[Peench]

Think back with me for a moment to the "good old days" when families sat around their kitchen tables and played with a deck of cards or with a trusty Milton Bradly game. Were those games designed to bring families together or was that just an offshoot of the game design itself?

While the original Atari had games that led themselves to multiplayer (Pong, etc), many games since those days appear designed to give the single user more of a movie-like experience that you may or may not be able to experience with friends or families. Is this a trend?

Lets face it, having grown up through many of the these gaming consoles we've seen the whole spectrum of different experiences when it comes to gaming. From single player only games to multiplayer only games, to family style or party games and more. Nintendo seems at this point to have the most "family-style" titles, but it appears that Microsoft sees this as a viable market with the release of the Arcade console and other titles.

Is this a fad or a shift in the industry? Or is it an addition to the industry? I don't know, but it is interesting to me. Scene It was just released for the Xbox 360 as was Viva Pinata Party Animals - both of which are games designed to bring members of the family or friends together in front of the TV. Are the gaming companies trying to bring families back together or do they simply see these party style games as something fun for everyone?

Or am I reading too much into these titles? Should existing or even new gaming companies focus on bringing titles to the market that encourage more "family time," or should the trend towards more FPS games simply continue?