An account of the Hans Reiser trial yesterday caught my attention with the headline, “Couple fought over violent video games.” This got me to thinking about what happens when parents disagree about screen issues. The Reiser case is extreme — he played very violent video games with his then-six-year-old, considering it an education of sorts. And few screen squabbles result in a missing mom, with the dad on trial for murder. But in many, many households, well-intentioned parents struggle with how to present a united…

For a while now, I’ve toyed with the “If you can’t beat them, join them” idea as applied to game consoles: Should I embrace instead of enforce? Microsoft’s new marketing campaign for Xbox 360 is geared towards families. Maybe you’ve seen the new commercials in which a series of helium balloons drop onto the roof of a parking garage and all the makings of a family-room session of Guitar Hero are set up, with teens and dads then playing together. And the company…

This week, a new game review site called Whattheyplay.com launched. But there’s a twist: Its editors review kids’ games for parents. For each game, the editors provide information about the “game experience” and details of its ESRB rating – neither recommending it nor panning it – to help parents know if the game is appropriate for their kids. There’s also an area for parents to submit their own reviews. And they can complete this sentence, “I think this game is OK for kids over the age of…”…

Microsoft just announced that beginning in December, they will make Family Timer available to XBox 360 users. The download allows parents to set a limit on the amount of time a child can use the Xbox in a day or week. When that limit is approaching, a reminder will let the child know, with a reminder to save the game. The console will turn off automatically at the limit. The Family Timer will be available as a free download from the XBox Live site.

I have heard that people bought so many xbox 360s just to get halo 3. I can’t believe that!