GameDr Video Game Timer limits kids' gaming time

How ridicules, if that where ever opposed on me, whats stopping me from cutting the plastic zip tie. or just buying another power cord, and switching it when no ones looking.

Plus Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to take away the controllers...hmmm (assuming you can take away the controllers).

Anyway If you let them OD on a game, it quickly gets boring, as long as it isn't a RPG or some Warcraft "Thing"

Neon

- May 3, 2009 @ 02:05 pm PDT

Most recent games for the PS3 have very prominent warnings about cutting off power when there is hard drive activity. They seem to have gotten more visible in recent games. Shutting down indiscriminately is bound to corrupt some data the drive sooner or later, leading to either the game hanging or other unexpected behavior. A better solution would be an acknowledgment from the console makers that addiction can be a serious problem with kids and so, time management functionality should be built into the console's operating system.

tangan

- May 3, 2009 @ 09:05 pm PDT

After cutting the zip-tie, one would have to explain how that happened. It's not like those things just randomly snap.

I may be out of touch with the average pre-teen, but I don't think that many of them can easily attain another power cord.

The one thing I worry about is that most computers aren't designed to just have the power cut off from them on a regular basis. I wonder if there will be problems stemming from to many shutdowns via this mechanism.

Devon

- May 3, 2009 @ 09:05 pm PDT

Very good point Devon, but you assume many pre-teens play on a PS3/Xbox. But i'll think you'll find more people, teen and post teen, game. And their the ones who can't easily have the controller wrestled out of there hands. Once you take teens into account, they would just buy some red zip ties, assuming they cared that they even cut the zip tie.

But moving away from that. Tangan and Devon are exactly right in saying cutting the power is bad, as with any system, e.g PC, PS3, Xbox which use hard drives, it could fatally damage the system, if you were to switch off the power when it's writing on the drive, e.g saving. As the arm, could run across the drive, without stowing it's self, corrupting the hard drive.

Strict parents ect... is possibly the best solution, this is an unbiased statement as i detest being governed.

Neon

- May 4, 2009 @ 12:05 pm PDT

You knew it would come to this. Too many kids playing their video games for too long. Actually, I've seen even a better tool than this! It's called Pass2Play.com and it makes kids earn their playtime by doing academic exercises, or even potentially homework. Once completed, the kids can then play online and socialize with their friends. Once their playtime is exhausted, thay get "pulled back" out of their online game and need to completed additional exercises to earn more playtime.

jevans21703

- July 10, 2009 @ 10:07 pm PDT