You know David Jaffe, right? He might've made some video games — we have some vague recollection of that — but he's mainly known now for his mouthing off. Apparently, Jaffe's public online assessment of one of our nation's vice presidential candidates got some attention, mainly from site GamePolitics.com, who gave Jaffe a bit of a hypertext-lashing. Jaffe's back, not making video games again, and defending his assessment of Alaska governor Sarah Palin's fuckability. Too bad we'll likely see Jaffe's Homeland, because it's clear the man is passionate about his politics.

Hit the link below to read thru.

Who is the Gamer’s Candidate? [EDGE via Go Nintendo]

The VP pick... When I found out about McCain's VP pick, I was like, "Okay, look, there's no way the Republicans are happy about this at all." And there you go, they're raving like this is some great choice. So if anyone who's watching this is a Republican, please comment and explain to me... You know, it doesn't seem like the Hillary thing is gonna work for most women. I can't imagine most women, or voters in general, although certainly women in this case, are going to say, "We didn't get Hillary, we'll vote for this lady.

I think she's, you know, kind of cute. She's the perfect definition of a MILF. Not to, you know, disparage her or anything. I'm not trying to sort of make it about that, but it's like that's what I see when I look at her. I didn't love Hillary but I looked at her and I saw experience and intelligence... you look at this woman and you see a MILF. That's what you see.

Her experience doesn't really seem to indicate that she would be all that great as a vice-president and certainly not a president. What are they thinking? The more important question is why am I seeing so many Republicans saying this is great?

Video clip below, Jaffe starts talking about Palin at about 3 minutes 40 seconds in.

God of War Designer David Jaffe Reduces Sarah Palin Candidacy to Lowest Common Denominator [GamePolitics]

The figures were collected from 11 provinces after a two-month survey, said Li, noting that Internet addiction was mainly caused by on-line games and a lack of supervision by the authorities.

Li said the management and supervision of Internet games and Internet cafes must be strengthened, and he urged researchers to study methods to help minors avoid Internet addiction.

Rest easy, China! Li Jianguo cares.

Chinese lawmaker warns against child Internet addiction [Xinhua via GamePolitics] [Pic]

The Clinton's didn't spend their pre-speech prep early this week playing team deathmatch Call of Duty 4.

Delegates didn't forego Joe Biden's rowdy all-nighter (I hear some of the Black-Eyed Peas and Snoop Dog were there) to catch some time with Gears of War 2.

Gaming amidst one of the biggest political gatherings of the year is a little more staid, make that a lot more staid.

One of the only public appearance by the monolithic video game industry at the week-long Democratic National Convention in Denver this week was by Microsoft and its Xbox 360.

Microsoft's State Government Affairs folks set up shop in a back bleacher section of the Rocky's Coors Field during Tuesday's A Day at Coors Field. Their demonstration area was packed with flat screen televisions, Xbox 360s, copies of MLB 2K8 and of course one large couch.

"Where better to talk about families and games then in the living room," Fred Humphries told me as I sat down to chat with him. Humphries, managing director of state government affairs for Microsoft's US Legal Corporate Affairs, flew into Denver to help oversee Microsoft, and the Xbox's, showing at the week-long convention.

"We're here to highlight the family settings for the Xbox 360 and talk about ratings," he said. "Education is so important when it comes to the Xbox. We are here to tell people about Play Smart, Play Safe."

The morning event at Coors Field, which gave VIPs, politicians and delegates a chance to hit some balls out on the field of Coors, gave the company access to a stream of politicians in an environment where Microsoft hoped they could get their message across about gaming.

In particular Humphries and his group told delegates and others about how parents can set up a console to only allow their children to play games with certain ratings. They also explained the timer, which allows parents to limit the amount of time gamers can play in a given day or session.

The group also hands out literature to delegates including Microsoft's Family Guide to Video Games and Entertainment and a pamphlet that encourages parents to sit down with their children and actually write out an agreement that spells out how much and what type of games a child can play and when.

