Comments on: Does Obama Hate Video Games?

By: TOUCHÉ, BITCHES!. video game criticism, review, news and discussion.

TOUCHÉ, BITCHES!. video game criticism, review, news and discussion. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:22:29 +0000

[...] safe, it’s good that video games aren’t always being given the blanket treatment like we felt Obama was giving them in his recent speech to school kids. It’s a small step for game critics; a giant leap for [...]

By: James

James — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:24:14 +0000

I’m going to sit on the fence here. I think Touché bitch makes some valid point – games should be seen as having intellectual merit like books, a complete rebuttal is (or will be) a dated thing to do — but I agree with John in so far as calling Obama’s words “hateful” is unhelpful.

In any case, I do acknowledge that TB did not actually say that Obama hates games but simply posited it.

Keep up the great work guys!

By: Touché bitch

Touché bitch — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:53:53 +0000

Agreed. And maybe it is overly defensive, but that’s more a reaction to the idea that video games are somehow opposed to books in terms of their intellectual value.

But, at the end of the day, we do encourage you to make up your own mind. Sure, the post is on the extreme side, but it is a blog and not purporting to be news.

By: John

John — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:00:55 +0000

The text of his speech is completely reasonable. It’s obvious that he’s referring to kids who spend hours playing Halo or Grand Theft Auto, and let it cut into their social life and homework.

This post comes across as being overly defensive. It is a fact that it’s easy for kids to become addicted to and waste their time playing insubstantial games. What Obama has addressed in his speech is a reality that needs to be addressed by parents.

I grew up with videogames, I’m able to distinguish between pulp and quality, and I understand how much time a child should spend playing them. When I’m a parent I’ll make sure my children don’t waste all of their time on Gears of War 7 or whatever is popular at the time, just like I won’t let them spend all of their time watching trashy shows on TV. If they do have an interest in games, I’ll make a point to introduce them to good age-appropriate games. But right now most parent’s don’t understand games, so aren’t able to expose their kids to the good and “nourishing” ones.

When someone suggests that kids should stop playing games and spend more time with homework, then claiming that person “hates videogames” is hardly constructive. What you’re defending is the children who spend their lives shouting obscenities over headsets. What should be done is a movement within gaming culture to promote games appropriate for children, so that way the game-illiterate public won’t have any reason to “hate videogames.”