We’d like to introduce the 2 Player Spotlight which will be a regular feature on the site. We will be bringing you interviews featuring all types of gaming couples including married, dating, and those that are just friends. We thought a great place to start would be with us!
If you would like to be featured in the 2 Player Spotlight, email us at 2player@marriedwithvideogames.com.
Names: Norman Major III & April Carlson
Status: Married (to each other) since 11/19/2006; together since April 2000.
Which one of you games: Both of us!!
How often do you game?
Norm: A lot but not as much as you might think. I go through phases where I play games for extended periods of time, but I can also go a while without playing a single game.
April: I game every chance I get…either by myself, with Norm, or with a friend online.
Do you prefer to play online multiplayer or locally?
Norm: Locally. I prefer the in-person interaction and knowing the person that I am playing with and their skill level.
April: Generally, when I play a game with someone I prefer that we play locally. There’s nothing like playing a game with a friend and being in the same room together. If I do play online, I generally do so with people that I know, either in person or via the Internet. I rarely just jump into an online match but I do on occasion. I guess I’m old school that way, I just prefer to play with people that I know. I have participated in game nights, like the Gears of War 2 night with Gaming Angels, and that was a lot of fun and I played with a lot of good gamers – good shots and good sports.
Do you prefer competitive or cooperative multiplayer?
Norm: Co-operative, although a good Halo deathmatch is always in order.
April: I generally prefer cooperative play. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy competition. I actually prefer competitive co-op – where you play the game as a team but I’ll generally try to get a lot of the pick-ups or money and achievements, of course. Most co-op games now share gold and items with the other teammates so it’s less competitive now, but with games like Gauntlet Dark Legacy or Baldur’s Gate…watch out…I will so totally steal all the gold and items I can find. I do, of course, share, if the game allows for it (like in Baldur’s Gate.)
Favorite game to play with others:
Norm: Probably Rock Band.
April: I guess I’d have to say Halo 3. I mean it’s the game that Norm and I along with our friend, Bob, play together on a regular basis. We have our own custom Slayer match set up and we sit and kick each other’s asses for several hours at a time, at least once a month or so. Oh yah, and of course, Rock Band.
Favorite game to play with each other:
Norm: I like the Halo series and Resident Evil 5, also Mario Kart is a blast, although we haven’t played that very often. But I would have to say my favorite has been The Beatles Rock Band.
April: Hmmmmm….that depends…we actually play a lot of games together. If it has a co-op mode, we’ve probably played it at least once. If I had to choose just one, it would be Rock Band (and that’s really a ton of games, since I will lump all the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games into that). That’s probably the most consistent game we currently play together. Runner ups would be Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2, House of the Dead (Wii and standard arcade versions), Resident Evil 5, and all the Halo games. What can I say, we like to play together.
Currently playing:
Norm: Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Halo: Combat Evolved, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Price of Persia (360).
April: Right now I’m playing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3) & Borderlands (360). My fallback game for the last year has been Fallout 3, although, I just completed the main quest of the game. I will also play Fable 2 on occasion.
Do you consider yourself to be a hardcore or a casual gamer?
Norm: A little bit of both. It depends on the day that you catch me and if that makes me a casual gamer, so be it. But we own more games than most people will ever own in a lifetime and it that makes me hardcore, so be it.
April: The definition of Hardcore vs. Casual has been and always will be a debate amongst gamers forever. Everyone really has their own definition of hardcore and casual. I would put myself in the Hardcore category since I pretty much live, eat, and breathe games. Together, Norm and I have over 20 game systems – all of which are hooked up and ready to play. I give almost every genre a try, even if I am not a fan. I recently opened up to strategy games and I’m dabbling in the sports genre. Not ready to make that commitment but if a game is worth playing, I’ll try it out regardless of genre.
What do you like about gaming with April?
I love gaming and I love April and I love that I can put the two of them together. Not a lot of husbands get to do that, so I don’t take it for granted.
What do you like about gaming with Norm?
I like being able to share something that I really love with Norm. He loves it too which makes it that much better. If I had to name one thing, it would be that he never LETS me win. When I beat him at something, I know it’s because I was just better and not because he went easy on me. That’s very satisfying. I return the gesture and never go easy on him. If I lose, I occasionally will say it was because I let him win…but only because it makes him mad. It’s all just a part of my strategy. 
What DON’T you like about gaming with April?
I guess if I had to choose something, it would be when she’s in the mood to play a game and I’m not. Also, she’s way better than me at trivia so trivia games can be frustrating at times.
What DON’T you like about gaming with Norm?
Hmmmm…there are a couple of them. He can get really frustrated especially if the point spread is ridiculous, like it tends to be in trivia types of games. I’m sorry, but I kick righteous ASS in most trivia games and that really makes him pissy and I don’t enjoy those moments. (In his defense, I can get a little cocky…so I guess it evens out.) The other thing I hate is when I am having a hard time with a portion of a game – stuck or can’t execute a combo or something like that – and he says, can I try? NO. No you can’t try. I hate that…mostly because when I get frustrated I can’t really function and if he were to get it on the first try, I would explode.