"We fully support parents talking to kids," Humphries said.

Humphries and his group make the rounds at a lot of political events around the country every year, he said, and they will definitely be at the Republic National Convention when it takes over Saint Paul early next month.

Microsoft's appearance at the DNC comes a week after the company announced they were teaming up with Rock the Vote to encourage voting through their Xbox Live service.

While education was the thrust of the booth, it was packed with Xbox 360 kiosks. Each system had MLB 2K8 set up to play. The consoles were also loaded with a collection of retro arcade and casual games, perhaps to try and strike a chord with some of the older delegates, like Pac-Man and Uno.

Pong was nowhere to be seen.

If the computing media — not to mention Linden Labs themselves — were to be believed, we should be deeply immersed in our Second Lives by now. Companies are using it for press conferences, people are having sex inside it — Sweden even has an embassy in it, for goodness' sake. Although early in the primaries there was a flurry of SL activity, things seem to have quietened down.

The author believes that this is largely due to the difficulty in raising funds from within SL — it is difficult to check where donors are based, and many are from outside the US.

Perhaps Linden Labs' estimates of the number of SL users is a little on the padded side, too. If you are unsure just how many of the 14 million or so residents actually log in on a regular basis, how much time are you going to devote to talking to them?

Both McCain and Obama have criticized video games — most notably McCain, although Obama has made repeated pleas for parents to 'turn off' their kids' consoles and get them outside — and might be wary of seeming to endorse such a controversial medium by actually appearing inside it.

And then of course there are the griefers. Honestly, if I were running for president I would want to do so in a public forum that carried the lowest possible risk of being buzzed by a flock of winged penises.

Presidential candidates overlook Second Life universe [Houston Chronicle Game Hacks)

Barack Obama is a politician. He's running for president! In a probing interview with Entertainment Weekly, the publication has a hard-hitting and probing interview with Obama. Things like what Obama thought of Shrek 3, his favorite sitcoms and what's on his iPod. Here's the obligatory video games question:

What's the last videogame you played?
Pong. That gives you a sense of my age. I loved that game.

So there ya go, one of the guys running for president used to play Atari's Pong. Somewhere Nolan Bushnell is doing fist pumps and going yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss.

Barack Obama: My Pop-Culture Favorites [EW via GamePolitics] [Pic]

The original press release is in Thai, which I don't read, but the Cnet Asia reporter seems to be saying the release of the list and the killing are related. Now that Thailand has decided to pull one game from shelves, what's to stop them from pulling the ten on this list, which includes God of War and 300, the game, not the movie.

Here's your full list of "dangerous games."

1- GTA

2- Man Hunt

3- Scarface

4- 50 Cent - Bullet Proof

5- 300

6- The Godfather

7- Killer 7

8- Resident Evil 4

9- God of War

10- Hitman

Thai Ministry of Health's 10 most dangerous video games (yeah, you read that right) [Cnet Asia]

Nintendo takes a global approach to piracy and has pursued the illegal game copying devices in 11 countries this past year.

Nintendo has worked with enforcement officials in Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, UK, and the US, seizing close to 30,000 infringing game copying products, as well as taking actions against those distributors and manufacturers.

Good for them! Problem is, this kind of approach is about as effective as those "police announce record drug bust" stories on TV. 30,000 "products"? That's not even a drop in the ocean. Issuing bold PR statements like that isn't showing us you're making progress. It's only drawing attention to the fact you're not.

Nintendo: 30,000 illegal pirate devices seized so far in '08 [GI.biz]

Blackwater recruiter James Overton is working on packing a Microsoft Xbox video-game console, modem, TV projector and "Guitar Hero" video game into a kit that can be kicked out of a Blackwater cargo plane and dropped to troops in Afghanistan.

Ah, 21st century warfare.

