Growing up I was exposed to gaming on a computer in 3^rd grade. I remember we used floppy drives to play Number Munchers, which was one of my favorites, or Oregon Trial. Computer class used to be so much fun with those simple games. Then when I got home I would go over my friend’s house and play Nintendo. Super Mario Brothers 3 was my absolute favorite and I remember playing it every day. I finally got Super Nintendo at my house and it came with the All Star collection of games which consisted of all of the Mario Brothers games. I loved to play that and even when I got older I did not want to give it away. That was when life was sweet and innocent. Now all of the games available are killing each other. Everyday I would be talking to my 23 year old male friend and I would ask him what he was doing he would say “shooting people in the face.” That was in reference to Call of Duty 4.

Not only has the type of games changed over the years so has the quality of the equipment. We went from two dimensional to 3D, you feel like you are right there, you can sit at home and put on a head set and play with people all over the nation. Online you can play with people all over the world. Business Week reports that “Second Life is one of the many so-called massively multiplayer online games that are booming in popularity these days. Because thousands of people can play at once, they’re fundamentally different from traditional computer games in which one or two people play on one PC.” How could you not get addicted? My extent of gaming now that I have grown up is Sudoko. But I know that many people use gaming for more reason than just a game. The military uses it to train soldiers, I know many athletic teams use games stimulators to help players practice and gain skills. With new systems like the Wii you can physically use your body to do different motions such as bowling or tennis.