Anyone a games tester?

piggybankrupt

My 15 year old son has outgrown his paper-round and is desperately trying to find paid work. All shops etc he has approached won't take under 18's so he is struggling to get some extra cash.

As with most boys his age he is usually glued to his Xbox - so I suggested why not try to get work testing games. He loves that idea - no surprise there! but a quick google leaves me with warnings of scams and unsure who to trust and how to go about it.

Could he realistically earn £10-20 per week?

He also has a PS2, Nintendo DS and a PC so could test games for those.

Anyone who's had experience of this your advice would be gratefully received!

westferret

try contacting the companies that make the game eg ea games, rockstar, namco bandai and companies like that and see through them how to apply. Square enix is currently looking for people part time http://www.square-enix.com/eu/en/jobs/

[Deleted User]

I believe that games testing is a rather involved, often tedious and sometimes difficult job.

I've done software testing, so that doesn't surprise me

Sorry!

custardy

having read up on this years ago.
its a hugely tedious job requiring many hours playing the same game and often the same level over and over again.
loads of writing up on faults etc.
plus it maybe the type of game you hate.
i think many do it as a stepping stone into the games industry.

if i was you i would buy a copy of edge magazine and start emailing the software companys in the jobs sections

weegie.geek

There's a company called Centercode that I've beta tested hardware with. I think they do software too.

I think most companies go through beta testing companies like AQ or Testronic, so he'd be better contacting them. I fear he'll be too young though. What are the legal implications of a 15yo signing an NDA?

custardy

lol weedgie.geek

cool username even if your from the wrong side of scotland

Blacksheep1979

I doubt very much any proper software house will take him on and as others have said it would be more than a couple of hours a week they would be wanting and it's very very very different from just playing a game.

piggybankrupt

Thanks for all your replies folks - had a feeling it would be a bit too good to be true.....

Jakejakejake

OT but has he tried supermarket work?

Ice_2

gamestation game hmv take on staff for saturday work I assume he would be old enough for this......also they ask there staff to test the games before they release them on the due date and then say what they think of it good or bad...my son's friend works in gamestation and he always has the latest game afew days before the release date as he is a tester as well as a salesperson...you could try these...:D

uktyler

Some friends of mine are beta testers for Sony, on the PS2, and now on the PS3. They don't get paid, but do get free games before they are released on the market. They haven't reported many faults, as they did not find many faults ib the games, and there is no limit to how much, or how little, you play each game.

Not profitable, but they have a big game collection for nothing.