Is It Possible To ‘Convert’ An Anti-Gamer In 30 Minutes? [Video]

As dedicated patrons of the gamer bible that is Kotaku, we like to believe there are games out there for everyone. There’s no such thing as a “non-gamer” — just people who haven’t discovered their particular bag yet. To put this theory to the test, we enlisted the skills of technology writer, cosplayer and gaming veteran Rae Jonhston to “convert” Mia: the most rabid anti-gamer in our office. It proved to be a very bumpy ride.

As a professional critic with more than two decades of gaming under her belt, Rae Johnston knows a thing or two about what makes video games captivating. She was therefore an ideal candidate for our “convert-a-non-believer” challenge.

We got the idea for this after our editorial assistant Mia Steiber professed to hating video games — despite never actually having played one. It got us to wondering; could the right game steered by a knowledgeable hand completely change her outlook? Or are some people perpetually wired to despise gaming and all it stands for?

To make things interesting, we gave Rae a time-limit of just 30 minutes to bring Mia into the gaming fold. Other than that, the methods, games and formats employed were completely up to her. You can watch the experiment unfold in the video below. (Oh, and try to be kind to Mia in the comments — her sins are the product of ignorance.)

So there you go, then. Not exactly a raging success, but not an unmitigated disaster either. We’d also like to hear from readers who have ever tried get a partner or family member into gaming. Which games did you choose to ease them into it? Did you have more success than Rae? Share your experiences in the comments section below!


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