Family Timer – But Mom! I didn’t save!
Microsoft releases it’s free “Family Timer” over Xbox Live and parent groups praise Microsoft for it – they should, it’s a decent idea with one major flaw obvious to anyone who loves video games. Think about it and the way video games play. Often games require players to either manually save their game or to find elusive save points. Time lost when that “Family Timer” goes off could range from 5 minutes of play to an hour. GamerDad has a better suggestion: WHY NOT BE INVOLVED AND ENFORCE TIME LIMITS PERSONALLY? (Exception: Parents stuck at work – but for them GamerDad doesn’t recommend access to video games when you’re not “in the vicinity”.) And Media Wise cites “parent/child conflict over video games” to be a “growing concern.” Sheesh! Click here for the full Microsoft press release:
REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 4, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today launched the Xbox 360 Family Timer worldwide, available for download via Xbox LIVE in 26 countries. This is great news for parents because Microsoft research reveals that children’s media consumption and time spent playing video games are universal concerns for families.
A Microsoft survey conducted throughout Europe found that parents embrace the idea of support from the gaming industry, with 75 percent of them welcoming built-in technology or software to monitor the time their children spend playing video games. A similar Microsoft survey conducted in the United States last month found that 62 percent of parents say they would use a timer if it were available to help them manage their children’s interactive entertainment use. Both surveys were the product of the company’s ongoing commitment to responsible gaming and the start of year two of Microsoft’s “Safety is no game. Is your family set?” campaign.
In line with the research, Microsoft today has made available worldwide to Xbox LIVE users a new Family Timer feature that will enable parents for the first time to set the appropriate amount of gaming and entertainment time on the Xbox 360 console for their kids — on a daily or weekly basis. A list of countries with available Xbox LIVE service is at http://www.xbox.com/live/countries.
“As a leader in interactive entertainment, it has been our priority to innovate and improve our Family Settings technology to help parents worldwide manage their children’s video gaming and online experiences,” said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.
In addition, the European study found that content of games and the time spent playing video games are important issues to parents. Similarly, in the U.S., 66 percent of parents have rules about the amount of time their kids can spend playing video games and 86 percent have rules about the type of content their kids have access to.
The Xbox 360 Family Timer is an addition to the console’s existing set of industry-leading parental control features. Similar to the parental controls in the Windows Vista operating system, the new Xbox 360 Family Timer can restrict children’s activity time.. Helpful notifications will appear to warn gamers that the session is nearing the end so they have sufficient time to save their game, and the feature will automatically turn off the console when the predetermined time limit has been exceeded.
December 4th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Aw, and I was thinking about writing something about this. (Still might.)
I’m going to have to be on the other side of the fence on this one. I think a timer built in is a great idea. It takes a little of the “bad guy” off the parent in the heat of the moment… the built in timer is cold and impartial (i assume) and could be agreed upon beforehand.
The save issue (hours lost due to no manual save) should be placed in the hands of the people who are actually at fault….. the game developers. If games had solid, intelligent save points and systems, then a timer like this should have no problems. It is only in poorly written games with bad save strategies that the timer may cause a problem. In this case its mearly revealing the basic flaw of the game, not a flaw of the timer.
December 4th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
I saw this and immediately thought of the save issue as well. I would suggest that the fix for this is pretty easy (and I’m saddened that all the brainstorming at MS that obviously went into this couldn’t come up with it). There’s already a parental PIN/”lock” system in place, right? I assume it’s like the PS2, when you go to play a “restricted” DVD (e.g., R rated or whatever), it prompts for a PIN. Why not just have it go to a lock screen when time expires, where you can put in the parental PIN to add time after expiration? That seems like it should be easy enough to do, and it would solve the issue pretty well.
December 5th, 2007 at 7:25 am
Why can’t parents just be parents and do their job raising the kids? Alot of parents today want to be their kids best friend instead of a parent. Then when it’s time to discipline them it’s nearly impossible. My son gets upset sometimes when it’s time to turn the game off but he knows better than to argue with us about it. Last time he tried to argue he lost the games and console for 3 days, plus he lost the right to go on the internet. Now, he lets us know he hasn’t reached a save point and I usually let him play it long enough that he can save it. You’re the parent, be one!
