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From a Monday meeting of President Barack Obama and a group of children eager to tell him what they wanted for Christmas, as roughly transcribed by CNN:

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Anybody want to tell me what they're asking for Christmas from Santa?

What are you going to get?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: An iPod.

OBAMA: An iPod?

Is that right?

What kind of music are you going to listen to on the iPod?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A lot.

OBAMA: Like what kind — what — what — who do you...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Rap music.

OBAMA: Rap music?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Is that right?

OK. All right.

What are you — what — what are you going to get?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: An Apple.

OBAMA: You want an Apple?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No, the Apple — like the Apple Touch. I want one of those.

OBAMA: Oh, is that like a...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: It's like an iPod?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No.

OBAMA: That's not like an iPod?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's a phone.

OBAMA: It's a phone. It's like an iPhone.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's a touch screen.

OBAMA: It's a touch screen. That's why you need it.

Yes, what are you looking for?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

OBAMA: Oh, that is — I love that Harry Potter books.

Now, which one is that?

Is that like...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: The last one.

OBAMA: That's the last one?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: So you've got the first six already?

You already read them?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: It's really good, isn't it?

I love that Harry Potter. I sure do. Malia and I used to read that every night until we read through the whole series...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: My daughter — all seven of them.

So how about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I would like a DSI.

OBAMA: What's a DSI?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's a Nin — it's a Nintendo game that you play.

OBAMA: OK.

Does it have a bunch of different games on there like Sins and all that stuff?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Yes. Sasha likes those, too.

All right, how about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A PSP.

OBAMA: A PSP?

Is that — that's another kind of game thing?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: ...portable.

OBAMA: Oh, OK.

How about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I would like Blow TV and a — a DSI.

OBAMA: Jeesh. OK.

And what about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A PSP.

OBAMA: A PSP?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Now, let me ask you a question here, guys.

Whatever happened to like asking for a bike?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I already have one.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I have one.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: Everybody has already got a bike.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Everybody has...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: ...for walking.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I have three dirt bikes and I have a bike.

OBAMA: You have three dirt bikes?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes. And I have a (INAUDIBLE).

OBAMA: Goodness.

Yes, what do you think ?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I want a Playstation 3.

OBAMA: OK. All right.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Me?

OBAMA: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A cell phone.

OBAMA: You want a cell phone?

Who are you going to call?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: And my family and my friends.

OBAMA: Your friends and family?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes. Yes.

OBAMA: What are you going to say to them?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: How are you doing?

OBAMA: How are you doing?

But don't you — you're seeing your family and friends all the time.

Why do you need a cell phone?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Because you can call.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Because like on the weekends and stuff...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I just want one.

OBAMA: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Well, can — can I say this — can I say this, though, guys?

I think one thing that's important to remember is that, you know, even though there's a lot of fun to Christmas...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: ...you know, you've got — especially when it's snowy like this, the — you know, so it's pretty outside. You've got the Christmas tree. You've got the Christmas cookies. You've got — you've got presents. You know, I think that the most important thing is just to remember why we celebrate Christmas, which is...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Ooh. Ooh.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: Do you know? UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: The birth of baby Jesus.

OBAMA: The birth of baby Jesus. And the — and what he symbolizes for people all around the world is — is the possibility of peace and people treating each other with respect. And so I just hope that spirit of giving that's so important to Christmas, I hope that all of you guys remember that, as well. You know, it's not just about getting a gift, but it's also about doing something for other people.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I know.

OBAMA: So, you know, being nice to your mom and dad and grandma and aunties and showing respect to people, that's really important, too.

That's part of the Christmas spirit, don't you think ?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

Obama's blink and you might miss it mention of games as an education device is nestled within more lengthy discussion about the importance of funding traditional math and science programs. But to have games talked about in this context isn't something we heard much from previous administrations.

"The MacArthur Foundation and industry leaders like Sony are launching a nationwide challenge to design compelling, freely available science related video games," Obama said. He name-checked Sony's LittleBigPlanet program alongside organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Discovery Communications and Sesame Street.

Obviously, Sony is pleased.

