Computer games vs video games. What term do you use?

[FAST6191]

Historically the difference in terms was one of the many quirks of US English (video games) and UK English (computer games) but I have seen various amounts of cross usage these days, and video games even making some inroads into UK English speakers (some US English speakers also claim a dislike of the term computer games but that might be a different matter). Not entirely dissimilar to how a series in UK TV parlance would be a season in US whilst also describing the show as a whole in some cases (though that might also be). What goes for Australian, Canadian, Hong Kong and all the rest I am less sure about still.

Now it is not the first time US culture has influenced a UK word/phrase/cultural rhyme

and one also need only ask any UK based teacher about the curse of sesame street (many a young kid might rock up saying z is pronounced zee rather than zed) but back to the topic at hand it does appear to be influencing older people in this instance rather than ze kids.

Thoughts, discussion, anecdotes... all welcome at this juncture.

 

[Lostbhoy]

Computer games.
Video was a vhs tape and never associated with games!! True where I grew up!

Weirdly, my kids actually just call them games nowadays! No computer or video term applies anymore!

 

[IC_]

In Poland I mostly hear and use computer games (gry komputerowe).

 

[VinsCool]

Video game, that's all I've heard and that's what I also say.
I usually prefer shortening it to "game" however.

 

[Alexander1970]

Computer Spiele - Computer Games.

But maybe it has to do with which Type "Games" you are grown up.....
I am pretty sure,if my first Device would have been a Video Console,I would prefer Video Games.
(I remember my PlayStation/PSX Time,I often said Video Games..)

 

[Mythical]

Video games since not all games are on pc

 

[FAST6191]

Video was a vhs tape and never associated with games!! True where I grew up!

There were a few. Often versions of board games. I recall a copy of trivial pursuit being done as such.

 

[nero99]

I call them video games. My reason is because you are technically playing a video where you input controls to move the character. Also because I once put a xbox 360 game in a dvd drive and it played like a video for 30 seconds before stopping.

 

[Ryccardo]

Video game, exactly because most of them aren't played on (the common man's definition of) "computer", not even when the C64 was the leading gaming platform

(the pedantic-sounding wording in Italian is "electronic games")

 

[AmandaRose]

Computer games is the only acceptable answer

 

[Coolsonickirby]

The only ones I've heard calling Video Games "Computer Games" were old people. Everyone else around me always called em "Video Games".

 

[Crazynoob458]

games just games

 

[Lostbhoy]

There were a few. Often versions of board games. I recall a copy of trivial pursuit being done as such.

True, Atmosfear was another but then again.... You didn't 'play' the video, it was just a pre recorded accompaniment to a board game!

And to all the video gamers, you are not playing the video, you are playing computerised sprites located in a computerised console.




So there

It is whatever it was when you grewd up i guess! I'm waiting on someone calling them something completely new and different from either term.

 

[Taleweaver]

In Dutch I call 'em "computerspelletjes" which would translate to computer games (yes, even console games are "computerspelletjes").

However, in English I've always read it as video games, so that's what I use. ' computer games' is just the subgroup for games on an actual computer.

... Kind of funny that I've never noticed this before.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

Video games, though I also quite like the Japanese way of calling them "TV Games", which makes even more sense to me than the video game name I've grown accustomed to in a lot of ways.

 

[Alexander1970]

Computer Spiele - Computer Games.

The only ones I've heard calling Video Games "Computer Games" were old people. Everyone else around me always called em "Video Games".

Thank you.

 

[SG854]

Video Computer Games Entertainment

 

[MockyLock]

In France we call them rather Videogames. Computer games would stand for games on computer (logical...)
The term "Videogames" has been the successor of "Electronic games", back in the time of LCD games.

 

[JoeBloggs777]

Well why not both, from the legendary UK CVG magazine, first cover back in 1981 !

 

[FAST6191]

I must admit this computer games = PC games distinction is an unexpected twist in this, and not one I really expected or had heard made before. I had heard a few Americans (usually older ones that might otherwise say playing Nintendo, or if doing pronunciation then Nintendah, or playing Sega saying games on computer but I would not have considered them as making such a distinction).

Do also have to point out there are plenty of games played by audio if people are obsessing over "video" a key concept. Choice piece of DS homebrew at this point
https://www.projectaon.org/staff/jens/

However, in English I've always read it as video games, so that's what I use. ' computer games' is just the subgroup for games on an actual computer.

Are consoles not specialised computers? Also what do you term things like the C64, spectrum, BBC micro, Amiga (maybe, though they often had monitors) and all those things with a full keyboard, option to run stuff in BASIC (or user code in general) and TV out that 95% of their audience would have used extensively (maybe even exclusively) to play games, and otherwise represent a fundamental and otherwise hard to understate position in the history of this computer game lark?


That said JoeBloggs777 seems to have introduced a further distinction and I guess now we have to contemplate arcade games.

In France we call them rather Videogames. Computer games would stand for games on computer (logical...)
The term "Videogames" has been the successor of "Electronic games", back in the time of LCD games.

Do you play on a game console or jouer sur votre ordinateur even in such cases?

Still also waiting to hear from some Australians, Kiwis, Canadians and the like.