@N.D.

You are 100% right that Video Games are a long way from the only problem with the current education system, nobody will deny that, I expect, but with regards to race etc, it's all bundled up together, social, educational, employment, they are all interlinked. I agree that there is a certain degree of diversionary tactics going on here, and that far more needs to be done than simply tackle computer games, but whether he intended to or not, the message being forwarded by Obama is that parents should be responsible for their child's well-being.

Whilst that won't deal with the problem part and parcel, it will make inroads and hopefully encourage more tackling of the other problems that the system faces. If the system tackles the 'evil of computer games' it will fail, if it tackles the 'be a responsible parent' aspect of the problem, then that will at the very least be a step further than things have gone so far.

Yes, those social problems also need to be dealt with, but better one step forward than no steps at all.

Holy crap. It must be a miracle or some crap, a politician talking about any R* game and not advocating legislation ect, ect... I definitely do like Obama the most, but still, I can't come to a good conclusion on whether or not he'll actually do anything if elected.

PLEASE GOD, DO NOT LET THAT PSYCO-BITCH HILLARY WIN!!!!

Can't say I disagree with him on this. As to the question of how many hours a night is appropriate for study. Again that's PARENTING. If a kid HAS to spend 5 hours a night studying, the parent needs to go to the school and complain about it (unless they think it's good). If a kid spends 5 hours a night playing computer games, if the parent think that's bad, they should do something. Sounds like what's needed most is parenting classes!

Fuck off, these games aren't raising kids, they're entertaining them. God knows they aren't going to derive any enjoyment out of studying hard and following the crowd. This world is full of disappointments and let-downs. From every angle, from an early age kids realize the falsities behind the ideal that we are portrayed. I call Bullshit. These days kids aren't given the fair deal they deserve, it's no wonder they turn to things like GTA for kicks. Now-a-days kids are treated like shit by the old arses who run every country, governments have nobody but themselves to blame for how the youth are developing.

First off

yay first.

Secindly he recognizes GTA IV exists and doesn't bash it (gasp).

Now if only Hillary can do the same (I bet she'll rally against it as usual).

well at least he isn't blaming it for causing real world violence.

Wow, he acknowledged that GTA was aimed at adults... that seems well ahead of other politicians I've heard.

Seems like a sensible-enough comment. He doesn't even take the opportunity to condemn the game, just simply link it into an observation about children spending a lot of time on entertainment. I sense a bit of the assumption common to older folks that games and TV are always braindead and vapid (and though some are, GTA4 looks complex and filled with beauty), but once again, I'm happy to see Obama not jumping for the easy political points.

This is the most reasonable thing I've ever heard a politician say about a video game. He recognizes GTA is aimed at adults, lumps it in with all entertainment, and squarely points the finger at lack of parental involvement.

Hmm... don't really have any objection with what he said. In general, I think a lot of people are too focused on entertainment and the like, and not on more important things.

For most things in life, moderation is important I believe.

Yeah, the title gave me the wrong impression too. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the quote. Any chance of getting that title revised, GP? I think the guy earned it.

Did it just get cold in Hell?

Lets get started, shall we?

"I was just catching the news this morning about Grand Theft Auto, this video game, which is gonna break all records and make goo-gobs of money for whoever designed it. Now, this isn’t intended for kids..."

Okay...

"although I promise you there are kids who are playing it, but these video games are raising our kids…"

...continue senator...

"Across the board, middle-class, upper-class, working-class kids, they’re spending a huge amount of their time not on their studies, but on entertainment...."

...Okay...he brought up entertainment as a whole...thats fine.

"And so part of our job is going to have to be to inspire the entire country to say, ‘How are we giving our kids a thirst for knowledge?’ And turning off the TV set, and getting them to be engaged and interested, like their future really does matter on how well they do in school.”

...I...I got nothing.

Acknowledging this as an adult title...uses entertainment as a broad spectrum without discriminating against games...focusing on parental/school involvement to get kids focused on studying...no banhammers....

