Obama talks about videogames….again |
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| BY Jason Townsend-Rogers Jun. 27th, 2009 | More on: |
Even though I proudly voted for Barack Obama, and can even reminisce with pride the time that I recorded his inauguration speech, his constant admonitions against videogames are really giving me a reason to dislike him.
You would think that someone who used the medium as a means of advertisement would view it in a more positive light; however, he has since admonished gaming on Father’s Day, in a speech towards the American Medical Association, and in a speech about education. I have begun to question whether he will actually institute game-based legislation like so many other politicians have done in the past.
This latest mention, according to Gamepolitics, took place at the United We Serve event at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. Here he says that parents should encourage their kids to serve once in a while, and on occasion encourage to set aside games and other forms of entertainment.
To be fair, I will say that Obama means well when he makes these comments about games; after all, he did buy a Wii for his girls for Christmas. However, these mentions of games in a lesser light do not help his image toward gamers, especially considering the fact that most of us are getting older.
June 28th, 2009
at 4:36 am
Umm, he doesn’t say anything negative about video games. He just asks parents to have their kids volunteer once in awhile.
June 28th, 2009
at 6:30 am
It’s a fair comment.
June 28th, 2009
at 6:33 am
I know that he doesn’t say anything negative about games; hence the aside mentioned at the bottom of the article. The point I was making is that all these times that he is singling out games is becoming tiresome. Frankly, I saw no point to him mentioning games at the American Medical Association speech.
June 28th, 2009
at 8:33 am
Well, he’s saying they’re tiresome in the context of general entertainment. Not even… “tiresome” per se but costly in terms of opportunity cost. And he’s absolutely right. I respect games as a fledgling art form, but 90% of them are designed to consume your free time, not to better the world or expand your appreciation of it. Hate the burst your bubble there.
June 28th, 2009
at 9:37 am
Point taken….though that same argument can be made of most movies, television shows and music as well. I would wager that 75 percent of entertainment exists as just that, “entertainment,” a means to escape when reality bites.
As I said before, Obama makes a lot of sense, but this singling out of games, I think, is pretty pointless
June 28th, 2009
at 12:42 pm
Did you actually READ the quote? He said sports camps, watching TV and THEN video games. You can’t be singling something out when when you’re mentioning it amongst a list of things that wastes people’s time.
Though sports camps do get kids in shape.
June 28th, 2009
at 2:52 pm
If he’s referring to just video games then I can understand, but if he means in films, tv and games are taking up too much of kids time then he’s bang on right. Don’t get me wrong - I play games a fair bit and I love my movies, but I’m out playing sports or something more active at least every other day…with real people. A lot of kids and young teens I know spend waaay too much time with their avatars.
June 28th, 2009
at 4:20 pm
he knows like all of us here , that hugely overweight lvl 200 up wow gamers exist, i know plenty.
i play ALOT of games , i know its not the best thing i could do with my time so thers no point defending it as worthy of the huge amount of time it actually takes from my life.
but im no lvl 200 24/7 365 …..what day is it again.
but they exist, lets not deny it.