Rated E? Not every game works for every gamer
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

In these challenging economic times, it may come as a surprise that a well-chosen video game can be one of the most cost-effective gifts possible. Sure, the price tag on some top games can be daunting, but when you realize that the right one can wrangle dozens or even hundreds of hours out of the right player, games can start to look like the smart entertainment investments they are.

Every year, parents who would never dream of buying their children a DVD of Scarface, Platoon or one of the Saw torture movies blithely buy them violent gangster games, bloody war games and gross-out horror games. Then they're horrified when little Johnny or Jenny ends up spending Saturday afternoon trading expletives with drug dealers and discussing the relative merits of shotguns and flame-throwers.Federal studies have shown that the game industry is at least as vigilant as Hollywood in labelling products that are inappropriate for kids.

That misconception cuts the other way as well. The average gamer is now about 30; the first generation to grow up playing games is now around 40. And your 35-year-old boyfriend is not going to be impressed when you show up with the latest Pokemon or the new Price Is Right game.But nongamers can get it totally wrong when buying for friends and family. Bad gift-giving usually stems from one basic misconception: If it's a video game, it must be for children.