WE HAVE A WINNER!

I don't really have a problem with his comments, he is right, Video Games, and other Media, is raising our children for us. Barck even hints at the fact that his is not the Video Game's fault.

Even Jack Thompson, 'defender of children everywhere' has forgotten that his primary responsibility is to be Father to his own child. That is how bad it has got.

I don't hae an issue with this. I like that he said it wasn't intended for kids but they'll play it anyway, because that really puts it on their parents, and it really is their fucking fault if their kids whoa re already mental play gta and mimic it.

*Whoa*

Total head rush from hearing what seems to be a non-GTA bashing politician.

He does not compliment it, but neither does he claim it blasphemous.

Oh my god, its the END!!!! THE RAPTURE IS COMING!!!

Lakes will Fire, all land will turn barren with ash, super space pirate nazi zombie cyborgs on T-rexes will come bearing atomic spiked bazooka flamethrowers and singing (or screaming!?) iterations of lyrics and voices of William Hung!!!

Oh wait, I'm just paranoid....

But its a nice change of pace from the incessant (and ignorant) yelling of Jack Thompson.

This makes me even happier that I decided to vote for him a long time ago.

Obama didn't touch on this, but I believe the true potential of edutainment games has yet to be tapped (although there has been some success in that part of the game industry, there is still allot to be explored).

Hopefully the design doc I am currently writing for a specific subject will achieve that.

I won't disclose what it is I am writing just yet, mostly because I am not entirely sure the end result will be really really fun.

In my opinion: a game that isn't fun, isn't worth making.

Does this count as a plug? If it is, I am sorry for being an asshat.

If I was an American citizen, I would vote for Barack Obama for the simple fact he didn't bash the game like every other fucktard politician in the god damn country. KUDOS TO YOU SIR.

@ GRIZZAM 512 and ray

Ditto

@TheRoosterRngr

I'm 21,
...played video games for 18 years (first game, Super Mario Bros.)

I've got to tell you, I am a C+ student.

Not to contradict your theory, but during High School, I am posed to often thinks of Video Games instead of my homework

I am actually pretty smart when I apply myself (my current excuse is the lack of work ethic) so I can see Obama's view in this.

I know everyones' not like me, so his statement is rather unvalid. But at least he's better than Hillary.
Dunno... its difficult to tell someone's true intentions when it comes to politics.

Thats why its called politics.

Poli - Latin word meaning - "many"
tics - sounds like "ticks" which are - blood sucking creatures

In politics, there exist only extremes...because obviously there can't possible be kids who do their studies AND play video games...

Acknowledging this as an adult title…uses entertainment as a broad spectrum without discriminating against games…focusing on parental/school involvement to get kids focused on studying…no banhammers….

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Yeah, I'm with Waffles on this one. He's nailed that one perfectly.

At least he is not really extreme in his views, but perhaps he could do a bit more and try to lay off Videogames unless if he acturley has had a go at, well lets say, Wii Sports or Wii Fit, perhaps that could let him see a new light into Videogaming and not see gamers as underachivers.

The problem I see is that he still thinks that children need to be educated.

But that is where school comes in, and then parental involvement that encourages helping their kids with tricky homework.

Obama will go a long way if he starts mentioning E rated games in a positive light.

Oh, I forgot to mention all the kids who grow up playing videogames and decide to pursue it as a career. To make videogames, you must have high skill in mathmatics and computer skills. Some people have tried harder in school so they can become game designers, so I wouldn't call that under-achieving.

I actually learned pretty much all my maths and english skills from play Warhammer and reading books, not studying in class, where it was intellectualized instead of being presented in a real world setting.

The worst thing is that this kind of thing is effecting adults alot now... people can't get a job as anything other than a kitchen hand at the moment, because they need a college education or ten years experience to do anything else....people value a piece of paper more than they do real world experience.

