Gaming terminology boggles over half of parents in the UK
- Nintendo UK highlights 10 most confusing gaming terms for UK parents
- 52% of parents revealed they find terminology and slang associated with video games confusing
- Terms including MMORP, Twitch and Blue-Shelled were the main causes for confusion
A recent study conducted by Nintendo UK, in conjunction with Netmums, the UK’s fastest-growing online parenting organisation, has shown that 63 per cent of children across the UK consider themselves fluent in the language of video gaming, compared to just 11 per cent of parents surveyed. However 42 per cent of parents surveyed have never tried to learn any gaming terms, with some stating they feel too old to start or claim it simply isn’t important for them and they leave it to their kids to understand.
Although the study showed that over half (57 per cent) of UK parents still enjoy playing video games with their children, almost one in five (17 per cent) UK parents admitted to avoiding playing video games with their children solely due to their lack of gaming knowledge.
The below list shows the 10 most confusing gaming terms for UK parents surveyed, who recognised the terms but were unable to define them:
- MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game – 53%
- Twitch – Live streaming video platform / community – 50%
- Blue-Shelled – Suddenly being knocked out of first place when you’re about to win (Mario Kart reference) – 50%
- (J)RPG – (Japanese) Role-Playing Game – 43%
- UGC – User-Generated Content – 39%
- Backward Compatible – A newer gaming console that supports games or software designed for older models of hardware – 34%
- Camping – Staying in one spot on a map in a game to gain an advantage- 33%
- NPC – Non-Playable Characters – 32%
- FTW – For The Win – 30%
- FPS – First Person Shooter – 28%
Netmums worked with Nintendo to analyse the data from the research that was conducted through surveying over 1,700 parents across the UK.
On the back of this recent finding, Nintendo has now developed a gaming terminology guide that parents can view on Netmums.com. The research stated that 57 per cent of UK parents would find a gaming terminology guide useful and think it could be an extremely helpful resource to have to hand. The terminology guide is addressing this need and helping parents become savvier with gaming terms and maybe even impress their children with their gaming knowledge.
Siobhan Freegard, Co-Founder Netmums states that ““Gaming terminology can make parents feel extremely alienated and perhaps a little scared about what their children are doing on line. It’s great to have this reference tool, which is live on www.netmums.com, to break down those barriers and help all the family get involved in the fun.”
Shelly Pearce, Marketing and PR Director at Nintendo, notes “Nintendo realises that not everyone is tech-savvy, however we are keen to make gaming as inclusive as possible. Along with the help of Netmums, we have looked to address this via the introduction of our gaming terminology guide. This will hopefully ensure that the whole family feels confident gaming together and can focus on having fun!”