"We're thrilled by the opportunity to participate and support the Game Changer Challenge announced today," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "It casts a huge spotlight on the innovative medium that is video games and digital entertainment. It also embodies for us what we see everyday - - that amazing things can happen when you provide the right tools and environment, combine it with great technology, and put it in the hands of really creative people."

If you'd like to watch that press conference for yourself for context, here it is.

Here's what the eminent games designer had to say:

President Obama, who declared 'A World Without Nuclear Weapons' in Prague, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Has the era at last started shifting? The start of the Peace Walker plan? I hope that comes to be.

'Peace will not walk to you'

'You must both walk towards one another.'

Pretty bold plug of one's game, I'd say.

ノーベル平和賞 [Kojima Productions via Go Nintendo]

In a peppy speech that focused on promoting education and personal responsibility, Obama made brief mention of Microsoft's console efforts. "I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox," Obama said today, according to prepared remarks offered by the White House.

Oh sure, first he doesn't want us to become ever-softening sloths by exercising instead of sitting on the couch all day, controller in hand. Now he wants us to study and not play our Xboxes even more, an inalienable right outlined the Constitution (probably). I'll check. But it sounds like we might have a fanboy in the White House. After all, he is a Wii man.

At the very least, the President's comments about the console helps illustrate its popularity, giving this generation its blanket console name, as confirmed at the highest levels of government.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama - Back to School Event [Whitehouse.gov]

The Times ran a story last week about how America's vice president, Joe Biden, has been trying to strengthen his relationship with President Barack Obama.

One method? Get that man a Wii.

One White House official recalls the vice president fretting over what to get Obama for his 48th birthday earlier this month. Biden wanted to go with a Nintendo Wii. Told that Obama's daughters already have one, a disappointed Biden said, "You're kidding." Instead, he went with a golf range-finder to help the president judge distances to the hole.

But what if the President would have enjoyed a Wii of his own? Bad move, readers? Or is one Wii per White-Household enough?

Despite fumbles, Biden's a player [LA Times]

[PIC]

In his speech to the NAACP at its 100th anniversary celebration, Obama said parents can't demand achievement in school and then "fail to support them when they get home. For our kids to excel, we must accept our own responsibilities. That means putting away the Xbox and putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour."

It was notable to me in that, in the first African-American president's first address to the African-American community, at a gathering of that community's premier advocacy organization, the Xbox line was used in the lead paragraph by The New York Times.

Anyway, Microsoft's reply agreed with the president, in principle, and touted its console's parental controls.

We agree with President Obama that it's a time for families to work together so that kids use media in ways that are safe, healthy and balanced. Xbox 360 is the only console gaming system that has a timer feature allowing parents to set time limits for their kids, as well as parent controls to enable parents to set limits on what their kids are playing and watching.

As long as Obama isn't specifically saying the Xbox 360 rots your mind or programs little Johnny to kill grandma, Microsoft has to love the attention. At least from a brand-extension point of view. After all, It's the president using their brand name, and doing so in a way that makes it synonymous with video gaming. Pretty powerful endorsement, albeit backhanded.

Microsoft Responds to Obama's Admonition to Put Away the Xbox [GamePolitics]

The Wall Street Journal has the full text of the speech, but there's really only one part that even mentions video games:

The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so that we can avoid illness and disease in the first place. That starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children. It means quitting smoking, going in for that mammogram or colon cancer screening. It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.

It's far from an alarmist cry about the evils of Grand Theft Auto or sex scenes in Mass Effect, but the statement does sort of contradict Gallagher's assertion made at an E3 luncheon that video games "represent zero issues" for the White House. Gallagher says the ESA is doing a good job of entertaining American families, but maybe that's the president's problem: they just do too good a job.

And maybe that's why the president owns a Wii, not an Xbox 360. You move around a lot during Wii Sports bowling, right?

Obama Names Video Games as Health Concern in Speech to A.M.A. [GamePolitics]

"We were in contact early with the transition team and they invited us into those sessions," Gallagher said. "So we've had very good dialog with the administration."