@Thomas

Yeah, I got most of my reading skills from comics and RPG's. It was presented subtley, as apposed to those lame ass classroom attemps to make learning "fun".

No condemnation of gaming or hyperbole, just a simple, obvious "it's not for kids" and call for moderation.

You have my vote sir! Not just because of games, of course. Obama has my support because of his stance on net neutrality and corporate governance and his Kennedy-esqe reconciliatory foreign policy. Plus, he tends to avoid political double-talk and says what he means. (Either that, or he double-talks so well he fools me into thinking he says what he means.)

This sounds like a previous remark he made about entertainment and turning off the TV. I'm too lazy to go and look it up but it's on the GP site somewhere.

isn't this what he said before? clinton is right, he does copy paste his stuff

Hey I did not get pissed off. This is awesome.

Obama's kinda right...the parents that let TV and videogames raise their kids are basically doomed to have underachieving kids. It's really up to the parents to keep their kids within the confines of their ESRB age groups and regulate the amount of time kids spend on anything.

I mean, when I was a kid, I'd skip out on homework to go down the street and play baseball. In short order, mom and dad made sure I had my homework squared away before I did anything in my free time.

That said, I went to work today, came home, cooked dinner, and played ES4 Oblivion.

Ahh Obama.

You're the one source of reasoned critical thinking in this whole mess. You support real science and point out real problems rather than scapegoating. And you, Barack, oh so clever. As if I wouldn't vote for you already, you're the first politician I've heard say the word 'goo-gobs'

@me
No One For President 2008

That'd be an interesting outcome, I wonder if anyone would actually notice the difference.

I'll be interested to see if Obama starts talking about how good the GTA4 cover system is...

@CG

yeah, but for every responsible parent there are more than two irresponsible ones.

not everything that is ever said can apply to 100% of the people 100% of the time. taking that into account, there are plenty of children being raised by television because the parents just can't be bothered to spend time with their offspring.

we, as a country, spend more money on entertainment than anything else.
we, as a country, pay those who entertain us significantly more than we pay our educators and the people whose job it is to protect us.

@Conejo

Yeah, that is pretty fucked. Don't even get me started on the pro-baseball players and all the other pro-sports players.

Repudiator: "Glad to know Obama isn’t that kind of person whose ready to blame social ills on something that has nothing to do with the problem at hand."

Isn't anyone the least bit concerned that he is blaming under-performance in schools not on the real causes of it (i.e. lack of access, poverty, low self-esteem due to enforced stereotypes, bullying, drugs, divorce etc. — these things have been subject to scientific and statistical studies) but on the entertainment industry, gaming industry included?

In fact, Mr. Obama is doing exactly what Repudiator commends him for refraining from: he is blaming poor academic and intellectual performance on children being lazy by playing video-games and their parents being irresponsible for letting them, which have nothing to do with the problem. Video games have become a very fashionable whipping boy, not only the cause of school shootings and blue murder now, but also poor grades!

Here is an interesting and pertinent section from North Carolinan Gov. Easley's speech yesterday endorsing Ms. Clinton, which presents an alternate take on the education crisis and the solution:

"We used tobacco settlement money to transform all these tobacco-dependent communities, and we are now #3 in bio-tech in the USofA ... we have to raise the level of knowledge, talent, and skill, and if we don't do it and do it almost yesterday, then we run the risk of becoming a second-tier nation ... The good news is we have somebody running for president who gets it ... Hillary knows and understands that there is a connection between education and economic development that's never existed before, that if we want to dominate, we have to innovate, that america's ability to dominate the world economy has been based in the past and will be based in the future on every child in every corner of every county of this country having access to a college education. That's in her plan. There is a lot of 'yes we can' and 'yes we should' going around; Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver, that's the difference."

In the end, I suppose, it comes down to whether you believe the government has something to answer for in its repeated failures towards students and deeply flawed education system, or whether the blame lies with lazy children and irresponsible parents who need to step up and if they turn off their Xbox, everything will be fine again.

