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Super
Radio X Presents...
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HOW
TO GET YOUR GIRLFRIEND TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES
by
Sarah MacDonald
July 2005
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MOST OF YOU GUYS have probably seen articles
like this before: Wean Your Girlfriend off
Sex and the City and onto Grand Theft
Auto in Just Seven Days! Well, good luck,
buddy! I should probably begin by explaining that
this is not one of those articles. Sorry, but
I won't really be explaining "how" to
coerce your poor unsuspecting girlfriend into
doing anything at all. But now that I've sucked
you in with the oh-so instructional title, you
may as well continue reading.
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With that disclaimer out of the way, let me say
this: I am a girl. I like video games. See? I exist;
aren't you excited? There's hope out there for the
uber-geek and the casual gamer alike. Don't be fooled
by most of the media. For some reason, they want
you to think girls like me don't exist. It's a conspiracy!
Gaming magazines aim their articles at men, since
they consider the male gender to be their main demographic.
They allow articles with titles like this one to
be published, and therefore alienate their female
fans. Trust me, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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But all conspiracy theory rants aside, there are
many women like myself in existence. I play video
games; so do many of my female friends. Plenty of
girls enjoy a good Mario Kart race or Soul
Calibur melee every now and then. Cute, well-adjusted
girls, too. If you're a guy out there with a game-hating
girlfriend-well, it sucks to be you. You really
can't-or, shouldn't-try to "train" your
girlfriend to share your electronic interests. If
you're a guy who hates shopping, would you want
to be "trained" to enjoy a trip to the
mall in search of the perfect summer purse? A man
who dislikes reading forced to endure all 923 pages
of Anna Karenina complete with a round-table
discussion of said literary classic at your girlfriend's
book club? I didn't think so.
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_____I
know what similarly-themed articles have told
you. Start her off slowly with The Sims and
Harvest Moon. If she takes the bait, try
to keep her interest piqued with a heavier game
starring a female character. Tomb Raider or
Resident Evil might be suggested. But seriously
guys, has this ever worked? If you don't like
something, you should be free to not like it.
Okay, perhaps your girlfriend has never played
a video game. In the year 2005, this is somewhat
difficult to imagine. Nevertheless, it is possible.
Feel free to give it the old college try, and
invite her to play some games with you. Set the
mood with some nice scented candles and a wireless
controller. Don't treat her like the novice she
may be, and don't be a show-off! If she has a
good time, then it looks like things worked out
well for both parties. However, if she hates it,
here's my advice-let her. Who cares? You can't
share all the same interests. You tried. You failed.
Get over it.
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now, I should have made my point pretty clear. Still,
I'll reiterate for those of you not paying attention
thus far. If your girlfriend doesn't like video
games, grieve now and move on with your life. You
had your chance to select a cultured woman with
good taste in the art of video games! If you blew
it, please accept my apologies. If you love her,
then I guess it's too late now. Concentrate on the
strengths of your relationship, not the weaknesses.
You two must have something in common…right? |
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SARAH
MACDONALD
studies writing at Emerson College and has never
been published anywhere.
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