Controversial Blackwater Worldwide Using Guitar Hero, Xbox 360 in Recruiting Efforts [GamePolitics]

To answer the question that was posted on your blog, there are black members in the development team. We do have staff working on the game, who are aware of the historical background and we are constantly checking these kinds of things with them.

Course, he doesn't say how long those staff have been working on the game, but slow, reactive progress is progress nonetheless.

‘Resident Evil 5′ Producer Comments On Horror, Chainsaw Ownership And Whether Black People Worked On His Game [MTV]

Why Activision left the ESA [Variety]

Though Schramm says, tongue planted firmly in cheek, that our candidates ought to start with "the cake is a lie" jokes and avoid console war dramas by bemoaning the Dreamcast's lost shot, he points out that leveraging the forum of today's online platforms is a sure bet:

If John McCain appeared in a Big Team Battle ranked match, tagged a flag carrier with a melee kill and told his opponent to "get out my house, fool," he could pretty much count on both the Covenant and Spartan votes (the parasitic alien Flood haven't been able to vote yet, though they are reportedly gnawing on the brainstems of certain Congressional heavyweights until they get the majority they need for an Amendment).

This sort of humor suggests that we gamers are not politically active, when that's an absolute fallacy. Why, everyone knows that I myself spearheaded a successful campaign for Big Boss' presidential candidacy. But for those of you lingering behind the curve, Schramm knows that a major sequel release is the best way to get gamers' attention:

All that's required is to mock up a few extremely high resolution screenshots (again, big guns and scantily-clad women will serve you well here), send them around to the major game sites, and mark them something like "Goldeneye 64 Sequel — Top Secret!" Then, you simply create a countdown on a website counting down to "Election Day" (use some weird phrasing like "110408" — gamers enjoy solving easy puzzles), and then, as a masterstroke, install polling places at all videogame stores.

Optionally, you can also offer preorders for "Election Day" — that way, Gamestop employees won't shut up about it until then.

Guest Editorial: "Nailing the Gamer Voters" by Mike Schramm [Indecision 2008]

【先週の政界名場面】Ｇ８外相も「ＤＳ」で遊ぶ？[MSN]

From the bill's description, it:

Creates an advisory council on interactive media and youth violence and requires video game consoles to be equipped with a device or control to permit owners to prevent the display of violent or indecent video games; defines "video game"; addresses sale and rental of video games.

Now that the bill, spearheaded by Staten Island Republican Senator Andrew Lanza (R), has been passed 61-1 by the State Senate, the proposed 16-member advisory council still needs to meet with the approval of New York Governor David Paterson (D). If he signs off, the bill could become law in 2010 - which could open the door for the New York State Senate to use its judgment to control video game content.

GamePolitics, who yesterday broke the news of the bill's passage in the Senate, also obtained an mp3 of Senator Lanza's argument to the Senate in favor of the bill:

If you look closely at this bill, [concerns expressed by Sen. Duane] are not valid. Let's start with speech. There's all kinds of speech. If we take an old-fashioned pinball machine and plunked it down here in the middle of the chamber, no one would call it speech. But when we put that up on a video screen, it does become speech and I acknowledge that. And it deserves protection under the Constitution... There is some confusion with respect to what this bill actually accomplishes... The word prohibition was talked about. I want to be clear. This bill does not prohibit the sale of any video to anyone...

This simply says that every video game sold in the state of New York simply should have a rating consistent with what the ESRB does presently in a voluntary way... it does work. But the problem with "voluntary" is that tomorrow someone can change their mind. Someone could decide tomorrow to no longer place ratings on these games. So this is not about prohibiting the sale, this is simply about providing information to parents...

Last year's version... that included a provision that would have made it an E-felony to sell these games, we all thought it was wrong. And we took that out. We worked with the [video game] industry. We worked with the Assembly and we do have an agreement here on a piece of legislation that I think will go a long way in allowing parents to make good decisions in regard to what is and what isn't appropriate for their chidlren...