[...] Obama, on video games, kids and entertainment, has made completely reasonable, rational and justifiable remarks.  Here, read them for yourself. [...]

@Grombar

I was just about to say that. No sniper fire either (real or imagined) :D

thats right barak, really go for the youth vote by telling them they are time wasters....

is it any wonder your campaign is tanking?

He does have a point on certain things.

But for me...In 8th grade I was reading at about the 5th grade level. I was lagging behind everyone in my class, and the school for that matter. They even put me in one of those "special help" groups that would get singled out in class. I remember being so pissed off for being slower than everyone else.

The Story.
My older brother noticed my problems. He let me play his copy of Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. Then he let me Borrow his Super NES. I played Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 3, Secret of Mana, Zelda: a Link to the Past...along with many many others. MY parents had gotten me a prescription for ritalin, that helped a bit with my ADHD and my short Attention span.

The Point.
After awhile, My Grades had gotten significantly better. I went for a C- boarder line D+, to a B+ in a short span of 4 months. I had noticeably gotten better with my writing, and reading. I wasn't singled out anymore in class. Video Games taught me how to read better. Video Games taught me Problem solving. Video Games taught me tactics and strategy. Video Games took my anger away.

I thank my older brother for getting me into video games... and my parents for the ritalin.

BANE XXIII

Minneapolis, Mn

I was skeptical of him at first but now, I have a respect for him. He doesn't bash the game, he doesn't say it causes bad things (except a lack of study and by proxy, knowledge - I'll get to that in a second), he just says that kids are playing too many videogames. He used GTA 4 as a good and relevant example rather than a scapegoat. he's not BLAMING videogames for causing this, he's blaming the parents who allow their children to spend so much time playing.

And let's face it. Most of us here are in defense of videogames, myself included. But the simplefact is kids mostly ARE playing videogames too much. I think the USA's IQ tests speak for themselves.. no offense intended to you guys, but like I said, the tests speak for themselves. I'm not saying it's because of video-games, rather it's because of all forms of entertainment.

If you spend every day watching TV, the same thing will happen, as a child. This is no different except that I would argue it's more addictive due to goals and interactivity.

I think what he's saying is a very fair statement that there should be less focus on Videogames - though I'd hope he includes all forms of TV and entertainment in that - and more on studying. When 20% of your 7th grade students can't find USA on an unmarked map, I believe you need it :/.

I would have to agree that video games are getting into homework/study time. I really like Barack Obama's approach to video games. It seems like he knows what he is doing and he actually wants to help kids instead of looking for an easy target.

I too agree about videogames and litteracy, however I was already reading at a higher level before games came out, so I can't say they taught me. However, I would like to point out to all the people who try to "trick" their kids into playing an educational game that's "so fun, your children won't even know they are learning"... yeah, if your kid is so stupid that he can't tell an edutainment game from a real game, then you have some more work then those games will fix.

What they need to do is get a game with a lot of text, and number based weapons and damage. Then do quizes. "OK, you just equipped Grand Zombie Slayer, it has an attack of 90. What was you last weapon? Sword of Fire? Had an attack power of 80. What was the percentage increase in damage? Just estimate it. OK, Zombies take an addition 10% damage to fire, but Grand Zombie Slayer does and extra 20% of damage. What was the percentage of damage increas to Zombies? Is the 10 more points of damage worth it against an Ice creature which takes 10% more damage from the Sword of Fire?"

Believe it or don't, but these kinds of questions will sometimes work (depends on the kid though, this works better if the kid wants to hit the bad guys as hard as he can, not just make it through the game). Dragon Quest VIII is a great game for kids to do this. Lot's of text, DBZ type characters, and a crazy damage equation that borders on calculus.

Who says goo-gobs anymore?

He will eventually find out how games have rooted themselves into our popular culture. Mister number forty-five will soon see mister number one when he reads Time magazine's cover story tomorrow :)

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,17225112_1726935,...

