Kotaku is a mecca for hard-core gamers. Edited by Brian D. Crecente, www.kotaku.com provides hourly links and commentary for obsessive gamers while exploring the cultural ramifications interesting enough to attract a wider audience.
"As if you don't waste enough of your time in a gamer's haze, here's Kotaku: a gamer's guide that goes beyond the press release," Kotaku's mission reads. "Gossip, cheats, criticism, design, nostalgia, prediction. Don't get a life just yet."
It should come as no surprise, then, that Crecente was one of the priveleged few who received demo versions of the recently-debuted Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii weeks in advance of their launch dates. But where other gamers may have spent days testing the gaming consoles themselves, Crecente did something different. He put the controllers into the hands of his toddler.
What Crecente did is sure to put a smile on the face of designers and executives in the gaming industry alike. Gaming has traditionally appealed to young males with lots of time, not to mention money, to spare. Now companies like Nintendo are desiging new consoles with a broader audience in mind (see "Console Designer Bridges Generation Gap With The Nintendo Wii"). The veteran gaming console manufacturer recently held a contest in New York City to find the "coolest grandparent," i.e. a senior citizen who not only was willing to learn how to use the motion sensing Wii remote, but enjoyed using it.
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