Now games seem to have quite a bad rep, considering the lack of mainstream coverage, a lot of the people against games don’t know about them and assume that they are evil things, ether set on de-sensitising a generation toward violence or they contain lasers and even more graphic violence. Take Grand Theft auto IV for example, most of the media coverage of that is extremely negative. Mainly involving reports of overly exited fox news presenters spewing reports of your loved ones getting a hooker, using her for sex then when your done beating her to death with a baseball bat. Completely ignoring the actual substance of the game, the plot the character development. The majority of “traditional” media would rather have the viewer concentrate on the murder of streetwalkers in a game. Grand Theft Auto IV is actually a rather clever satirical commentary on the disposable nature of today’s society, including the news media praying on the fear of the unsuspecting viewers. I can see how this is true, I have never seen games in the news represented in a positive way, take a child’s game like SuperMario for the Wii. The colourful friendly landscapes the friendly characters and plots that play-out like a CBBC children’s show.
The other argument given by the news and uninformed sources (mainly religious fanatics or over concerned and fairly un researched parents) is that its corrupting our youth. The game I mentioned before GTA IV had parents calling in saying it will teach there children to kill people in cold blood, for money and deal drugs and so on. Even though the game is rated 18 in the UK, rated by the government. People under 18 should not have access to the game they should not be sold the game. Shops will not sell the product to underage consumers much like cigarettes and alcohol.
