And by true purpose, I mean their most useful one- entertaining retirees. I used to visit my grandparents in the nursing homes, see old folks sitting quietly doing nothing all day, and would often think 'man, they need Sega in here.' Then I went to college, and while shooting at other folks in the dorm (digitally, of course) and cursing eachother jovially from down the hallway, I thought 'this is what a nursing home should be like... a LAN party!' I've heard it speculated that a contributor to alzheimers/dementia is the brain shutting down from lack of use, and while Im sure video games are not great for the brain, they gotta be better than staring at a TV 24/7. What age or generation are you, and would you game online if you were bored 90% of the day, stuck in a wheelchair or a home?
I'm 84 and have antique equipment - Playstation 2. I'll play a few times a week. I enjoy various car and motorcycle racing. My most favored are my oldest - Doom and final Doom.