He needs to be carefull of what he says about videogames. He (Obama) only got 173,607 votes on the Time 100. Miyamoto easily got 1,953,032 votes on the Time 100. Stephen Colbert (No. 3) only got 900,108 votes.

This means could mean that the "Core Gamers" have at least twice as much influence than the "Colbert Nation". Maybe he should have tried to reach out to the gamers than trying to get the "Colbert Bump" :)

tl;dr all the comments

In any case, I want to say that I'm glad that there is at least one politician out there that doesn't simply parrot the popular line about the evils of entertainment. Hopefully this is the start of a new trend it politics.

Also, anyone that wants to improve schools to lure minors back to their studies rather than simply eliminating the competition has got to have the right idea in mind. It's going to be a tough job to pull off though, but with (hopefully) longer lasting effects.

His opinion is fine and all, but thanks to his extreme liberal/socialist economic policies, if he were elected President, I won't be able to afford to buy videogames, because half of my paycheck would be going to Uncle Sam.

@Firebird

Poli - Latin word meaning - “many”
tics - sounds like “ticks” which are - blood sucking creatures

You sir, are awesome :-)

Obama = fail.


his comment, however = win

My crushing, all-consuming laziness is what stops me studying. Games just help fill the void a little ^^

That man speaks much truth to be honest. He isnt fucking advocating that you burn the game industry to the ground, just that America could do alot more to invigorate their children's interest in learning.

What is so SHOCKING about that.

Hes right. Education right through the western world is shit, utter shit. The rates of people staying in school is piss poor. EVERYONE could do better. The fact that he suggested that the current efforts are shit and they could divert some money to make them more effective is exactly what needs to be said, not this shit like:

"Lets spend ALL our money on Iraq and get 1000000 years in debt! OH WAIT we already HAVE!"

Because thats pretty much what the GOP says atm.

Is studying outside of class seriously the problem? Kids spend around 6-8 hours a DAY sitting in classrooms, supposedly learning, and then they're supposed to go home and STUDY? I believe in a strong work ethic and doing your best - I was valedictorian at my (albeit small) private school.. but expecting kids to rush home and bury themselves in homework as opposed to relaxing and enjoying themselves is stupid.

The public school system is broken. 30-40 hours a week should be enough education for children, don't blame video games!

Taking this excuse will allow public schools to never take responsibility for their pathetic performance, there will always be some other activity kids like that will be the scapegoat.

thats a new kind of politics for you right there.

he didn't even attack GTA IV.

all he cared about was kids studying.

TO: josh

blaming funding id legitimate. i live in Arizona and my state spends less than every other state on education except Utah and Idaho. Arizona is also home to Phoenix which is one of the Five largest cities in the USA.

despite this huge population we spend less than Alaska, Rhode Island, Vermont (all thos little states) every state in the deep south spend more than us and they have a horrible stereotype for their Education.

we might spend a lot on students in some places but funding is still a huge problem if it's not distributed unevenly.

[...] Barak Obama even metioned GTA IV in one of his speeches in Indiana. I was just catching the news this morning about Grand Theft Auto, this video game, which is gonna break all records and make goo-gobs of money for whoever designed it. Now, this isn’t intended for kids, although I promise you there are kids who are playing it, but these video games are raising our kids… Across the board, middle-class, upper-class, working-class kids, they’re spending a huge amount of their time not on their studies, but on entertainment. And so part of our job is going to have to be to inspire the entire country to say, ‘How are we giving our kids a thirst for knowledge?’ And turning off the TV set, and getting them to be engaged and interested, like their future really does matter on how well they do in school.” [...]

[...] According to a transcript sent in to GamePolitics, Obama mentioned the game in a speech in Indiana: “I was just catching the news this morning about Grand Theft Auto, this video game, which is gonna break all records and make goo-gobs of money for whoever designed it. [...]