Obama doesn’t really hate your PS3

Chris White 28 Sep, 2009 at 7:03pm ET Article published in Gaming

Video games should burn, right?

Saturday evening, the 26th of September, US President Barack Obama made a speech that has started quite a buzz in the gaming community when he charismatically proclaimed, “Government can’t put away the PlayStation.” “These are things that only a parent can do.”

We are not sure the controversy and commotion is warranted. We’re going to break down why we aren’t bothered by what President Obama said and address a few of the issues gamers have been clamoring about.

Let’s address the silly issue first. Obama is not singling out the PlayStation as the root of all evil. In the past, he’s made similar remarks about the Xbox and he’s just using a household name as an analogy for video games in general. The PlayStation is a proxy, not a scapegoat so leave your superfluous console egoism at home; the PlayStation just isn’t that special.

The biggest question here is what President Obama means when he says to put the PlayStation away. Is he saying that video games are always bad for children and they should never be played or is he saying to limit the amount of time kids spend gaming?

We feel that President Obama isn’t saying all games are bad and they should never be played. If he were he would have been more explicit about it. He might have said to put the PlayStation away forever or he could have substituted the word ‘put’ with ‘throw’ and told parents to get rid of the PlayStation all together. But he didn’t and—he, of all people—can be expected to speak with precision. We think the President is telling parents to determine an appropriate amount time for their children to spend gaming.

Here on Icrontic, we’ve discussed the importance of parents being educated and involved in what their kids are playing. Ultimately, it’s not the ESRB who should decide what kids can play, it’s what parents decide what their children should play and how often. President Obama is telling parents to take responsibility for their children and we whole-heartedly agree. We also agree that children should not have unrestricted access to games. In essence, President Obama is saying to be involved in their children’s life, read to them, help them with their homework and teach to prioritize their responsibilities over that of their leisure.

We probably would disagree with President Obama on the amount of time children should spend gaming but he did not try to make that decision for us. We also understand the positive benefits of gaming because we’ve experienced them first hand. Thankfully he did not try to tell adults to play less; we can shoulder that personal responsibility.

If parents engage their children when it comes to games, the gaming industry would not get nearly as much negative press because kids wouldn’t be getting their hands on what they shouldn’t play. If more parents get involved because of what President Obama said, it’s a win for parents and gamers alike.

Comments

28 Sep 2009 ~ 7:58pm Butters Obama's sporting a Bow Tie in the picture. That's an interesting look...

It's annoying when 2 or 3 phrases are taken out of context.
28 Sep 2009 ~ 8:26pm Cliff_Forster Every generation has had its distractions. From drinking, to fast cars, to the opposite sex, to TV, now video games and good parenting has always been the buffer.

Want your kid to study, it starts by leading by example, read with your kid, put down the remote and check their homework. Its not just the distractions for the kids, its the parents that shirk their responsibility as well.
30 Sep 2009 ~ 1:36am UPSLynx Parents REALLY need to be more into their children's lives today. Video games are hardly bad when children are exposed to them appropriately.

Prime's kids are two perfect examples of this.

Also, President Obama has a Nintendo Wii in the White House. The debate is hardly if games = bad.
30 Sep 2009 ~ 2:16am djmeph Clearly Obama is in bed with the Nintendo lobby.
30 Sep 2009 ~ 2:24am Thrax Barack Obama hates black consoles.
30 Sep 2009 ~ 7:26am Zuntar

Cliff_Forster wrote:

Every generation has had its distractions. From drinking, to fast cars, to the opposite sex, to TV, now video games and good parenting has always been the buffer.

Want your kid to study, it starts by leading by example, read with your kid, put down the remote and check their homework. Its not just the distractions for the kids, its the parents that shirk their responsibility as well.

True true :thumbup