As with similar laws struck down in the past, we can likely expect a lawsuit - in the meantime, though, there is something you can do. If we can defend our favorite games in flamewars in comments on message boards, it's not too much to ask for us to write a letter.

The ESA had established a page within its Video Game Voters network that offers an easy letter form for New Yorkers to write their representatives in opposition to this measure, and even though the bill has already been passed, it might be a wise move to petition the Governor's office now as Paterson considers signing the bill into law.

You can even recruit your non-gaming, tax-paying friends to petition this cause, because history's shown us that efforts to regulate games through law - especially through legislation that precedent has established as unconstitutional in California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois and Minnesota - end up a futile expense of taxpayer dollars, when the same end can be accomplished through industry self-regulation.

We've contacted the ESA for comment and will update with any response we receive.

BREAKING: Another ESA Departure as Crave Leaves Game Publishers Trade Group [GamePolitics]

Very inspiring, one supposes? The plot thickens, though, when you learn that the music's composer, Christopher Lennertz, is one hundred percent Team Obama.

Lennertz told GamePolitics that there was just a mix-up over rights, and nothing illegal took place. But how does he feel about having his creation used to support a candidate he opposes? Hit the jump for his comment:

I have been receiving many emails and calls for the past week regarding the use of my music in a national television ad for John McCain's presidential campaign. The ad is called "Safe" and prominently features a track entitled "Casualties of War" that I wrote for Medal of Honor: European Assault. While I do not control the ownership of this piece, I am extremely disappointed its placement in this commercial. I did not authorize the use and was not made aware of the situation. Regardless of party affiliation of support, I would like to think that someone who believes in the American ideals of business and creativity like Sen. McCain supposedly does, would not want to disgrace or inflict any hardship or ill-will on the artists who create in this country by using their works to promote products and agendas which with they disagree.

As an American, I have the utmost respect and admiration for our troops and all of their sacrifices. In fact, much of the inspiration for my music in this piece came from having a grandfather who served this country honorably as an officer in World War II. I respect John McCain for his service to this country, both in the military and in Washington, but I do not and have never supported his candidacy nor his agenda for this country. I am dismayed that my music has been used to promote his platform and even more disappointed that a candidate who claims to be the best voice for American entrepreneurs and business owners in this troubled economy so flagrantly ignored the most basic values and tenents of copyright and intellectual property...

As an artist, business owner, and patriot, I proudly support Senator Barack Obama for the Presidency of the United States of America...

Medal of Honor Music Used in McCain Campaign Ad, But Composer is an Obama Supporter [GamePolitics]

Guess the killing 3000 people thing didn'go down very well with the Judge. While Thompson stresses the Marshals were "nice gentlemen" sent only to warn him about sending those kind of letters, he's less kind to Moreno, who he accuses of trying to intimidate him by sending the pair. As such, he's going to complain to the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, accusing the Justice Department of harassing him. Oh dear.

BREAKING: U.S. Marshals Pay Jack Thompson "a Visit" [GamePolitics]

Video game makers spent $714K to lobby in 1Q [CNN, via Ars Technica] [Pic]

GamePolitics brought Stevens to our attention, and MMO site Wandering Goblin followed up with a detailed interview that reasonably depicts Stevens as neither a fringe/novelty candidate nor, as a parent, permissive to the point of self-caricature when it comes to games.

She's a mom and a laywer. That's enough motive and opportunity for making an informed decision on her own kids' entertainment choices. And far be it from me to lecture Republicans on their values (but I will anyway) she adopts what is truly a conservative principle regarding video games in the home: "You get to be the legislator, you make the laws of your home. Don’t abdicate that responsibility to the government."

As for her gaming habits, she says her father introduced her to WoW three years ago. She has three characters and recites their stats like she would her children's scout badges. Stevens can be found on the Alexstrasza server but eschews PvP as she's usually gaming with her kids and helping their characters.

