Well, I see politicians as under-achievers, so we're even.

but look at all the achievements we unlock in our many 360 games :[

we dont underachieve :[

He is the anti-christ right?

All work and no play makes politicians happy. Well, so long as _they_ can keep playing. Nobody else though, oh no. Worker ants need to work harder, though.

Well if most kids weren't a bunch of retards then I would disagree.

You got it all wrong, he's saying parents should stop playing video games. =)

Don't do this to me, Barack. Do not do it.

And when the hell did TV become the preferred activity over video games?

"You can't sit in front of the TV playing games all day! You can sit in front of the TV doing nothing, though. That's cool."

So if he becomes president, will he be bashing us on a constant basis?

I see Obama as Ineffectual, and impotent, as a leader.

/groan

he's wrong, he needs to look at my gamer score and see all the achievements unlocked.

:P

I think what he is trying to say is for parents to get more involved in their kids life. While I love my time playing video games, as do all of us, we could all stand to put the controller down and go outside, get some exercise and do other stuff.

I'm hoping that is the angle he is trying to take. The whole get your kids more active and not just sitting there kind of thing.

TheAngryHeretic

The audacity of stereo-typing.

At least he's not trying to put a stranglehold on video games like Clinton. Sure, he's telling parents to get their kids more active and healthy, but he's not saying that violent video games should be banned or anything. He still has my support.

To be fair, he also implies people who watch TV as under-achievers as well, so I think it's more he's just saying "get your butt off the couch" moreso than "video games are pure evil".

He can say that all he wants. I dust don't want to be forced to put away my games. It's my life to waste should that be my desire.

@MOONSHADOW101: Haha that was funny.

I just love that some older people like politicians can't see that is is the sma ething as vegging out in front of the TV that it is a hobby not an obsession for most. On another note my man Chuck Norris is outa the race

Can't argue with him, I'm 24 and I'm graduating two years late because of MMORPGs. Glad I've learned to better balance myself now.

I don't think he's attacking video games in and of themselves. More like he's attacking the sedentary and mind-numbing lifestyle of a childhood riddled with nothing but television and video games.

Which is something I can agree with.

i dont see gamers as underachievers i have a friend who is still play twilight princess because he has to see and get absolutely everything. we arent underachievers, we're overachievers in our little virtual worlds.

He's blaming TV as much as games. And taking from the fact that most americans nowadays would rather sit in front of the TV and play games instead of doing something useful, I'd say he's right.

He's not badmouthing games or gamers, he's badmouthing laziness. He's saying that if things have to change, people better be ready to get their fat asses out of their comfy couches and DO SOMETHING.

Stop taking every single quote with the words "video games" in it so damn seriously, and start having some common sense, alright?

Hrmmmz, thats a bit of a shame. As an inhabitant of the UK, Obama looked to be somewhat of a shining star in a presidential election that was otherwise a cavalcade of mediocrity. To see him jump upon a bandwagon that is already full to bursting is a dissapointment.

There IS an issue with children spending way too much time in front of screens these days, thats a fact. Whats so wrong with pointing out the problem? He didnt say anything negative about games, just the parents who allow their children to be lazy.

"and jumping on the bandwagon, proliferating the popular sentiment that 'video games are evil.'"

That really is what's happening. It's just an easy thing to say that people will buy into. Just like Terrorism used to be an instant "throw-your-support" hot-word. People don't truly even listen to what politicians say, choosing to naively believe that politicians never lie or manipulate what they say. Sad, really.

Honestly, I think you are taking his statements out of context and making it sound like "people who play videogames are losers". What Obama is true, sometimes certain individuals tend to put too much attention on things that are not helping them to progress in life. i.e. There are people who spend a significant time on the phone, watching TV, Internet, videogame, listening to music who are neglecting the more important factors of life. None of these morally wrong to do, but life must be about balance.

Obama speaks well and has charisma but has nothing concrete to say about what he'll do as President. His whole shtick is about "HOPE" and "CHANGE" and vice versa. Also one has to add "AUDACITY" with those two to complete the trifecta. Plus, his supporters have gotten to the point that they'll readily partake in grape kool-aid drink session if he asked it of them.

@sly_madman: er, he's telling parents to teach their kids, not keep them healthy. My bad. Perhaps if I didn't play video games, I'd be smart enough to read the quote.

Wow the politicians are so right...Im in college, and work 4 times a week..but I love videogames so I guess im an underachiever.

Obama's comment hardly strikes me as a big deal. All he's saying is kids need to focus on education and parents should encourage that and not be lazy by letting kids watch tv or play games all the time. Compared to the things McCain or Hillary have said about videogames, this is less than nothing.

@Robotube: Ah, all so very true. I was quite excited he won the state last night, but when I read this... well... let's just hope he spins this a bit more positively.

Fucking Kotaku, I knew this thread would be a bunch of reactionary crying. What he says is largely true.

@Robotube: Um, it didn't. If you read the speech quote, he does in fact mention turning off television first.
I think he's just generally bringing up a "work before play" ethic thing, which is understandable. Had he said "turn on your TVs but leave those videogames locked away", I could understand what this furor was about.

Poor journalism that's all.

No politician will ever have anything good to say about video games.

Meh, I look forward to the future when every older-game-hating-person of today is dead or whatever and gamers can live a more peaceful life.

@Queasy:
I think it's more a statement that parents need to stop using TVs and games to raise their kids for them. And yes, that is a growing problem these days.

