She later recanted her statements, revealing “Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it’s like pornography.” Additionally she added that after seeing the game played for about 2.5 hours, regretted ever making her comments. Keighley for his part defended the game admirably, pointing out the brief sexual encounter revealed “the side of an alien boob” and was “about 2 minutes out of a 30-hour experience.”

Although targets in the past like “Mortal Kombat”, “Grand Theft Auto”, “Bully”, and “Manhunt” (the last 3 published by maverick pop-cult favorite–RockStar Games) may have been easy pickings due to their visceral depictions of violence or wayward sexuality, “Mass Effect” is a modern day soap opera, set in a fictional universe akin to “Star Wars” or “FireFly”. And in no way could, or should be held up as an example of degenerate trash.

The story which aired on Fox News not only misrepresented the game and it’s content but also seemed to go out of it’s way to tarnish video games as a whole, with a round table discussion after the initial debate piece where clearly uneducated individuals weighed in with their opinions on not only the game itself, which none of them had actually ever played, but about various topics related to the industry.

For example, one woman on the program wanted to know why this game “…didn’t get an adults only rating….?” and then went on to state that the ESRB, “…needs to have it’s head examined”, insinuating that there needs to be stricter controls put in place to restrict the access kids have to mature games. She then went on to state that this all “made her feel old.” Another example had one of the commentators pressing the point, “Who can argue that Luke Skywalker meets Debbie does Dallas is a good thing? It’s just not.” Is this what passes as intelligent debate in this country nowadays?

Given Fox News’ history, I suspect intelligent debate was not really their objective, but what was the point? To smear a beautiful game for the sake of it? Ratings? Boredom? Or is something much more sinister afoot? And why does it seem that every time the video game industry is covered in the mainstream press there is convolution, distortion and a disturbing lack of responsibility.

In a time when so much reporting is required to be transparent, somehow video games are not deserving of the same respect that other entertainment industry’s receive.

However, money talks and one can only hope that attitudes will change over time. As reported a little over a week ago, the ESA has formed a political action committee in an attempt to gain some footing with the people who most directly effect change: lawmakers. But that is municipal. The people who effect people’s opinions oftentimes are not necessarily the people in Washington, but rather the producers of news conglomerates in Hollywood, New York City, and the countless staff of newspapers throughout the country. And they have a a duty to the masses to be fair and balanced in their coverage.

Why exactly video games are being held up to a different standard is another important question that demands attention. Why is “Mass Effect”, “Call of Duty 4″, or “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” viewed any differently than movies like “Star Wars”, “Saving Private Ryan”, or “Scarface”? The corollary seems obvious to gamers, but to the average person who has not played these games there is a difference.