Well, Jack Thompson, the infamous and much hated (http://www.jinx.com/other_swag/other/geek/jack_thompson_toilet_paper.html?catid=1) anti-videogame crusader has made an @$$ out of himself in his most recent appearance on Fox News. (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/176870.html) In it he blames the NIU Shooting on videogames, saying "You can rehearse these types of massacres on simulators which are called videogames, and you can therefore be made more proficient in doing this." In a nutshell, he's calling all videogames murder simulators.
I know there are many violent videogames out there, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2), Manhunt 2 (WII), and even Gears of War (X360). What about games such as Super Mario Galaxy (WII) that offers pure gameplay and enjoyment, Tetris (MOBILE) that stimulates you brain and causes you to think logically, Spore (PC) which lets you experience evolution from the cellular level to spawning galactic empires, or even Madden NFL 08 (X360) which offers a full sports simulation/experience. Of course I could go on and on, but we don't have enough time for that. Videogames are getting so complex and evolving so much that they are even being considered as art (http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/357698.html, http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/artsem.htm, http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=01/11/07/1924218, etc) (I think that we can all use Google.) I know that a lot of videogames now-a-days are mindless hack 'n slashes or shooters, but there are also shooters that are very complex and could definitely be considered art, the best example by far being BioShock (X360), but for Jack Thompson to stereotype all videogames as "murder simulators" is narrow minded and quite frankly, absolutely absurd.
This recent example of Jack Thompson's stupidity only worsens the image of gamers in today's society. It only adds to the stereotype of gamers who are fat, overweight hermits who play Xbox Live 24/7, live in their mothers' basements, have no friends, and remain life-long virgins.
However, Jackie-boy isn't the only culprit. In the past weeks, Fox News has also been host to one of the most un-researched biases towards videogames during it's ""SE"XBOX? - NEW VIDEO GAME SHOWS FULL DIGITAL NUDITY AND SEX" segment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU.), during which author Lawrence Cooper claims that the videogame Mass Effect (X360) features full frontal nudity during graphic sex scenes, when in actuality, the most you see is a butt crack and the side of an alien nipple. I won't ramble on any farther because most of you know what this is all about, but if you don't you can find out more here - http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/2008/01/geoff-keighley-pwns-fox-news-with-1-truth-power.html.
Luckily, Geoff Keighly, host of various http://gametrailers.com/ video segments, was there to back the game, telling the uninformed author and anchors of Fox News on the truths of the game, which include that Mass Effect is an extremely intelligent and sophisticated game, and that the sex scene can only be reached if the story arch goes a certain way. Also, even if you do experience one of these scenes, it is a very tasteful scene such as sex scenes seen on TV. All of these statements are definitely true.
Even though gamers like you and me know that statements made by the likes of Jack Thompson and Lawrence Cooper are complete and utter 
, we only represent an extremely small percentage of the general population. This is the exact reason why I feel embarrassed whenever I admit that I'm a gamer to relatives, fellow students, or newly-found acquaintances, because they'll almost immediately think that I'm some sort of hermit, sociopathic murderer in the making. This whole chain of reactions is disturbing to me, and I don't know why it hasn't been explored more. I'm guessing the reason is that most videogame players don't really care what people think of them. I think that not falling to peer pressure and giving up the things we love because of the fear of others' opinions is admirable and a distinct trait of "gamers" and "geeks" alike, but when our stereotypical image interferes with our daily lives and relationships, something has to be done.
In the end, I'm not trying to sound like a fanboy towards videogames (I'm sorry if I am.) I'm only simply trying to discuss what's on my mind with what's going on currently with the industry. PLEASE comment below. I'm very interested to see what you guys think on the issue.
Comments
Hey, thanks for the compliment.
I totally agree with what you're saying about gamer retaliation. If we fight what Thompson and others are saying, it makes us seem like an even bigger jacka$$ than he is.
I also thought that your comment about running in with dualshocks was funny. How are we supposed to be "simulating murders" if we're using a freakin' gamepad. Comments like that from anti-videogame activists such as Thompson infuriate me. And about Fox News, they need to get their facts straight or the next game that they insult will probably work up the backbone to sue them.
In the end, we somehow need to inform the public about the reality of videogames. Segments like those with Cooper or Jack don't cut it; they make it about a million times worse. We need to show people the joy of playing games and that they can be soothing, realistic, brain-stimulation, spine-tingling, adrenaline pumping, pure joy (ie Mario), etc. It just depends on what kind of experience that you're going for. That is why I think that the Wii is an incredible device. It has games that we can play with our families and that even though they're very casual/basic, they can get us "hardcore gamers" involved as well. I also like the fact that it still has hardcore gaming experience like Mario, Metroid, and Smash that gamers can enjoy with fellow videogame enthusiasts. It is because of those two distinct genres of games on the Wii that I bought the console.
In the end, wide-spread information is the key to showing the public that videogames are not evil, but that there are many different genres to choose from so that you can have the kind of experience that you choose. Hopefully, we can find out some sort of way of doing that soon, or the perception of videogames by the general public may be tainted forever.
Kloud_450
I'm not ashamed of being a gamer, and everyone who knows me knows I am one. If anyone has a problem with that, that's fine. That's their thing. But they're probably only using that kind of judgement because of what they hear in the media about us. And yeah, some of it is Mr. Thompson's fault. I know his crusade pretty well (it's only plastered over a large portion of gaming sites and a few news sources.). But sad to say, our retaliation is only helping to prove his point because some of us are just taking it too far, as well making us all look like violent, illiterate douchebags. But going as far as calling playing video games "Training", that's pretty stupid. How can you train with a controller or a mouse and keyboard? It's like what're we gonna do, run into a high school, bust out a Dual Shock, point it at someone at start mashing the R2 button? That's what it seems like to me anyway.
And as for Fox News.. Don't even get me started on that topic.