Says candidate Stevens:

WoW is the sum total of my experience. We’ll get Lich King when it comes out. The boys play Xbox live, Halo and Call of Duty series, though Guitar Hero is getting quite a bit of play now. As a parent, I will not allow GTA in my home – that is my choice. If you’d like to play it in your home, go for it.

If she wins in November, she'd join Sen. Ray Tenorio, level 70 Dwarf Priest of the Guam legislature, as known MMO-gaming lawmakers. However, Stevens' opponent, Deb Heinrich, is a two-term incumbent and vice chair of the General Assembly's appropriations committee (which is joint House and Senate). Not sure how things shake out in Connecticut, but typically that's a tough resume to beat. Stevens herself is an attorney and was a prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney. Thus ends my handicapping of the race.

The WoW-Playing Candidate [Wandering Goblin]

You better sit down, this gets really confusing really quickly.

Yesterday The Escapist broke the news that E3 keynoter Texas Governor Rick Perry stirred up some controversy by attending a Texas' Cornerstone Church sermon given by the Rev. John Hagee. During the service Hagee told the gathering that non-christians are going straight to hell. Perry later said he agreed with the sentiment. The story failed to mention that the sermon took place in 2006, something the Wired follow-up did explain.

Then Game Politics, a ECA site which follows the convergence of politics and gaming, picked up the story and added some commentary, calling Perry a bizarre keynote choice and asking the ESA to rescind their offer. It also said that E3 2008 was being politicized by ESA president Michael Gallagher.

In exchanges with Joystiq, Dan Hewitt, the ESA director of communication, called into question Game Politics' objectivity, pointing out that it was owned by ECA.

"If the ESA posted a blog and called it a news site, journalists would rightfully balk and it wouldn't pass a smell test. Remarkably, GamePolitics doesn't face the same scrutiny even though it's funded by the ECA and tainted with anti-ESA vitriol. At the end of the day, calling GamePolitics a news site is as laughable as saying there's a Cuban free press."

Game Politics' editor Dennis McCauley defended the site, saying he "stands by what he wrote regarding the appropriateness - or lack thereof - of having Gov. Perry deliver the E3 keynote."

Reached for comment this afternoon, Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and research at the ESA, had this to say:

“The ESA welcomes open, honest and frank exchanges with the media. Dan’s comments to Joystiq, which were directed specifically at GamePolitics, were an expression of frustration based on the consistently biased approach of reporting on that site. “

So two issues for the price of one: Is a religiously outspoken governor the appropriate choice for E3 keynoter? Does the fact that ESA rival, the ECA own GamePolitics call into question their objectivity.

ESA calls out GamePolitics for unfair coverage [update] [Joystiq]

A Petition for the Enactment of Regulation on the Manufacture and Sale of Bishojo Adult Anime Magazines, and Bishojo Adult Anime Simulation Games

Our towns overflow with adult anime magazines and games which often depict elementary school girls, and the minds of the youths who are seduced by these games are unwittingly destroyed; they lose their very humanity, there are already incidents of young maidens being plucked from the streets and murdered. Since it is plain that our society has now become one where young girls are placed in great peril, the issue of free expression is a thing of the past. To curb these profit seeking companies with no conception of social morals, to restrict the creation of products which place young girls in peril, there is a pressing need for penal regulations and the accompanying laws.

We wish to see enacted laws restricting the manufacture and sale of bishojo adult anime magazines, and bishojo adult anime simulation games.

It'll be interesting to see how the Diet responds to this petition.

Petition [Sangiin via Neko Are Blog via Sankaku Complex]

[Pic]

We built one prototype of this unusual, politically motivated game in the tradition of "Wac-A-Mole". While we have no plans to go into production, we will sell the prototype to a collector of unique games.

Besides the Bin Laden mole, the cabinet also features Hitler and Hussein moles. Shirtless man not included.

Wac-A-Bin-Ladin [Robots And Games via GameOfTheBlog]

Texas Governor Rick Perry will be speaking at this year's E3 Media & Business Summit in July, the Entertainment Software Association Announced.

