Hilarious partisan american venom in
3...
2...

wonder what his 'Brain Age' is.

Obama '08!

it's offensive that he'd lump with rock* all of us who choose to receive our paychecks in large sacks emblazoned with dollar signs

Another Obama post. Let us all tread carefully and keep it civil. I really don't want to sift through another 500 comment smash-fest again.

what does hitlary have to say about GTA so I can further justify not voting for her?

I bet he doesn't know that this is the 1st GTA game to have Multiplayer. And we all know how much the younger gamers love Multiplayer and would play it 10 times longer than the single player.

Damnit he said that in my town and I wasn't even present to argue his statement. I wish I was there to let him know that the only reason a game raises a child is because a parent wont.

Dear Obama,

Thank you for keeping up with current events, however, GTA isn't rated for kids, so yes, it shouldn't be used to raise our children. End of discussion.

LOL! "Goo gobs!"

That should replace "It prints money".

Remind me of how exactly President is going to help when it comes to parents raising children?
Seriously, this whole aspect of having a President that is responsible for "values" and "family" when he can be anything from a hundred to thousands of miles away from the numerous families in question... it just doesn't make sense for me.

Okay, just watched the video, and I have decided that anyone who can use the word Goo-Gobs in a sentence automatically gets my vote. I probably would have voted for him anyways, but that was just too awesome.

Yeah, still doesn't have my vote.

Still misleading.

1)While far from enforced, we do have the ESRB.

2)The majority of people who are into videogames (ie. those with the ability to even buy them in the first place) are 18-34 years old.

I try not to pigeonhole politicians, but the idea that society's ills are caused by those who succeed to the point that they make a profit off of it annoys me to no end.

@Mr Fortitude: @DugDawg:

He addresses both of those problems. He specifically went on about how the parents should parent their kids instead of letting the TV do it, and he did say that it isn't intended for kids.

...it really isn't a criticism of gaming in as much as it is a criticism of parents, which I agree with wholeheartedly.

And yet, I'm sure there will be dozens, if not well over a hundred, people blasting him for not loving games.

Personally, I agree. My parents always made sure that my education came before games or TV, providing a nice balance of the two, and I like to think that it helped pave the way for me to go to a good university. I pretty much agree with Obama here.

Do you think he'll flip-flop on this issue like Jeremaih Wright? Obama lol

I dunno. I agree parents arn't doing enough, but I don't agree that games take away completely from the passion of study.

I know as soon as I played Dynasty Warriors 4 I started gaining an interest in Chinese history.
When I started playing Rome Total War, I started gaining an interest in Roman history.
When I started playing Rainbow Six games I started gaining an interest in reading thrillers.

All of these games fed the passion of study and fed my reading, analysis, and calculation abilities. Not to mention critical thought.

I see it as one big circle. Each thing feeding the flame of the next. Admittedly if you don't limit the amount of time you invest in WoW or GTA you're going to have social issues. But the same can be said for workaholics.

/same old song and dance

Well at least he keeps up with things. Hillary hasn't heard of Red Bull.

@Pezdispenser:

Nice to see that someone actually watched the video and listened to what he said!

In an attempt to one-up Obama, Hilary decided to talk about her experience in Liberty City: "I remember landing under sniper fire...."

Unfortunately, nobody ever told her she was talking about a videogame.

@DugDawg:
hahaha. you think that "mature" rating will actually stop 12-year-olds from getting their hands on it?

@Sofox: Most promises candidates make they have no way of keeping anyways, it's all about making them look good. They're just there to praise or blame for whatever congress decides.

I really don't like any of the presidential candidates this time around and from the clip, it looks like Obama's wife wears the pants.

If talking about video games is more important than talking about real world issues, like the rise of grain prices or the genocide in Darfur. I really wouldn't want you as my president.

There's a huge difference in what a kid plays and how a parent raises them. Blame parents not games. It's like blaming McDonald's for obese people instead of blaming the people for eating it. Get over it.

