UK government: There is more to life than video games
Shaun Woodward, the UK's Creative Industries and Tourism minister, wants the game industry to help curtail the amount of time kids spend playing games. Which is more than a bit ironic considering he took no such umbrage last month, telling a crowd assembled for the announcement of the BAFTA video game awards, "Video games are a huge part of the creative industries in the UK and deserve full recognition for their vital role in our economy. The huge diversity of games, from entertainment to education, put them at the centre of culture in Britain."He's being a bit equivocal, last month heaping loads of praise on the same industry he's wagging his finger at this week, but he's far better than opportunistic American politicians who would rather play the parental role for you. Woodward goes on to say, "We want to help parents have the facts to help them in their parenting, and we want games to be a responsible part of this mix." So, first he doesn't want children to play games, now he wants games to help people be better parents? Make up your mind, man!
Woodward advocates that parents should be the ones raising their kids, not the government, which is a stance we can fully support. If your kid is locked in his room playing World of Warcraft for twelve hours a day, you need to be a better parent instead of waiting for men in black suits to show up and take his paladin away. Don't let a television or a joystick raise your kid, either hire an au pair or roll up your sleeves and get involved.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
V. Watermelon @ Oct 6th 2006 5:33PM
It's not that odd that he at one moment says that video games are a positive thing and then changes his mind.
My experience with politicions is that American ones stick to their story to the bitter end, while british ones change their mind depending on the opinions of those around them.
Vince @ Oct 6th 2006 5:35PM
Kids shouldn't spend all their time playing video games, that's common sense.
As long as the debate isn't about the risk to children form playing 18 rated games then there's nothing to worry about.
But is it the thin end?
Daniel Beruvides @ Oct 6th 2006 5:38PM
There is more to life than videogames? Rubbish
Lets see I rather meet a girl that will probably leave me in a few years for someone else. Oh lets not forget to procreate your way to a paycheck to paycheck life with that worthless trick. After that I will give my life to a make believe diety. YES THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN VIDEOGAMES!!! *SIGH*
Denney @ Oct 6th 2006 5:40PM
UK government WHY LIE!! I play games to get out of life
32_Footsteps @ Oct 6th 2006 6:06PM
As I've said before, video gaming is life - the rest are just highly detailed FMVs.
Actually, it's extremely consistent of the guy. He first says, "Video gaming is a huge part of British culture." He then basically follows this up by saying, "Now please stop being so huge."
Stupid, yes. But still consistent.
imsoclever @ Oct 6th 2006 7:12PM
"Lets see I rather meet a girl that will probably leave me in a few years for someone else. Oh lets not forget to procreate your way to a paycheck to paycheck life with that worthless trick. After that I will give my life to a make believe diety. YES THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN VIDEOGAMES!!! *SIGH*"
Maybe theres nothing more to your life than videogames, and judging by your attitude, that doesn't really surprise me.
You can always tell who has a gaming problem by their level of defensiveness.
Ragnarokender @ Oct 6th 2006 7:15PM
Does the guy even play video games?
H-QB @ Oct 6th 2006 7:22PM
Indeed, the amount of defenisiveness and "Well the world is a big bad place im going to escape into the realm of fiction like Peter Pan" ... is directly proportional to how much time they spend playing videogames
..Its a sad sad truth.
At the same time, when you play so much videogames, and usually alone, or better yet with complete strangers (didnt your mothers tell you not to talk to strangers?) ... you develop fairly poor social skills.
Also seen in today's society, children/young adults to me (im only TWENTEEN
H-QB @ Oct 6th 2006 7:26PM
BLARGH, got cut off...
"Also seen in today's society, children/young adults to me (im only tweenteen)..."
... Seem to be awfully rude and have zero clue on how to act appropriately to other people in public. This is probably bad parenting though and thats another can of worms. Not to say that the kids themselves are blameless, but if they realize they can be a better person they should do so and improve themselves instead of looking like a bunch of low-class slack-jaw whoreish gawkers.
Yeah, im a bit aristocratic in the way i conduct myself but at least i dont act like trash.
otakucode @ Oct 6th 2006 8:40PM
H-QB: I disagree that participation in online communities (what you refer to as 'playing with strangers') necessarily results in poor social skill development. It is quite possible to develop excellent social skills from online communities. If you took as much notice of every person who does not cause a ruckus online as you do take notice of ever person that does cause a ruckus, I am sure you would come to the same conclusion.
