Eurogamer Expo With The Jones Family

We went to the Eurogamer Expo this year to talk to families first hand about the games they enjoyed together, and how they went about choosing them.

The Jones family were at the event, Dad and son. They kicked off our conversation by suggesting the games that they enjoyed playing together. Top of this list was the Marvel Lego game that they played at the Expo, which offered good co-operative fun for them.

The challenge described by My Jones was that of peer pressure on playing older games. He found that the PEGI symbols on the back of the box. "It's very useful to have the icons telling you why a game has a particular rating. There are so many reasons why a game can be difficult and we need to know that."

We asked where and when they played their games in the family. "We play games in a family room. Sometimes with friends. It helps us see what's going on. We like to try and make it as much of a family thing as possible."

Playing in a family space, and playing together goes a long way to understanding what games are being played in the household and how the PEGI ratings can help. Also it means that different age groups can play together and enjoy collaborating on different experiences. Finding the right game is important here to ensure it is not too challenging for younger players while at the same time offering enough entertainment to older players.

The Jones family went on to suggest Minecraft as a good title for families. They also suggested that the new Super Mario 3D World game they played at the Expo looked good for families with its multi-player aspect.

[caption id="attachment_1933" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Super Mario 3D World Wii U"][/caption]

"Super Mario would be a good game for families because they can be competitive and team work." This collaborative nature of video-games makes them an ideal activity for siblings, as well as children and parents.

We'll be back with more Family Surgery interviews soon.