@Truvill: "2)The majority of people who are into videogames (ie. those with the ability to even buy them in the first place) are 18-34 years old."

I'll give you the first point, but from who's arse are you pulling this load?

@Sofox: Isn't it hilarious? It's as if we elect this guy, our kids will magically never play with toys or sports or games again and will devote 100% of their time to study. It's such a crock.

Yea parents need to raise their own damn kids! He's got my vote anyway.

DUGDAWG what he stated was that gta4 isnt rated for kids but they will be playing it anyway. Which is true. Don't belive me? Have kotaku take a pole and ages of how many kotaku readers are under 17 or 18 and have played gta4.

I think we should be harder on stores selling games to kids who are not old enough to be buying them.

This is not an anti-gaming message, it is an anti-letting your kids do nothing but play video games message. Nothing wrong with that. It is easy to let your kids play for a long time because honestly it keeps them quiet. You do need to limit TV, video games, and internet usage. That is all he is saying.

Oh boy... Obama names a video game, cue massive uproar and blind hatred from the community...

When I saw Obama + Video Games in the headline, my first thoughts were to the last two fiascos caused by some grossly misinterpretted Obama quotes.

But after reading this article, I have to admit that I'm incredibly glad that the writer actually pulled the correct context around the quotes, and even understands the message has never been about gaming in particular, but rather about parental responsibilies.

God Bless You, Kotaku. Anybody with any Obama venom after reading this would likely have only read the headline.

It's all about the parents why are people blaming thins on video games, music, and movies, because the parents don't ever want to take them blame that their children( their little angels) are screwed up because they're neglected and not raised rite. Why...because of the terrible parents. Not the f..king media or entertainment.

Mccain '08!

Maybe these retards need to check the box. You know, the part written "M" on it.

At 17 you're not a kid anymore. The raising is supposed to be complete.

@schoolimangooli: Yea. Mccain '08. Let's bring back another religious fanatic to finish up the United States's death.

I really like his totally reasonable and (regardless of your opinions) and true points that 1) GTA is huge 2) kids shouldn't play it 3) kids will play it 4) when kids do play it, it's because parents failed to keep it away from them and 5) we need more of a strive for academic excellence and part of that involves less tv, movies, games, etc.

This is very similar to his speech on race... a frank discussion on the realities of the nation.

If it was up to Obama you wouldn't be able to play games like GTA, because the Government wouldn't deem them proper and acceptable. Good ole communism. Government telling parents how to raise their kids, because they know better.

I may not always like the man, but he has my vote (look at the competition). I'm not really sure why video games are targeted first, although he does save himself by mentioning other entertainment mediums. It's hard to please ignorant people, and most of America is definitely lacking in certain knowledge areas. Yes, there is a problem in parenting. I agree. I'm just not sure he introduces the issue in the right manor.

When I first read this it was the first time that I heard "Politics" and "Violent Video Games" put together and not get mad about it.

@IrisMR: Since when has McCain been a religious fanatic, why don't you try to read a book or do some research before you start posting.

@DigitalHero: so you finally get a male president that has a women to rein him in. So you get the best of both worlds.

:p

@IrisMR: Wow you are misinformed.

I think people are missing the point of his little speech here.

It doesn't sound so much like "OMG KIDS ARE PLAYING GTA!" but more like "Parents need to be more responsible and make sure kids AREN'T playing GTA,"

He makes a good point. It wouldn't hurt for parents to kick kids off their Xbox now and then.

And what ARE parents doing to make education a priority?

The very first thing he said about the government not being able to fix these issues is true. Its one of the first things he says. Its up to the parents.

Agree or disagree but he makes good points.

why doesn't anyone realize this guy is the anit-christ!!