The argument "There is more to life than videogames" is the same as "There is more to life than books", "There is more to life than sex", "There is more to life than drugs" and any other "There is more to life than X" where X is something that is pleasurable to do. Variety is the spice of life. Everyone knows this. And politicians and parents who see a kid playing games 4 hours every night and filling their weekends with it ignore all the other things the kids do. I was an extremely heavy online game player on a MUD from ages 12 to 18. If you asked my parents, they would tell you that it was all I did. But during that time, I got decent grades, had friends whom I did things with, read a huge amount of books, classics like Plato's "The Republic" and stuff by Nietzsche, and formed a personal philosophy about life and the universe. I taught myself programming, taught myself PC troubleshooting and repair, taught myself trigonometry before it was taught in school, and much, much more.
Just because you take special notice of every time you see a kid playing a game and ignore when they do anything else does not mean the kid plays too many games, it means your perspective is flawed. If the kid truly does not involve himself/herself in other interests, yes, then it is time to take action as a PARENT, not as an industry and most certainly not as a government.
blast flame @ Oct 7th 2006 2:25AM
They have a point. For a kid to have a full life they must also go on the internet.
Xavier Gill @ Oct 7th 2006 3:28AM
"My experience with politicions is that...british ones change their mind depending on the opinions of those around them."
Well seeing as its the job of a "politicion" to represent the views of people who elect them, then surley thats a good thing.
jack thompson @ Oct 7th 2006 2:29PM
John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
October 7, 2006
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. Via Fax
Re: This Tuesday’s Presidential School Violence Summit
Dear Mr. President:
I appreciate very much your invitation to me to attend your School Violence Summit. I represented the families of the three Paducah, Kentucky, school girls shot and killed by a 14-year-old boy on December 1, 1997. The day after we filed a federal lawsuit identifying the violent video game on which he trained to kill them, I unfortunately predicted “Columbine” on NBC’s Today show, which occurred one week later, even identifying the video game on which Klebold and Harris trained for their massacre.
Scientific, medical, and law enforcement experts have repeatedly identified the immersion of school shooters in violent video games as a factor common to many of these tragedies. The American Psychological Association has linked violent video game play to increased teen aggression. Juveniles process these violent murder simulations in a different part of the brain than do adultsas MRI studies at Harvard show.
Mr. President, there are three things you can do right now to thwart school shootings:
1. Announce your support of a federal law that prohibits the sale of Mature-rated violent video games to children.
2. Join the Miami-Dade School system—the nation’s fourth largest—whose Board months ago asked Take-Two, the makers of the Grand Theft Auto games linked to numerous killings by teens, inside schools and out—by condemning the October 17 release of Take-Two’s Bully—a Columbine simulation game. I am in a courtroom in Miami the day after your Summit trying to stop its sale to children.
3. Direct the Republican National Committee to give back to Take-Two’s registered lobbyist in the US House and Senate—the Philadelphia lobbyist/law firm of Blank Rome—their huge “bundled” campaign contributions. Blank Rome has given more money to the RNC than any other lobbyist/law firm in the world. This is blood money from the lobbyist for the very games that have trained more school killers than any other.
Respectfully, Jack Thompson
Merus @ Oct 7th 2006 8:06PM
Mr. President:
Also, could you do something about the odious public school system in the US? It's like Lord of the Flies, honestly. Terrible compared to your friends in the UK and Australia.
I'm all for parents being responsible for their children, and I consider myself realistic in my view that if kids don't get this stuff from games they'll get it from somewhere else. Who will be the next Columbine instigator? The Decemberists? Heroes? Taxi Driver? Or can we stop the little psychopaths before they become impressionable?
Cause I think that'd be worthwhile.
Merus @ Oct 7th 2006 8:29PM
Also!
Considering the amount of hammering the video game industry is getting by lawmakers, I don't think those campaign contributions are working. I mean, it's not like it's Disney, with their billions of dollars invested into making sure Steamboat Willie doesn't fall into public domain, or the Christian churches, trying to close the seperation between church and state via donations. Some very odious things go on through donations, so long as you have enough money, and you'd think that the law firm contributing the most out of any 'lobbyist/law firm' would be getting better results for their gladhanding.
Not that I'm trying to cast dispersions on the accuracy of our lawyer friend's letter, quite the reverse. I just think it's odd.