The Xbox 360 provides tons of fun for just about any kid who knows how to operate a joystick and push buttons. However, there are plenty of games not intended for children under a certain age, to the dismay of gamers and the joy of parents, the console contains lots of parental controls.
However, certain parents couldn’t care less about the ESRB rating of the game you’re playing, but just that you’re not playing longer than you should be. Well, parents rejoice! Found in a Guitar Hero III pamphlet, pictured above, was information on a “Family Timer”. The pamphlet reads as follows:
Family Timer
-A simple tool that lets you manage how much time your kids spend on their Xbox360.
-Manage time in daily or weekly increments. Easy for parents to suspend or add time.
-Available in December 2007 only through Xbox Live.
This seems semi-cruel, but viable, seeing as how Windows Vista has similar “timer” features. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Papa Gates had something to do with this.
More on this as it happens.
I think the timer is a great idea. Often times when I leave the kids with the babaysitter they wind up playing videos games all night instead of doing their homework