You can put your kid in the back of the van, turn on a DVD...and not hear from them for the rest of the trip (they've even got headphones)

There's nothing wrong with gaming or television...in moderation. But more and more it's being used by parents as a substitute for human contact.

Judging from the comments in this post, people are willing to withdraw support from Obama thanks to a damn quote taken out of context. Way to show good sense, people. Way to show good sense.

Another in-tune view from a lifer in politics.

Colour me impressed.

@Dakobah: lol that was funny. He should know that video games drive kids to spend $6 on the economy by renting avatar, which then allows them to achieve faster than ever before.

To be fair though. If I didn't spend all my time on video games I could have run for president...

I think I made the right choice!

No offence to weather reporters, but I put being the president and being a weather reporter on the same level. They both stand there with their overly white teeth talking about stuff that they really have no controll over!

Amen!

His statements are general statements of most parents. Get outside, work etc. Not the craziness of Jack Thompson and even Clinton.

I may be an under achiever but at least I salute the flag, unlike some people

+ Watch video

I agree with Barack's statement, parents do need to do a better job of watching what their kids do. Homework first, video games and tv second. Notice he said THE PARENTS!!! not the government or some other organization, BUT THE PARENTS!

@Ashurahori:

/agree

Though all politicians are asshats, but still agree with you.

@ZhouYu:
To see him jump upon a bandwagon that is already full to bursting is a dissapointment.

Except he's been saying it for a while. The bandwagon you're thinking of is the one being driven by Jack Thomson and co-piloted by Hilary "Let's Get That Sticker On Games Too" Clinton.

@Ashurahori:
He's not badmouthing games or gamers, he's badmouthing laziness. He's saying that if things have to change, people better be ready to get their fat asses out of their comfy couches and DO SOMETHING.

Quoted For Truth.

@shwoosh: They obviously didn't read the paragraph ... only the title. Maybe Obama is right.

In many cases video games are actually a reward for excellent scholastic performance.

I don't think Obama is placing blame on video games, exactly. I think he's using it as a contributing factor to the rising rates of poverty. And like it or not, no matter how in-depth, and no matter how evolved video games become, they should never be chosen over an education. That's what he's saying. So for kids, living in assisted housing, who don't know how to properly form a sentence, then yes, they should put the video games away, and read.

He didn't cry the evils of the video game industry, like some other well-known politicians. And he is hardly using video games as a "metaphor for under achievement."

Hey intern: watch the sensationalist stories.

How is telling Parents to stop using TV and video games as a substitute babysitter and child-rear a bad thing? He's not attacking gamers, or calling us under-achievers.

Sorry, Tori, need to go get a new internship. I hear John "100 Years of War" McCain is hiring.

i beg to differ. gamers can't be underachievers with achievements like this to be had.

While what he says has a semblance of truth in it why bring it up. Bad parenting and underfunded schools have more to do with underachieving kids than video games, TV and other media have done. He's a politician and as one he knows that the public reacts to simple examples of whats causing the problem instead of actually trying to point out the problem is not really simple and that more things are involved. The moment he gets elected the return of the Jimmy Carter-era type Presidency will make a comeback. And history showed how that one ended up.

@shwoosh: If you don't like it GTFO. No one forces you to be here so leave.

Meh, don't think any politician is going to support gaming for many years to come. At some point, gaming will be accepted as a very integral and standard part of entertainment, and you are going to have a generation of CEO's and politicians who grew up enjoying (and understanding) gaming.

At the same time though, I think that Obama statement does speak some serious truths,(I didn't vote for Obama, so keep your fanboy comments at bay). I don't think he intended it to mean TV and Video Games in general are a bad thing, they become a problem when parents rely on them to be babysitters throughout their kids lives.

I hate Obama but I don't think what he said was bad. He said, "We're going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that's going to take some time."

So he is talking about parents actually spending time with there kids instead of letting the TV/Video Games babysit them. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

Some people really do need stop playing games so much so they could actually learn to read. He's not saying games are evil, he's saying parents should get their kids off there lazy buts and make them do their freaken homework.

Jeebus cripes. Get a grip on yourselves. I'm pretty sure what he's trying to say is that it's time to get to work, and as much as a lot of people try to convince themselves to the contrary, playing games isn't work. He's not insulting video games, but just fooling around in general and not changing things in the country. It's more relevant to say video games than it is to put away the comic books or that damn newfangled rock music.

Great, now everyone is going to jump on the band wagon: "OBAmA is teh suck!!!1" IF thats what he believes than who cares! I don't go out of my way everyday to correct someone's belief. Furthermore, videogames are the least of our worries in America right now.

I love video games, but that doesn't mean that parents shouldn't tell their children to do homework or chores instead of playing their video game. If you put video games over education, then I think you will most likely end up as an underachiever, which is what I think Obama means when he says this.

@Ashurahori: Isn't it ironic that this specific Obama quote is taken out of context by people to lazy to read beyond the headline?

I kind of feel insulted :(

Many of his campaign speeches have contained advice for parents to get kids to "put away the video games."

I could care less about politicians, but this particular comment seems pretty innocuous. I think he is right, parents should help kids "put away the videogames" (and other things) and teach them to enjoy things in moderation.

That all said, if you are a good parent you sure as hell don't need a politician of all things telling you how to "improve" your children.

I agree with Obama, i'd being doing a whole lot more if it werent for video games, on the other hand, i dont realy care...i got a few things i do great, so, i'll just specialize and play WoW. But at least he's not BLAMING us for the downfall of society like some other in-duh-viduals.