Gallagher, who served as the chief telecommunications and policy advisor to the George W. Bush Administration , said he stayed close to friends of his in D.C. trying to figure out who would be handling what as the new administration took form shortly after Obama's election.

"Right now the administration is very correctly focused on a lot bigger issues than whatever issues we might represent," Gallagher said. "I personally think we represent zero issues because we're doing a great job of entertaining American families."

Gallagher said he isn't concerned about the possibility of universal ratings or the administration getting involved in the legislation of video game ratings.

"We are very encouraged about all of the meetings we've had," he said. "We've met with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, he's very pleased with the work we have done. We've had great meetings on the Hill, probably among the best we've had.

"It's very hard to take something off the table completely and say that it can't happen, but I think it's a low likelihood," he said. "And that's for a good reason. The ESRB is doing a great job, people know, they trust the disclosure that's included as part of the packaging of a game."

Gallagher said that increasingly video games are becoming an accepted part of everyday life and culture. He pointed to the success of Grand Theft Auto 4, both financially and critically, as a major turning point for the industry.

"It was reviewed like a movie, as a movie, like a piece of art," he said. "We received accolades for that, that was a big transition for us. That turned out to be a very positive step forward for us."

It also helps, he said, that Obama's family owns a Wii.

"For the first time we have a console in the white house," he said. "We understand the president has a Wii and we're very excited about that. Having a degree of exposure to the technology is very, very positive."

Today saw the announcement not just of the first Latino protagonist of a Grand Theft Auto adventure but the nomination by President Barack Obama of the woman who could be the first Latino Supreme Court Justice.

The newly-announced Ballad of Gay Tony, coming this fall, will star Luis Lopez. His presence as the episode's lead will further the diversification of the series' string of white and black protagonists that most recently saw the inclusion of its first Asian lead, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' Huang Lee. (Full list here.) Lopez is believed to be of Dominican descent.

Obama's nomination of judge Sonia Sotomayor for the United States' highest court, also announced today, would, if confirmed by the Senate, give America its third female supreme court justice in its history and the first of Hispanic descent. Sotomayor is of Puerto Rican heritage by way of New York City.

We're not saying whether anybody should or shouldn't play their games or think about their Supreme Court Justices with regard to what ethnicity those people are.

But the parallel milestone announcements, coming in the same day, can't be ignored.

The new "President Evil" comic book coming this July from Antarctic Press was an inevitability.

The comic features Obama teaming up with political friends and foes to turn back the creeping assault of some "undead presidents." We know this comic was inevitable because Barack Obama is now appearing in all kinds of comics, including those that feature Spider-Man and those that feature him as a barbarian.

And we know it just had to happen because that "President Evil" joke isn't new. If you just thought of it, you're late. It's been done. The gallery below is proof.

So an Obama-in-comics trend converges with an old Resident Evil joke. That collision just had to happen.

We just didn't expect that the comic would feature an homage to Army of Darkness.

Consider us shocked.

Good "Evil" And More In Store This Summer! Official Site For Antarctic Press

Obama's comments during last night's address closely echo comments he made during his presidential campaign, in which he urged parents to actually be parents, rather then letting outside elements such as video games and television raise their children.

In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home.

Once again, the President's words do not condemn gaming or television, but rather parents that use the activities to keep their children occupied, rather than spending time with them. Not sure what this whole reading thing is about though. Are parents supposed to bring a laptop with them when they tuck their children in?

In First Major Address to Congress, Obama Once Again Links Video Games to Academic Underachievement [Game Politics]

During the Super Bowl, the President invited Washington Republicans over to watch the game. According to The New York Times, "Representative Charlie Dent, Republican of Pennsylvania, said he was 'pleasantly surprised' to be invited to the White House to watch the Super Bowl. He brought his three children - ages 14, 12 and 8 - who joined other kids at a Wii station that was set up in the East Wing."

Sure, this could just be a regular Wii set-up and not some bullet proof Wii with the Presidential Seal on it.

Obama Woos G.O.P. With Attention, and Cookies [The New York Times via Infendo] [Pic]

There are Valentine chocolate brown avatars (above, in the heart) available for purchase as well as a "Yes We Can!" avatar pack that includes, and we quote, a "brown skinned, short-haired figure in a suit." Oh dear...

