Turn your home into a tech haven: Gaming Edition

Ok so gaming is somewhat a controversial topic in these parts of the  world. It’s a waste of time. It’s useless. It encourages laziness. I’m  sure if you’re a parent you’ve heard theories about how you should make  sure kids shouldn’t be playing video games constantly but today we are  gonna get rid of some of these myths…

So before we actually get into the gadgets you’ll need for gaming in  your house we’ll talk about why gaming could be a great thing and why  the stigma surrounding gaming should be a part of our mindset after  reading this.

One strange thing about Zimbabwe is that recreation mainly revolves  around eating. There’s not much else to do apart from eating. So when it  comes to bonding all families do is look for places to eat. Well that’s  what happens most of the times anyway. This gets boring pretty quickly  and for parents I think a great way to bond with your children is to  play video games with. This allows you to do something at their level  and something they dictate. It gives them a chance to teach you a thing  or two (which is kid-gold for them) and the fact that they’ll see you  struggling through these games (that you probably don’t know how to  play) will resonate with them. I think gaming is one of the best ways to  bond with your kids (granted they are into video games to begin with).

Secondly let’s talk about a theory of consumption you may have never  heard of before. Whenever we consume shows/movies, music, games or art  these fall in different categories. There’s passive consumption and  active consumption. Passive consumption is when the audience doesn’t  engage or question the media message but just accepts it, this what  media outlets want to achieve when making a film or show as they want to  view to except and not question. This is what happens when you are  watching a movie or a series.

When you are playing video games you fall in the category of active  consumption and you’re solving problems. Because this is the case it  might be better for you or your kids to skimp on that drama  series/cartoon and play games…

Ok, I’m done preaching and hopefully you now see the value of having a  gaming console within your home. Now, what would be a good place to  start?

PS4

Sony’s latest Playstation has been a massive success selling over 70  million units. Sony has been making gaming consoles for four  generations, so best believe they know a thing or two about their  industry. In terms of games that would be a great fit when you are  starting out I would advise you to pickup the recently released  Spiderman, FIFA19 and Ratchet and Clank if you are getting the console  for a Kid. Oh and the oh so popular Fortnite…

Xbox One

Though the Xbox One has been lagging far behind the PS4 in terms of  sales, exclusives and quality releases their Xbox One is a solid  offering nonetheless. Many of the games you can find on PS4 you can find  on Xbox and the most popular titles are usually on both systems. The  Xbox also has it’s own exclusives such as Forza Horizon and Forza  Motorsport which will surely drive the racing fans crazy.

If I had to pick between the two I would pick the Playstation any day but that’s just a personal preference.

Nintendo Switch

After an extremely underwhelming offering with their previous Wii U console Nintendo is officially back.

The Switch was announced in 2016 and in two years they’ve managed to  sell 20 million units which is huge as their console has only been on  the market for two years. The PS4 and Xbox One have sold more consoles  than Nintendo but they’ve been on the market since late 2013, so that’s  to be expected. Nintendo is a perfect console for the young ones as they  are known for their family-first approach and this doesn’t take away  from the quality either.

Last year they released 3 classics in Super Mario Odyssey, Legend of  Zelda; Breath of The Wild and Mario Kart 8. All of this are highly rated  and they are many other titles which encourage local multiplayer which  has become a rarity nowadays as people focus on online multiplayer.

The best Nintendo Switch feature you can’t get from the competition  is the portability. It comes with a dock which allows it to be connected  to your or if you’re going on a journey you can take it out of the dock  and just play on the go.

Pricing

The great thing about these systems is that they are all available in  Zimbabwe and an online search on platforms such as Classifieds or Ownai  will get the job done. You can also find all 3 consoles at the Avonale  Flea Market and the PS4 and Xbox One retail for around USD$200 whilst  the Nintendo Switch will set you back around USD$300-400 as it’s a bit  newer.