“Governor Perry and the E3 Media & Business Summit are both great success stories. The Governor’s keynote address is especially timely given the high concentration of entertainment software developers and publishers in Texas as well as the state’s long-standing support of our industry,” said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. “The Governor’s forward-thinking leadership in encouraging the growth and development of our $18 billion industry is a roadmap for other state executives who want to transform their state economies for the 21st century.”

The governor will be talking about the confluence of politics and video games, a topic that is likely to come to a head this election.

Mayor Tom Leppert, 53, made sweet sweet love to his main axe with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," craning the guitar neck up and grimacing dramatically. Sure he handed it off to his 11-year-old "personal Guitar Hero coach" Aaron Blackmon mid-song. But Leppert got it back to drop to his knees for the big finish.

"I might not have hit the keys, but boy I sure got the style points," Leppert said. Aaron says the mayor is "good for his level," (ouch) but that he shouldn't play Guitar Hero as a career.

"The heck with this mayor stuff," Leppert replied.

Leppert was matched against Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, whom Leppert accused of practicing for "hours and hours" to get "School's Out" right. When Keyes started his licks, Leppert stuffed $5 bills in his guitar strap and half-heartedly interfered with the guitar's signal back to the console.

The fund-raiser hopes to raise $625,000 for the mayor's "Igniting Opportunity for the Children of Dallas Campaign." This is part of leadership, too — having fun at an event that's supposed to be fun. Good on Mayor Leppert.

Dallas Mayor Leppert Jams at Blockbuster Charity Event [Dallas Morning News, via GamePolitics]

In the promotional material, the company that offers this game is less coy about turning on the jingoistic rhetoric and pitching an anti-Tibetan line.

"We support the Olympics with our unique online game content against Tibetan independence," it says. "We provide new services for China's youth to vent their bilious rage."

Overt displays of rabid nationalism generally make me feel pretty uncomfortable, no matter where it's coming from — and I feel a little bad for GTA IV that the (English language) article went on to compare this MMO add-on to a little good clean fun on the streets of Liberty City.

Tibetans fair game in China [DNA]

Retailers would be hit with a $5000 civil fine should they be found in violation of the act. Similar legislation has been attempted in Massachusetts, New York, Louisiana, California and beyond to hilarious, ruled as unconstitutional result.

Terry argued for the bill, saying that "In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit ‘virtual’ murder, assault and rape." Ah yes, the old "virtual rape" fantasy game. Glad to see this fiction still being tossed around by our elected officials.

Bill targets teen gamers [Variety - thanks, Carlos!]

As for his comments on video games raising our children, it really isn't a criticism of gaming in as much as it is a criticism of parents, which I agree with wholeheartedly. It's nice to see a politician who grasps that simple concept.

Bartle smugly namechecks Tanya Byron's level-headed report on the plight of raising children in a digital age, with access to realistic, sometimes violent video games. 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!

We've won: get over it [Guardian]

Yee's press release then reminds parents with some questionable wording that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was "found" to have "graphic scenes of oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse" and paints a dire picture of ratings enforcement.

In related news, I issued my own warning to parents, urging them to, you know, look at the four guns on the cover and the girl fellating a lollipop and think for a second if their kids should be playing that. And that the answer was no, moron. Only Senator Yee's press release is after the jump, though.

Senator Yee Urges Parents to Avoid Latest Ultra-Violent Video Game Thursday, April 24, 2008

Latest Grand Theft Auto Video Game to be Released Tuesday

SACRAMENTO - Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the author of California's law attempting to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors, today urged parents to avoid purchasing the latest graphically violent video game - Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV - scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 29. GTA IV, the newest in the ultra-violent video game series, is expected to be the year's most popular game despite its rating of M (Mature) for adult audiences.

