Ben-DutkaI have a Psychology degree but it doesn't seem to be helping. Perhaps we need a group session to determine the ulterior motives for these questions.
A reader sent us a copy of a strange survey he recently received from Sony; some of you may have seen it as well. There are some relatively normal questions pertaining to gaming habits but the questions seem to focus on a gamer's lifestyle…and when I say "lifestyle," I mean one's life both inside and outside of video games. For instance, it asks you to give a time frame concerning your "first cell phone," "attended your first concert," and "had your first kiss." Then there's even more important queries, like "Which of the following would best summarize how PlayStation fits into your life?" with options being "a guilty pleasure," "a lifestyle," "an escape," etc. It also asks if you ever "canceled a date or missed a party" because of video games. But then it gets extra bizarre. The last page consists of four questions relating to your shaving habits…yeah, no…seriously. Like, "What is your preferred brand of shaving/cream gel?" and "How often do you purchase shaving razors or replacement blades?"
Your guess is as good as mine. The only theory we can come up with is that Sony is digging into how gaming might affect one's personal life; shaving relates to hygiene and if you're neglecting that, and say for instance you said PlayStation/video games were a "lifestyle," that could be a problem. Maybe they'll publish the findings and go, "see, gamers lead normal lives; the majority had their first kiss at an average age of 14, went to their first concert at 16, and have never avoided a date or a party because of video games." But who knows?