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Father's Day: How Having Kids Can Change Your Gaming - For the Better

01:15 PM - June 21, 2009 by Steve_OS

I used to be hardcore.

I used to tweak sliders. I used to edit rosters. I used to complete full seasons without simulating a single game. Hell, I used to set hot dog prices. I was a hardcore sports gamer and I loved every minute of it.

Then something happened. Well, two things, actually. I had kids, and with them came dirty diapers, sleepless nights, play dates and enough brightly colored plastic to put the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to shame.

What didn't come with kids was spare time. Now, don't get me wrong, I understood this going into parenthood -- it was one of the trade-offs of becoming a parent. I was willing to make that trade-off at the time, and I'd make it again in a heartbeat because having kids is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences you can have in life. Every single day brings with it new adventures and the joy of watching your children grow up. They truly are little miracles.

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Member Comments

# 1 K_GUN @ 06/21/09 01:40 PM

Great Blog Steve/Jim. I too was 'hardcore' ,re-editing EVER MLB player for mvp 2005. now?.....not so much. my 3 year old angel is #1 in the 'power rankings' in my life. BUT...when I have time...i do fire up my PS3 for my fix...and if i need those up to the second roster/sliders....i turn (where else?) to the OS community & download them.

happy fathers day fellow dads!

# 2 sinc79 @ 06/21/09 01:52 PM

amen

# 3 Scott @ 06/21/09 01:53 PM

Very good article.

# 4 magahi @ 06/21/09 02:10 PM

Agreed!! Infact i'm so behind that I just recently started my MLB09 chise and i'm still in spring training

. My 4 yr old watches Noggin on TV so no games for me till everyone is sleeping .

# 5 Hellisan @ 06/21/09 08:28 PM

Happy Father's Day, Dads.

edit: Ok I see the whole article now... heh

# 6 onlybygrace @ 06/21/09 08:55 PM

I have two children and I completely ignore them and play games instead...

NOT.

But seriously, I too miss the free time like were saying. That said, I've still remained hardcore with the time I do have which is when the kids have gone to bed and I've spent some quality time with the wife. Luckily, I'm a night owl...so its cool with me to stay up till 1 am playing games and my wife is cool with it.

...I truly have the best of both worlds.

# 7 DubTrey1 @ 06/21/09 09:44 PM

Being a dad is great - one of, if not the greatest thing I have accomplished in my life. I am a gamer like I was, but nothing beats actually gaming with my 5 year old on Castle Crashers...

-

Happy Fathers Day all .....!!!

# 8 Pete1210 @ 06/21/09 09:49 PM

Actually my oldest got me into console gaming about 8 years ago. Now he is19 and not interested in gaming much, but my 10 year old is. We just finished playing some TW10 golf and disc golf.

# 9 stlstudios189 @ 06/21/09 11:17 PM

I used to stay up untill 2 am and play everyday. Now with 2 kids and one on the way I get maybe 3-4 games in a week after everyone is in bed. I still wake up at 5:45 to hit the gym.(gotta stay big, my girls will be dating in 13 years.) so now its bedtime for the girls around 9:30 and game time for daddy untill 11 at the latest. Oh well I love them so much.

# 10 J-Unit40 @ 06/22/09 12:17 AM

Good article Steve. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads on here.

I have three little ones (My boys are 4.5 years, 3 years and my little girl is 4 months old). They are just awesome. All the laughing, crying, mood swings, middle of the night wake-up calls are all worth it and then some.

I always thought I would have absolutely no time to game once we started a family, but I was completely wrong. I play mostly after they all go to bed at night, but still sneak in a fun game with them here and there during the day sometimes to mix it up. Why else would I have downloaded the demos for Wall-e, Lego Batman, Rag Doll Kung-Fu and so on. LOL.

I still find time to play because I don't golf, bowl or do the other out of the house type of "guy things". I work out in my gym at home, watch plenty of college football, play hoops here and there and of course, hit the sticks!

Oh, and I like your comment about your DNF rate not being 0% anymore. So true.

# 11 chops44 @ 06/22/09 01:00 AM

Dave Bolland IS a true number 2 center.

seriously

# 12 texbuk84 @ 06/22/09 01:15 AM

happy fathers day to all the dads. i don't know my son is 2 and 2 months can't really determine that yet. on the other hand my 2 yr old loves playing castle crashers for some reason. lol

# 13 ezio @ 06/22/09 10:22 AM

Great Blog that I can totally realte too

It was one of the reason's I was debating getting Madden especially since there is no game saves again but I am sure I will get it.

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's here.

# 14 WeLLWeLL @ 06/22/09 12:17 PM

Good read. Happy Father's Day to you sir.

# 15 ChiTownKid @ 06/22/09 01:45 PM

Couldn't have written it better myself. My baby girl was born into this world just over three months ago, and since then, my gaming comes only in short bursts. 30-minute bursts, if I'm lucky. The days of gaming on my PC are pretty much over, as I no longer have hours upon hours to devote to tweaking, optimizing, driver-hunting, bug-chasing, and the rest of it. So it's a simpler time now, dropping in a 360 game, and just playing it until such time as the wee one will allow. No more RPG's, no more lengthy simulations. Just quick, vanilla gaming.

When you've been a "hardcore" gamer for 30 years, it does take a bit of an adjustment.

# 16 prot22 @ 06/22/09 02:37 PM

I must admit I was glued to your article. I am engaged to be married this September and I'm sure my "wife to be" is planning on having kids right away. I am a slider/roster/full season tweeker gamer much like the "old" you was. I am truly scarred by the thought of not keeping up with my seaons in their entirety due to children. So I will take your advice and enjoy my gaming now before the little ones arrive. It is refreshing to know that having the joy of children does trump playing my ps3. Here's to my last year of freedom!

# 17 bh446066 @ 06/22/09 04:01 PM

That was a fantastic article, Steve.

I think the biggest 2 things that are different are obviously the extreme lack of spare time (already mentioned), and the lack of MENTAL energy you have once you get the kid(s) put down at night. I've pretty much always gotten my gaming in between the hours of 9:00 and midnight on weekdays, but now I'm just soooooo mentally drained when I get her to bed, I think to myself I can't focus on an hour long football game or whatever now, I just want to veg and then pass out. My weekend daytime gaming I used to thrive on is out the window now.

I'm still a slider tweaker, I'm still a roster editor, I'm still a "no-simming-play-every-game" guy, but it just takes me a LOT longer to get through seasons now. But, the plus side is, when I do get uninterrupted games in, I enjoy them even more than I ever have. I'm just not looking forward to one day having to share my PS3.....j/k.

# 18 Brandwin @ 06/22/09 05:17 PM

Loved it!

# 19 moemoe24 @ 06/26/09 07:56 PM

I'm pretty lucky so far becasue my wife has to be at work at 5 am so her and the kids hit the sack by 9pm. My gaming hasnt changed, or hardly at all. Mine changed a lot when I got married 7 years ago more than it changed with kids. Once I got married there were no more all day Sunday games or 6pm games. I got use to playing once she went to bed at 9pm. With that said, kids are the best thing to happen to me and if I had to, I would give up video games......and I have been a hardcore gamer for 20 years.

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Father's Day: How Having Kids Can Change Your Gaming - For the Better