"It is imperative that parents avoid purchasing this game for their children and always review the video games their children are playing," said Yee, who is also a child psychologist. "Unfortunately, the makers of Grand Theft Auto have a history of deceiving the ratings board and the public on the true content of their games. Parents beware: this game undoubtedly glorifies violence, is extremely realistic and designed for adults only."

In June 2005, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and GTA's creator Rockstar, were involved in a multi-million dollar scandal called "Hot Coffee," in which Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a game originally rated M by the ESRB, was found to have hidden animations allowing players to watch graphic scenes of oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse. The scandal resulted in the game being pulled from most store shelves, a $2.75 million class-action settlement, and the stocks of the Rockstar's parent company (Take Two Interactive) losing nearly half their value.

The ESRB rates a game based solely on a short video clip and information supplied by the game's maker and does not actually play or review the full content of the game. While M-rated games are designed for adults, there is no prohibition to selling such games to children. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission reports that 42 percent of unaccompanied children 13 to 16 years of age can successfully purchase M-rated games.

In addition, a recent report by the National Institute on Media & the Family found complacency among retailers, parents and the gaming industry regarding video game rating awareness, enforcement and usage. Among the report's highlights was a retailer grade of C-, with national retailers receiving a D and rental stores collecting a failing (F) grade. The game industry as a whole received a C and the ESRB received a C+.

Yee's 2005 law to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors in California is currently being litigated in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A bill authored by Yee in 2004, which has gone into effect, requires video game retailers to post signs informing consumers of the video game rating system.

Parents can learn more about GTA IV by visiting various online parental resources including www.whattheyplay.com, www.commonsensemedia.com, and www.parentstv.org.

In 2006/07 - the latest year for which data is available - 1,067 children under 15 needed medical assistance for tree falls. In 1999/00 the figure was 1,823.

Meanwhile, the number of youngsters under 15 admitted to A&E after bed falls in 2006/07 was 2,531, up from 2,226 in 1999/2000.

The figures lend weight to the Government's campaign to get more children away from computer games and into the great outdoors.

... change to the fan sub-culture appears inevitable, but yet so are reactionary responses from the fans. But those responses are soon swallowed up by the progress of the sub-culture on the whole. Given this inevitability, is there reason for concern?

After all, the course of history has already begun to unfold. In the same way we gaming old-timers may look down on PlayStation fanboys (for the record, I'm a Nintendo man), those same gamers who cut their teeth on the PS2 may denigrate the n00bs who are just learning to waggle their Wii-motes. Wilson's critique may in fact stem from his own nostalgia for the good old days before a series of tubes became the internet we now know and love, and flame wars became easier to ignite.

Si, Ceci Est Un Gamer [GameSetWatch]

The very notion of the "gamer" implies that games are a niche hobby, only for the sufficiently devoted. This exclusivity is exactly what impedes games from attracting a more diverse player base beyond the white adolescent male stereotype.

Given that more and more people are beginning to embrace games, it's finally time to dump the anachronistic "gamer" label. We longtime players of games need not feel sad about this change. Opening games to, well, everybody can only result in a wider selection of genres and ideas.

Maybe it's because I'm part of the even snottier and more exclusive subgroup of 'academia,' or because I think people in general couldn't care less about big important issues beyond what they feel personally impacts them, but I don't really see a problem with 'gamer' or 'gamer' subculture — rather, I don't think the exclusive and/or militant mindset of some people will go away if a label or term is suddenly ditched. The connection between being a passionate gamer and clueless when it comes to politics is rather tenuous at best.

Ceci N'est Pas Une Gamer [GameSetWatch]

No doubt, video games are easy fodder when speaking about "family values" for all the stereotypical reasons. But to lump all games together is a dated philosophy, ignoring—aside from what I'd argue could be familial benefits—their huge potential to revolutionize education through their ability to capture attention spans and motivate success...let alone the current ways they tacitly instruct the scientific method, resource management and spacial reasoning.

Barack Obama: 'Parents should clamp down on games' [MCVUK]