I also struggle with video game time. My DS6 was obsessed with Mario Bros and had all the worlds and galaxies mapped out in his head. He could tell anyone on the street how to get a particular star coin in any level of the game. It got to the point where other kids at school would come up to him on the playground asking how to pass a certain level. I fought the game time at first, but then decided to take advantage of the interest in the game. He now writes his own stories about the Mario characters. Yesterday he wrote a poem- staring Mario! His imaginative play is often focused around Mario, but not always. We have ordered a book from Amazon on drawing Nintendo characters. I'm anticipating hours of enjoyment from this. As for actual time spent with the video game, I found that once I relaxed and let him play the game when he wanted (within reason) and took an interest in learning about it myself he wasn't so obsessed. Also, I think once they complete all levels the quest is over and not as interesting.
His 1st grade teacher was the one who gave me the idea of using the Mario to get him to really be creative with his writing. We are having a lot of fun with it.
