture. in my mind, he plays from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., but that's only when he's engrossed in a brand new game ;)
Also, I don't understand why people get all anti-bedroom TV. In a small house or apartment where you only have one TV, sometimes it can be hard sharing one monitor, and you don't always want to resort to using a computer (i.e. if BOTH of you want to play video games, etc.). We've had 2 TVs since day 1, and it works great for us. And to those who think bedroom TVs kill romance and aesthetics, there are some gorgeous TV set-ups that can be functional and nice. And you know, you can always use the TV to spice things up in there ;)
My husband and I both work in the games industry and it irks me a little when people describe adults playing video games as a waste of time. It's belittling a lot of people's hard work.
We don't have children yet so we BOTH play a lot of games. We are better kitted out than the average family (2 PS3s and and Xbox360) and decided to spring for a second TV when we moved house last year. Some weekends we play at the same time but in either end of the house. Friends we work with, who have kids, also play they just do it later at night after the kids have gone to bed.
At the end of the day, it's all about balance.
I don't play my PS3 very often. It's mostly used for Netflix streaming.
The only games I ever play are Grand Theft Auto (which wifey hates) and NCAA Basketball 2010 (Memphis Tigers!). Oddly enough, wifey enjoys watching me play NCAA because she's a complete Tigers fanatic. It's like watching a real game to her. haha
Video games are no more a waste of time than other games. We have 3 consuls at our house. My husband brought the Wii and Xbox360 into the marriage, and we bought the PS3 on a great sale, chiefly for the blu-ray player, but there's some game play on that too. We don't have cable, but we do stream netflix through our xbox and ps--we definitely use them more for movies and whatnot. I'm not a big gamer, but I do like playing MarioKart and Rock Band with the huz. He tends to play video games in waves. If he gets a new game he'll play quite a bit--up to 20 hours in a week. But he'll also go weeks without playing at all.
My BF and I don't have cable. Therefore all our shows are downloaded. It's pretty easy to share that way, "hey can I watch my show in an hour" etc. The good thing about being adults is you know when enough is enough and it's time to cook dinner together or go for a walk.
PS. Don't just watch him play! Try Lego Harry Potter or Little Big Planet (great two player games). You may even find the urge to learn how to shoot some terrorists for yourself (it's actually really fun)
I have my PS3 set up with a logitech Harmony remote and that PS3 attachment thingy which makes the whole system very GF freindly (we live together). I have all our music, a lot of video, Netflix on the PS3. i probably play 3 hrs of Video games a week (more when shes on a business trip) I also use the PS3 to surf the internet and look up guitar tabs. I think its an extremely easy to use and set up especially with the logitech harmony one.
My Weekly PS3 usage:
Music - ~20 hours
Netflix 1 or 2 movies
Games 3 hrs
Internet 1-2 hrs generally for guitar tabs
Ansela, wake up, loads of adults like playing video games. its exactly the same as watching TV i would warrant that a problem solving video game is much more mentally stimulating than E! the real housewives of somewhere.
The following is a rant;
At what point did video games become so sad? Where did that come from? you know all those geeks people made fun of for staying inside and playing video games now all work in Bluechip companies and earn 6 figures. I have always played them and i was a college athlete and am now a successful professional. I mean its just odd that people can stare at crappy TV for hours and that s 'cool' but as soon as you play a video game its childish and sad...?