Go get 'em, Guardian. I knew I read this paper for a reason.
Well, a reason beyond Charlie Brooker every Monday.

I have to build a statue ... immediately

Nice, totally true. I'm a huge gamer and I'm not a fat pizza-faced loser who decorates his walls with D&D posters and hates society.

Stupid stereotypes FTL. Gamers are average joes, and EVERYBODY plays games.

By the way... GREAT picture for the post

I hate this newspaper, but clearly they do get some things right.

So, does the choice of picture mean that non-gamers will evolve into birds?

So true.

OK, just read the article.

To be fair, I think he gets it wrong when he says this

In March, the Byron Report came out. How pleased the government must have been with itself! By appointing a parenting expert to lead it, they were practically guaranteeing they'd get 266 pages of ammunition to use against computer games.

Now I don't think that's entirely fair to the UK government since a few years ago I heard ministers talking about how important the UK games industry was to the economy, just as the UK music industry also boosted our economy in times gone by.
Other than that, great article.

While I agree with the general thrust of the article, namely that times are changing and that games and gamers are no longer a niche stereotype, I disagree with the way it's presented. It's far too confrontational.

Like many here I grew up with games, including Wolfensten 3d when I was 13. I didn't turn out to be a sociopathic killer (yet) but that doesn't mean that games aren't a part of the larger culture which glorifies violence and denounces intellectualism. But since intellectual games don't get the spotlight as well as GTA does, it's probably a moot point.

This shouldn't be a matter of winning versus losing. It should be about reminding people that every generation has its own pariah. What is now video games was once rock 'n roll, and before that talking pictures, and before that alcohol, and flapper girls, and radio - hell, I'm sure when the first cave paintings were created some of the older primitive humanoids decried them as opening the door for their children to sit inside all day and starve to death while they vandalized walls.

Well, the guy comes off as a bit snide but hey, we all want to say it.

@Slatz_Grobnik: Yesh, but they'll never reclaim their kingdom for it is the age of MAMMALS!

Until humans eventually come and kill us off.

The Guardian wins an internet. Even Stevie Wonder can see the truth in his words.

Where I'm from, we would say that Mr. Bartle just "bitched" those politicians..

"He finally warns "Gamers vote. Gamers buy newspapers. They won't vote for you, or buy your newspapers, if you trash their entertainment with your ignorant ravings." Yeah! Get 'em, Rich!"

That is made of win.

Possibly not as great or as noticeable, but the Saturday, Sunday and Monday editions of The Times had several favourable articles, including Les Benzies' (Rockstar North's head honcho) first ever newspaper interview, where he slagged anyone criticising games and compared modern controversy to the moral panic that ensued when Elvis first introduced the world to rock 'n roll. The Guardian isn't alone in portraying gamers in a good light, even dedicating the main section of the letters page to comments on the Byron report.

Well... Hell yeah!

I always love when Mr. Bartle gets some recognition. He had an integral part in the development of games in general and unless you still play a descendant of his original MUD then you haven't even heard of him.

The article was a good read, and it's great to see something like this coming from The Guardian.

On one hand, I'm glad to see someone in an influential position calling out politicians for being behind the times. I read the GamePolitics blog, subscribe to the Video Game Voters' Network newsletter, and get really sick of seeing stories of various legislators who try to push a video game censorship law that will ultimately be ruled unconstitutional through their state's government. They waste a lot of time that they should be spending on paying attention to the economy, among other more important issues. The sooner they move on from this senseless legal flailing, the better, so one part of me wants to applaud the article.

On the other hand, there's a chance that some of these politicians will actually start listening and realize that they need to start pandering to gamers just soon enough to stay in office. Even if they leave video games alone, it's not good for anyone to have people in office who used to think that Doom caused the Columbine shooting. So, the other part of me wants Mr. Bartle to shut up so the politicians have the best chance of getting what's coming to them.

...Darn, I can't reach a compromise between my two hands. I guess I'll have to smash them together until one of them breaks. Grand Theft Auto IV teaches me that violence solves everything!

@nonhuman:
I shall donate the golden plate

@nonhuman: I'll help

@argh:
It's really interesting seeing people you would never expect pick up gaming.

One time while I was over at my local Gamestop a white haired man about 50 or so came in. He was dressed like all the usual senior business board members we've all seen on TV, expensive suit and an aura of confidence and egotism. He walks up and buys Uncharted for the PS3. Trading in Oblivion and stating "I spent over 100 hours with this game. It was so much fun."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I simply thought "But your old...". Anyways, it's great seeing people of that age, or of any age, get into gaming. Indeed, we are the majority.

finally! =D
and the picture is made of win

@nonhuman: seconding

"Gamers vote. Gamers buy newspapers. They won't vote for you, or buy your newspapers, if you trash their entertainment with your ignorant ravings."

That sent cold shivers up my spine, knowing the possibility of the multitude of internet asshats picking the new leader.
I do hope the minority of sane gamers get to vote instead.

Why cant we all just get along?

@T6Spades: Gamer's have no age limit how freeking sweet is that!! I will play console games until i am old 80+ wooooo

You know this quote from the movie Fight Club sums this article up.
"We cook your meals. We haul your trash. We connect your calls. We drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us."

Man I love the pictures you guys choose for article headlines, simply pwn.

How do we go about nominating this guy for a Pulitzer, or the UK equivalent?

Well, to be fair we tried reasoning with them - we were kids, it's all we had - but kids are all stupid, right? No one listens to kids.

So we deployed the ultimate WMD - time itself. It may not be fast but it has a 100% success rate (oh no! It's blowing this way! D: )

Holy shit this is cool. Finally, someone's hit them with the hammer.

banhammah, GAME SET.
lol, I love how this is conspicuously lacking in 300+ comments...

I totally agree with the article but find myself a little disappointed at the childish way it's presented. It's like he's just discovered insults.

OVERWHELMING MANLOVE ACTIVATE!

...no homo?

If gamers would take over the world we would be already at war. ULTIMATE CONSOLE-WAR!

@Majorasblaze: It was a passionate if not slightly childish defence against an equally if not even more childish attacks by anti-gaming media. It could be written better I have to admit, but I suspect that the columnist is just trying to do his best to get his message across.

Kudos to Guardian as one of the first British newspaper to embrace online media fully. They even have a games blog for a number of years now.

I don't know who this man is. But I think I love him.

Isn't our site generating a new form of stereotype - of the gaming-violence-opposed bonehead who thinks that his opponents are psychopathic killers?

Also, aren't we meant to convert our detractors rather than insult them?

I have tried to reason with some people. But people only trust the TV, and the TV say that videogames=serial killers, so thats what people think. Not only think that, but *nod* and close his nostrils to any attemp to rationalize.

The TV has converted the image of the videogame player intro a monstruosity, a serial killer, and we can't do nothing do change that. That is the power of the TV.

(l) Bartle

gaming needs more well-spoken, educated types like him!

It has nothing to do with age and everything to do with attitude and most importantly the ability to accept that things change over time.

Close to 20 years ago I got my NES. My dad bought it for me, he was 45 at the time.

You know what? He played Super Mario Bros. with me. In fact, he was (and still is) better at it than me. Same with Super Mario World when he bought me a SNES a few years later.

He's also totally wicked at Galaga.

The important thing to remember is that while you DO have to get old, you DON'T have to get boring and you DON'T have to stop having fun. Especially with your kids.

@Pombar: Charlie Brooker writes in The Guardian? I must buy this paper, the man is a satirical genius.