『ストリートファイターオンライン』でも"YES WE CAN！" [Gpara]

I think this could be a pretty interesting game. I actually enjoyed playing The Political Machine when it first came out... for a bit.

"It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs. Can you imagine how blown their minds would have been had they went from an Xbox 360 to an Atari 2600?

Alright staffers. If any of you are reading this blog, it's time you start hitting us up with more gaming gems from inside the White House. Come on, we need our gaming Deep Throat.

New staff find White House in tech Dark Ages [Washington Post]

A 1/6 scale version of the new President is relaxing under a kotatsu. There are mikans and a nearby Famicom — not a Wii. But really, consider this to be an excuse to post pictures of Barack Obama doll wielding katanas, automatic weapons and fighting Darth Vader.

The figure is from Japan's DiD Corp. and and will set you back US$59.99. Katanas, light saber, Darth Vader, machine guns and Famicom not included. Thanks Yokai Attack author Matt Alt for the tip!

Obama Banzai [AltJapan]

Using Fallout 3, Totilo wandered around the bomb-blasted, irradiated and devastated Washington D.C. to try and capture, in-game, some of what you'll be seeing today on television if you watch the inauguration.

His photo tour of Fallour 3's D.C. starts out with a glimpse of the National Mall as viewed from the top of the crumbling Washington Monument. It ends with a glimpse from the ground of the mall looking up at the Washington Monument.

It's an interesting use of gaming to try and reflect on the day's news and makes me wonder why more developers don't get involved. I suppose it might not be taken the right way if Bethesda released an Obama patch for Fallout 3 today.

Barack Obama Inauguration Site, Rendered Via ‘Fallout 3′ [MTV Multiplayer]

This Christmas Obama bought his family a Wii, something he plans to have set up in the family's main TV room on the second floor of the White House.

This morning I stumbled across an fictional story written by a fourth grade student at Jewett School of the Arts. In the article Olivia Yeager wrote about hanging out with Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia. Sasha, who was born the same year as Tristan, and her sister ended up misplacing their DS in the White House.

Yeager writers about the hunt for Nintendo's portable through the Oval Office, around secret service agents and down the main hall. The hunt ended, Yeager says, when Obama walked into the play room and handed over their DS.

It's a scene that's played out several times in my house, minus the trappings of state and bodyguards.

Helping his daughters find their missing gaming consoles doesn't make Obama a gamer, but he's certainly aware of video games. He is, like many of his generation, part of a gaming family. The fact that his children play games. The fact that he occasionally plays with them, means that he is at least aware of a culture that many in America are immersed.

I don't expect to find Obama hanging out on Xbox Live or in Playstation Home, or even race against him in Mario Kart Wii, but it's nice to know that for the first time in decades a young family, one with experiences more similar perhaps to my own will be living in the most powerful home in America.

This isn't some sort of key victory for gamers, rather it's a move that brings gaming one step closer to mainstream. As a gamer and a parent of a gamer, I look forward to the day when we no longer have to identify ourselves as "gamers". When talking about Grand Theft Auto IV, or Star Wars Battlefront III on a Monday morning is as typical as discussing the weekend football game or the latest episode of House.

Now to find out what Obama's Brain Age is and when he's going to get Rock Band.

'I saw that the office was really shaped like an oval!'

In an article in the New York Times in which our soon-to-be President predicts a Florida win over Oklahoma in tonight’s BCS championship game, it is revealed that Barack Obama's daughters received a shiny new Nintendo console when Santa Claus visited this year.

Mr. Obama said he’d have his hands full attempting to rescue the American economy. But he has gotten in a little practice in bowling lately on the Nintendo Wii his daughters received for Christmas. Mr. Obama, who famously struggled in bowling during last year’s Democratic primaries, said he performs better in the video game.

I don't know much about politics, but it gives me an amazing amount of warm fuzzies knowing there's going to be a game console in the White House.

Obama Predicts a Florida Victory [The New York Times via GameCulture]