Ben Gonshaw: Digital Media Theorist & Game Design Consultant
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TWO'S COMPANY

16th November 2005

Almost two years ago I spent a truly disheartening Sunday going through every single Xbox and Dreamcast game I owned in a failed attempt to find a two player game that I could enjoy with my then new girlfriend. All credit to her, she made it through the day, but we couldn’t find a single game that appealed to her.   Fast forward two years and after playing spades together online and seeing her joy at building theme parks and holiday resorts I thought it was time to try again, after all, she does like to play games. Dutifully we approached the game shop and went through every single release on the shelves. We came out empty handed.

When you take a look at the shelves of games in the shop, aside from the PS2 peripheral ranges of Singstar, EyeToy and Buzz it is very hard, to find a multiplayer game that appeals to a broader market. You take a look at the boxes and 99% of them include futuristic or fantasy artwork depicting various combinations of chiselled features, weapons or vehicles.   A few doors down is a Games Workshop and although the consumers there are younger little is different. Both places look like only geeks or kids should be in there. Glancing around the games shop, I could see a few couples: her reluctant, him apologetic, a role reversal on the male in the lingerie shop.

There are no games that a couple can play together and enjoy, why not? Sure, my sister will try a wider range of games. She loves Burnout3 and adores Donkey Konga, but looking at those games in the shop, even I felt that they were puerile, lightweight and lowest common denominator. Searching through the titles trying to spot a title my lady would like, made me feel disdainful about what the industry had to offer and sullen about whether it could ever deliver.   That evening we came home, snuggled on the sofa and watched a movie instead.   Some people are not scared of playing games, or intimidated by the technology: they just can’t find anything to play and with 1600+ releases in a year that means something is seriously wrong. .

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