This Guy's Mom Was Playing Games on Xbox 360

A writer over at Primotech, who also happens to be Shacker notd665, conducted an interesting gaming experiment in recent months. Around the time the Xbox 360 launched, Microsoft marketing exec Peter Moore claimed that "Even your mom will be playing games [on the Xbox 360.]" To determine if Moore's statement has held true, the writer in question enlisted his own mother to spend some gaming time with the console. The meat of the article consists of reflections from Mrs. P, as she is dubbed throughout, on the many video games she played, as well as observations from her son Alex on how she dealt with the games' learning curves and control schemes. There were a few surprises in terms of her final opinions; for one thing, her favorite game on the system was certainly not the one I would have expected. Following the hands on impressions, the article concludes with a transcribed interview between Alex and Mrs. P, in which the video game newcomer reflects on her overall thoughts about games, whether she would buy an Xbox 360, some considerations developers should take to broaden their audiences, and what she thinks about Nintendo's upcoming Wii.

Alex: What about the Arcade Games, werenÂ’t those easier?
Mrs. P: Hexic I liked a lot, but Marble Blast was pretty tough. I think when it comes to winning over this audience, the simpler the better. But I also think spending over $400 is absurd just to play a Mattel card game that goes for $5 in real life, for instance.
Alex: What may make you want to purchase the console or play other games?
Mrs. P: I think the biggest factor would be if I could find a game that I could relate to, containing subject matter that I enjoy. Again, thatÂ’s partially why I liked Condemned. I think too often though, the plot is quite insipid. I think strong dramatic elements, like story and visuals and music, would be a bigger draw to older generations than unique gameplay mechanics or what have you.