John Morrisey's invention, the GameDr, is making headlines as a potentially useful tool for parents sick of arguing with kids over play time.
The device is essentially a fancy version of a cooking timer. Parents simply program in a certain number of minutes or hours, at which time the password-protected GameDr shuts off power to the console entirely. Since it connects to your console's power cord, it can work with pretty much any system on the market.
Sound dogmatic? Surprisingly, Morrisey is hardly the anti-game grump you might expect.
GameDr gaming timer
Inventor John Morrissey lends parents a helping hand.
"Video games are great," he said. "There is evidence that they improve the reflexes and the thinking process. But right now, for many parents, the option is all or nothing -- they either let the kids play the video game or they take it away for two weeks."
But even Digital Innovations, the company selling Morrisey's invention, are aware that not everyone will be behind the new tech.
"There are moms who say they love this, and that they know 10 people who need one," said marketing director Kara Lineal. "And there are gamers who say it's terrible and that parents should just monitor their kids."
Some have also pointed out that the device isn't without some significant flaws. Gaming blog Gamepolitics points out that cagey kids can circumvent the GameDr by using a spare power cord, and so far, similar devices, like Hopscotch Technology's BOB, have failed to catch on.
So what do you think? Is the GameDr the perfect prescription or a total quack? Sound off in the comments.
Want a second opinion?
Not convinced that the GameDr is the right answer? Here are three other ways to curb your kids' runaway gaming habit:
Parental controls
If you happen to own an Xbox 360, you're in luck. The system comes with built-in parental controls that include a handy "Family Timer," which allows you to set the amount of time the console can be used on a daily or weekly basis. Check here for more info.
Use a normal egg timer.
Why drop $30 on a glorified egg timer when you probably have a perfectly good egg timer sitting in your kitchen? Give the kids a five minute warning, set the timer, and just pull the plug yourself.
Play along!
Most kids just aren't going to respond well when you ruthlessly cut the power from their toys. Instead of forcing them to interact with timers, why not get involved and try playing games together? Spending time with your kids is never a bad idea. Who knows -- you might even have fun.
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Do you think it's a useful tool or is it just an excuse for lazy, incompetent parents?
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- groups:
- Upstream, Games, Editor's Picks, video games
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- tags:
- Upstream, Video Games, Games, Editor's Picks, 3 more + add
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- anglcazn
- added this
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Goddamn, parents need to get off their fat asses and actually pay attention to their kids. And I know for a fact that if my mom had done this to me I would have gone apeshit and hurt things if I'd lost track of time and lost all my game data.
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yes but cant the kids just get a new cable and hide it... they aren't expensive
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Parents need to be parents and set rules and limits and not expect others to do it for them. My parents did and they were inforced. I didn't like it, the Nintendo just wouldn't be there in the morning.
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- MongoPongo
- 4 months ago
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i need one of these for reading current :-)
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- RudyRudell
- 4 months ago
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I think this thing should instead shock the parents for being poor at their one real important job in life (considering that if we don't have parents we don't have a future ;p).
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- theultimateend
- 4 months ago
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blabla boring. likely the only parents that would use this video game timer are inactive people themselves...
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- randallr01
- 4 months ago
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They need to make a timer like this for human genitalia. That way it can be put on lazy, self-absorbed people to shut off reproduction ability before they can have kids.
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- ThatBastardBeej
- 4 months ago
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What happens when GamerDR shuts down? Do you lose all of your progress because you aren't at a checkpoint? That is weak. I'm glad at 28 my parents don't regulate my video game time. Ahh This conversation has made me fire up my 360.
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I disagree with randallr01, inactive parents would not bother to get this thing, they consider game consoles and TVs as god sends because it prevents them from having to deal with the kids... the people that will eat this thing up are the parents who are a little to proactive, the overbearing kind that wants concise control over everything. The only real way to keep kids from playing video games to much is to interest them in other things. I had game consoles as a kid... and I rarely used them... I spent my time in ditches catching turtles snakes and fish, museums and reading 'Young Indiana Jones' books (I can not bring my self to call them novels)... it was fun because I was shown that it was fun and turned loose on it... of course I am a guy... most girls (not all) do better with dolls, tea sets and other such things that I am not entirely familiar with... but you still have to show them how to have fun with it and let them loose.
The last point in the summation of this was about sitting down with your kids to play the video game... completely invaluable, kids mimic adults... if you play a game with them and decide it is enough and it is time to do something else, or show them that throwing the controller at the TV when you get frustrated is the appropriate thing to do, well guess what, your kids are going to do the same thing when they are playing... with or without you because you have shown them through example how to respond.
Cliche things more often than not become cliche because they are repeated for a reason, and being a parent is a thinking man/woman's game, if you have kids it is the single greatest challenge of your life... because the margin of error is nill, your kids will become you, its science, and if you are not around but the video game is, well there reality is going to be not so real and they will have a hard time in life, there is no fixing it at that point... and in the end if you are the person that lets that happen... your reality is screwed too and your kids are still becoming you.
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why would you need this if you have a cell phone alarm, cooking timer or even (wow) a clock? yay, mechanical parents, because people are already so enlightened. ;)
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- Denica_Cassandra
- 4 months ago
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Joke. Take the power cable from the console or computer... yet another excuse for lazy parenting. Regulate! Oh wait...that's video game socialism. God forbid.
