ECA Calling On Gamers to Write President Obama

As a gamer AND a developer I applaud what Obama said and disapprove of the ECA here. Sure games promote fitness and many other positive things but this isn't true with the majority of games or gamers and the ECA is evangelizing something that represents a relative minority in the overall gaming world . Sure Television promotes positive things in the form of documentaries and such but we aren't going to jump over anyone who says we need to watch less television because we know that the vast majority of Americans watching 6 hours of TV per day aren't sitting and watching the nature channel. In the same way the vast majority of gamers aren't playing 6 straight hours of Wii Fit or DDR, they are sitting down on their PC's, Xboxs, PS3 and Wii getting fat and diabetic. As much as we want to grab on to this new beacon of light called the Wii and suddenly say that Video games are wonderful and healthy, dismissing the past 30 years, we know that's just a cheap cop out for the real truth of the matter than anyone who is playing 6-8 hours of games per day are statistically much less healthy than someone spending 4 our of that 6 hours outside or doing one of the things Obama recommended. Someone playing 6-8 hours of games per day, our hardcore audience, is not your average Wii Fit user, and that is who Obama is addressing here.

Games are entertainment first and foremost, we all need to be entertained, we all need to put our brains on hold and have a brief respite from the stresses of our lives. What Obama is seeing, which is 100% truth is that Games are taking over television in that people play them at the expense of reading books, playing sports, having real social interactions, and spending quality time with friends and loved ones. All things which are pillars to a functioning and healthy society. A president is coming out and calling on changes to be made that will make american society a better place, with less obesity, less social dysfunction and stronger families who spend more quality time together and ECA wants us to 'Stand up' to this? To push back against this? Give me a break and shame on the bloody ECA for falling in line with their wallets instead of their brains and comparing Obama to Jack Thompson.

@unconnected, I agree with the general premise that Obama is pushing. Americans sit around with various entertainment and don't get enough exercise. A combination of games, internet, TV, DVDs, etc have contributed to child obesity. It's kinda sad that a lot of kids these days need to be told to "go outside and play" because they're in front of screens all the time.

The problem I have with Obama, and I think what ECA is saying, is that he's continually using video games as THE example of this problem. It seems like games are getting singled out. Anyway, I can't speak for the ECA or Hal Halpin, but I don't think ECA is really wrong here. Also, ECA is a non-profit org, so I would hope this has nothing to do with their wallets.

I guess i'm out since I fit the description and I only see it fit to change one of them.

In my position I'm not going to waste time apposing Obama's supposed reasoning for a few reasons but I can't say I care. I've found faults with both sides.

@unconnected, I respectfully disagree with you, and think you are missing the ECA's point (which kind of frustrates me, since you are a developer yourself). What the ECA is fighting is the stereotype of gamers as being "lazy, unhealthy, antisocial zombies," which is exceptionally unfair and personally offensive. People, especially politicians when they wave games around like the last testament of America's moral decline, are assigning blame to a problem where it's easily related to by the vast majority of concerned adults and/or non-gamers. I do not discount (and, I suspect, neither does the ECA) that video games, taken in excess, can be an unhealthy activity, but when they are pigeonholed into that role is when it becomes both unfair and blatantly wrong.

You claim that a game's role is to "entertain" and that it allows you to "put your brain on hold." While I don't completely disagree with you, I think you are missing the other faces of what games can provide us (which, as I said, I find a little ironic coming from a developer). Games can teach, enlighten, inform, and immerse the brain in an interactive narrative, that I would argue is better than all other forms of "entertainment" when done correctly. It can be a truly powerful agent for the imagination, and one that gives audiences something no other medium can—the ability to personally augment reality as they become part of the story. It’s an exciting industry and one I respect immensely. That is what the ECA is arguing for, not that games should be held on a pedestal, but that they should get the respect they deserve and not be a punching bag for every party that wants an easy scapegoat.

I am a developer and I play games, and I I agree pretty much completely with unconnected.

@biggitio: Personally, I think you should be pleased that unconnected is a developer who perceives these problems. It means he can take steps to develop games that will go against these stereotypes, hopefully helping move the industry in a direction that negates the stereotype.

However, there are the gamers who play 4+ hours of games a day, and while it can be argued that games CAN have benefits, I doubt that the majority of gamers are spending those 4+ hours playing Wii Fit, DDR, and edutainment games. Most games that 'serious gamers' play rely on learning one skill and getting very good at it, and these skills rarely translate into the real world. First Person Shooters are a perfect example of this. These are the games that the game industry takes flack for.

And I'll be honest ... I know a number of people who are gamers who I have seen have less than healthy habits associated with their game playing. This is as a person who plays and makes games. Looking from the outside in, unable to understand the appeal of games, it probably looks even worse.

Doesn't President Obama remember that several EA games ran ads for his campaign last year? You know, to help him get elected? Just saying.

The ECA agrees with President Obama that students need to be physically active and study, and that sitting on a couch all day achieves neither of these objectives. Video games should be a part of balanced set of activities and hobbies.

What our call to action is about is the President’s use of video games as a fall guy. With so many pieces of unconstitutional anti-video game legislation being proposed, it’s easy to see that video games are today’s “whipping boy” and we’re concerned that the President’s comments perpetuate this negative image. This campaign is just one step of many in showing the positive aspects of video games, as there are many.

You can read more about this at the ECA forums, http://forums.theeca.com/showthread.php?p=104242#post104242.

Hope that clears things up.

Brett Schenker
Online Advocacy Manager
the ECA
www.theeca.com