RJ
December 5th, 2007 at 9:29 am
I have no problem with the “be a parent” slogan, I’ve worked with young teens for over 15 years and know how unwise it is to try to be a “buddy” instead of an example.
However, why should I need to set a timer for my son to play a game? The 360 has plenty of CPU space left over to run the timer for me. Its automatic, I don’t need to do a thing after I’ve established the limits.
I also like how the limits are set outside the heat of the moment. Whine all you want, but when you agree to specific limits, then they’re enforced, c’est la vie! No need to get into the grey area of “but I am soooo close to a save point!”
I’ve played my share of video games and know how a save point that looks (or is expected to be) so near is, in reality, perhaps 30minutes or an hour away…
December 5th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I dunno Matt. It seems like if you cite having the timer being the “bad guy” as a positive, we should point out that the timer is capricious and a parent isn’t. Being reasonable and compromising with your kids is better than doing it remotely and mechanically.
December 5th, 2007 at 11:56 am
I’ve got 3 kids. Ages 8, 5, and 3. My 5 year old is autistic and takes alot of our attention.
I’m looking forward to the “family timer” feature on the 360. It’s not because I’m my child’s best friend. It’s not because I’m a bad parent. It’s because I’m human and I get distracted. An automatic timer doesn’t.
December 5th, 2007 at 11:58 am
On the hand, I’d prefer it just “pause” not turn off the console.
December 5th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
It has a warning to tell you that you’re running out of time and you need to save.
I know there are still people who are going to loose game by it. But I’ve always worked that way at my house. The clock wins, and if you didn’t get to a save point, so be it. You have to pay attention and manage your gametime effectively.
When I was a parent of multiple tweens, something like this would have been a big help. As far as it goes. It’s not perfect. It has some quirks that make it less helpful than it could be for families with multiple kids. I’ve got it installed and I’m working on an article that talks about setting it up.
December 5th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
We already use a timer (the one on the microwave). When it goes off, game time is over. We’re fairly reasonable; but, if you’re not close to a save point or haven’t saved your game in a long time, that’s the child’s fault. There was resistance at first, but all the kids have become acclimated to it. The biggest “problem child” right now is the 6-yo who forgets to save his Pokemon game regularly and is constantly caught in the middle of a battle when the timer dings. A harder enforcement might teach him to save more often.
Still, I agree with Matt. In this day and age, save points are an anachronism and game developers needs to wean themselves from that particular crutch. Save anywhere games are common on PC, why not on the new consoles?
December 18th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Firstly, a thank you to those associated with this blog and website. A nice resource for parents with gaming children.
I have been actively involved with gaming personal most of my life (now 38). Very technologically inclined. I have always approved the games my children (now 15 & 13) play, and have established time limits for them.
I consider my guys (girl and boy) to be typical kids. Generally respectful with good character. But like me gaming can be a very strong addiction (I speak from personal experience). I think most parents have been there where kids continual stall for additional time. Quite frankly the situation turns from frustrating to irritating.
A few years ago we installed a program called ENUFF (Windows XP) that allocated the time our guys could use the computer. My wife and I were thrilled when Microsoft released their timer for the Xbox 360, especially since the console is connected to our only TV.
Timers are tools that I believe still require some flexibility from parents (i.e., snow days, holidays, reward system). However, it continues to amaze me how our children positively respond to these timers without argument, avoiding the conflict that otherwise would ensue. For us having our children enjoy an appropriate amount of leisure time each day, while pursuing other more important activities, is the key to a balanced lifestyle. Timers help in establishing boundaries.
To respond to some specific questions/concerns, for those unaware the timer does indicate every 15 minutes the remaining time left (this pop up messaging begins 1 hour before restricting gaming). By the way it is then that a panel appears where Dad can add some more time (or even suspend the timer). I nice Dad would certainly allow for a couple more minutes in order to save. Still, I wonder if there may be some chore that could be done by the child that would prompt such a generous act?
Regards
July 1st, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I could use a timer like this for the PC just to deal with my own gaming addiction, let alone the kids game time issues.