What has been your most memorable gaming experience?
Norm: Playing Super Metroid for the first time, staying up all night with my best friend, Rich.
April: Hmmm…most memorable? Probably the first Valentine’s Day and playing Perfect Dark on the N64. Runner up to that would have to be when we were in San Francisco for our honeymoon. We got married on the Wii’s release date and even had the Wii set up at our wedding. We took it with us on our honeymoon and we had to get an adapter for it to play it on the hotel’s TV. We were staying in Japantown and decided to take the bus. When the bus stopped and people were getting off, someone pushed an old man out and he fell out of the bus, hitting his head on the concrete. I was appalled that people just kept on going. The bus driver called for an ambulance and we decided to wait until the ambulance arrived. The man didn’t speak English and he hit his head really hard – I heard it. We waited, along with the bus driver – who routed people to the next bus. When the ambulance finally arrived and took the man away, we were ready to go and the bus driver asked us where we were headed. We boarded the bus and got a private bus ride to Powell Street, free of charge! We found a Radio Shack, found our adapter, got lunch, and headed back to the hotel to play some new Zelda. That was pretty memorable!
What has been your most frustrating experience?
Norm: A particular game of You Don’t Know Jack where I was losing so badly that April couldn’t help but to really rub it in to the point where I had to stop playing.
April: I have a lot of those (mostly due to game mechanics, though)! I guess my frustrating experiences would be when people think I can’t play or don’t know anything about games because I’m a female. It doesn’t happen often – I get more shocked reactions from people now. But most people that know me, know that I LOVE gaming.
Who is the better gamer and why?
Norm: I am but it’s getting closer everyday. I’ve been playing video games religiously since I received the Intellivision and so my skills are a bit more honed at this point. But that could change, we’ll see.
April: That’s a tough one…well…I guess technically, Norm is. If I had to answer this question five years ago, the answer would definitely be Norm. But in the last few years, I’ve definitely improved in my gaming abilities. I’ve been able to go back and play games that I originally had a lot of trouble with and get through them a lot easier.
Norm generally excels in a game over time while I generally pick up games a lot quicker. In the long run, Norm will come out ahead of me. That’s not in all games but in a lot of them. I’ve gotten a lot better and keep on getting better….so it’s only a matter of time! I remember there was a time when I thought I’d never be able to play Guitar Hero/Rock Band on Expert…and now that’s generally all I play. If I stick with it, I generally do better. It’s not always so competitive though…we’ll shit talk each other but I still think that we have evened out in the last few years or so. It a much more even playing field these days. I pwn him playing Target Fun on the Atari 2600 though! 
What is your system of choice and why?
Norm: If we’re talking overall, I would pick the N64 because some of the greatest games in my opinion were created for this system, such as Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Rogue Squadron, etc. If we are talking current gen, I would have to say the Wii. I enjoy the motion controls but most importantly, it’s the Nintendo brand of games and their philosophy of gaming that I’m tuned into.
April: Definitely the 360. I think that it’s the all around best console in terms of ease of use and accessibility. This is made obvious by Netflix the upcoming Facebook and Twitter updates coming this month to XBL. I have a lot of trouble keeping my PS3 connected to the Internet – I’m sure that’s not the PS3′s fault necessarily, but it’s pretty frustrating. I think that the 360′s Achievement system is also the most cohesive. I don’t care what any gamer says, but most of us judge other gamers based on their gamer score and that’s directly from the 360. I still enjoy the PS3 and the Wii but I spent most of my time with my Xbox.
Favorite game of all time?
Norm: Super Metroid.
April: Honestly, I hate this question. LOL. Hate it. I generally don’t have ONE favorite as opposed to a top five or ten favorites. I can narrow it down to two games. The first, I’d have to say is Pac Man – the Atari 2600 version. It was one of the first video games that I played ever and it has always stuck with me. I remember playing the game for hours at a time when I was a kid. My second favorite game is Spy Hunter. If there was a Spy Hunter machine in the room, you’d had better make way for the 8 year old me. I played the crap out of that game. My parents used to put on dances for teens in the summer when we lived in Arizona and they had an arcade set up there with – you guessed it – Spy Hunter. My mom was the token keeper so to keep me occupied, she’d give me a handful of tokens and I would sit and play Spy Hunter until I was out. Everyone there knew that if I was on the machine not to bother me. The free tokens I handed out helped keep them away and I even had a boy who would make sure I didn’t get bothered while playing!
What do your Gamertags mean?
Norm: Mine is pretty straightforward. It’s my name and I am a third (Norman Major III), hence the 3.
April: Mine is GMRx2, which stands for Gamer times 2. Originally when we got the 360 we didn’t want to shell out the cash for two Gold memberships. I started playing the 360 more and Norm doesn’t care about achievements so I had him create a Silver membership and I kept GMRx2. I probably should change it but it kind of a sweet tag and I like it. Especially when I tell the story behind it.
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