@exstrat:

Where'd you even get that from? One tiny little clip on a game related blog suddenly equates his entire campaign message? Not only that, but HE SPECIFICALLY DOES PUT THE RESPONSIBILITY ON THE PARENTS AND NOT ON THE GAMES!

... I need a stiff drink.

Dear Kotaku editors:

Can we ban anybody in this thread that tells Obama that parents should raise their kids instead of games?

I mean, considering that is something he's said before, and is mentioned in the article as well as the readily available video.

Only reading headlines FTL.

@CancerMan: That's what I say...

Obama hype is the same as the Wii.... all novelty.

@Josimba: I think it's less that people are missing the point of the speech and more that they're not listening to the speech at all and commenting on their own visceral reaction of seeing a post connecting a violent video game to a politician.

@Mr Fortitude:
You have the wrong idea. He's not saying video games are raising children because they're addictive or anything. He's arguing exactly what you're arguing. He's saying parents need to stop relying on entertainment as a parenting tool and using it to justify not spending time with their kids. Parents need to take responsibility and raise their kids instead of not spending time with them and letting them just play games instead and pretend that it's the equivalent of parenting.

@Josimba: I was going to reply to those dimwits in the house, but it'll be easier to thank the people for you who actually read the post, thought about it and the commented. May your comment be a shining example for us all! :D

So, to you, Josimba, thank you.

It wasn't that bad. I was expecting to be pissed off, but he explained the problem pretty well. Kids shouldn't be playing games that aren't made for kids, and he actually mentioned that it was the parents fault for letting "games raise their children".

Sorry for the double-post:

I just have to share that I had my most disturbing incident in a game ever last night. I had sex with a prostitute in an alley and then beat her brains in. Now I know people have talked of this before, but I never played a GTA before this one, and it was a scarring event. I did it to see what it would feel like as a gamer. It did not feel good. Eerie.

I completely agree with Obama here. It's a little disappointing that he didn't know who developed GTA IV or that it was the 6th game in the series not counting Liberty City Stories (Welcome back, misleading title numbers! We thought we lost you after Final Fantasy VII came out), but at the same time, he has more important things to know, so I'll forgive him.

But everything he says makes sense. Sure, he's not much of a video game guy from what we see here, but as an outsider looking in, he's rational in his response. That's all we ask. We don't need our politicians to commiserate with us about the damn birds that knocked us into each pit in Ninja Gaiden for the NES, we just need them to treat us as people instead of convenient political targets.

I agree, good to see that a Politician is getting to the root of the problem. Just as long as the masses can keep their feeble minds on it's the parent's fault, not games. Too long have they let the console raise their kids. Now I myself was raised up to 8 years old with good parenting. Then after the divorce I was given games to make up for the fact my mother couldn't go to school and work full-time as well as be with me every second of every day. But the job my parents did initially stuck with me and kept me out of trouble. And my mom regularly kicked me out of the house to play when she came home to sleep after 3rd shift.

@HurricaneDave:

Wow. Until that post I didn't think it was possible to actually see a comment in which the post not only skipped the video, but the article, and even the headline.

Congratulations sir. You are an internet first.

But in all seriousness, Obama is not telling parents how to raise their kids. Obama is telling parents to start raising their kids.

@CancerMan: Because you're doing a good job playing the role already?

If it works, don't fix it!

:3

@Schoolimangooli:

And, unfortunately, it seems that the Kotaku boards can't seem to get their heads straight. Last time, when Kotaku clearly screwed up, the entire thread was giving them crap about it and completely on the ball. Now? Kotaku gets it fair and right and most of the thread is talking crap and completely missing the article. It's not even reading comprehension, people, it's a video! How hard can it be to get that all the crap some of you are whining about is EXACTLY the point he's making?

@HurricaneDave:

I could say the same to you. You claim that Obama would force the government to control everyones lives when the very first thing out of his mouth in this clip is him saying the government can't do everything and that the parents should get involved with their kid's lives.

Can't anyone here do a little research before