Obama: "Turn off the video games and pick up a book."

[RelexCryo]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/308151/news/barack-obama-turn-off-the-video-games-and-pick-up-a-book/

Hard to disagree with him. I mean, he just wants to encourage parents not have their kids play video games all day long.

Dear Obama,

Turn off your legal team's efforts to block Gay Marriage. I understand fighting for it might cost you the election, but at least don't fight against it.

You were given a Nobel Prize for promising to turn off Guantanamo Bay within one year of being elected. Still haven't done it. Maybe you should get on that?

Please fire James Holdren.

And Joe Biden.

While I agree with offering health care for the poor, it would be nice if we were told the exact contents of the bill beforehand. And if everyone in the Senate actually read it.

Blocking the re-sale of M1- Garands to the United States isn't rational.

EDIT:

Ok Obama how about a compromise?

YOU obey the War Powers Act, and I'LL read a book.

Fair?

You win this thread.

 

[Johnny Impact]

What if the book in question is Twilight?
Can I keep playing my videogames then?

I thought about making the remark that the value of a book depends greatly on the contents. Figured I'd leave it for someone else.

You hit the nail more squarely than I would have. Bravo, sir. Bravo.

 

[Jegsimmons]

so...why video game alone?

what is saying tv and video games and computers too hard to say?
or are video games too topical.


though to honest, i'm not takeing advice from this guy, until ....well i'll never take advice from this guy.

 

[peruvianskys]

...Besides interactivity, what the hell is the difference between a book and a well written game? NONE. People always seem to miss this and it ALWAYS annoys me to hell.

The fact that you cant tell the difference is proof that you need to read more books.

Hahahaha.

Seriously guys, is anyone arguing honestly that In Search of Lost Time and Mass Effect are really the same thing? Good literature isn't even comparable to a video game. Games are meant for entertainment and that's fine, but true good books are more than that; good books are about discovering what makes us human and exploring the modern condition and all that stuff your English teachers told you blah blah blah, I know it sounds pretentious but it's true. Games distract you from your life but books make you focus on it. Even the greatest video games can't hold a candle to the personal or cultural importance and impact of good fiction.

Video games can be art but they're the kind of art that makes you think "Oh that's pretty" which isn't bad in itself but there's no way to compare that to the kind of art that wrenches your heart to pieces. When you're playing something FOR FUN then there's just no way to have that kind of emotional impact. Games, by nature of their primarily entertainment-focused existence, simply preclude themselves from offering the emotional and intellectual enrichment that books can offer.

K off to play Duke Nukem 3D.

PS: Obviously there are shitty books out there and I guess you could probably get more out of Shadow of the Colossus than you would out of some terrible paperback mystery for old women. Still, even average books have more to offer in the "meaning" department than the best video games (even if they're less fun). I guess I'd like Obama to come out and say "Kids shouldn't be playing video games/reading intellectually empty books/watching worthless movies/etc. all the time" but that's a pretty hefty condemnation. In general, "fewer video games, more good books" is a perfectly reasonable statement.

 

[Mouse One]

Funny how everyone is suddenly up in arms about the War Powers act, when I strongly suspect that they were the same set cheering on the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the post 9/11 days (to say nothing of "minor" actions under the venerated Reagan such as El Salvador, Panama, Grenada and...Libya).

Then again, American politics has been partisan since...well, since the 1620s.

OT: Amazing how anything other that "Videogames make you smarterer, smexy and probably physically fit" garners such ire on these forums. Hey, I like videogames a lot, but I'm not going to kid myself and say that most of them are anything other than a stress relief. If gaming is crowding out other activities like reading or getting outside, there's something wrong.

 

[PissOffRoth]

Nobody should play video games all the time, but Obama is making the common mistake of considering games to be children's toys. There's just as much good to be learned from games as there is from books. Yes, they should do other things too. But video games aren't evil. I really can't wait for the gamer generation to get into governments around the world so we can put an end to this nonsense.

 

[TiefBlau]

I think it'd be easy for us to feel threatened by this statement but this isn't an anti-video games statement, it's a sensible statement about good parenting. Although with the way he's mentioned games in the past I do hope that his potential for a real anti-video games attitude is something that only exists in my head.

This, pretty much.

I find it hilarious how all Obama needs to do is give a slight nod in the direction of video games and all of a sudden people are rising to its defense.

He's not lobbying for the death of video games. He's giving a lecture on responsible parenting. What the fuck are you guys doing? Seriously.

 

[Thespian42]

I find it somewhat irritating that public perception seems to be that the contents of a book are inherently more intellectual or rewarding than those of a game.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Also, since his coments about The Falklands and Argentina, My opinion of him has lowered, so I'm less inclined to agree with him.

Why? What did he say?

O.T. Well some people do game too much, but can I just read at day and game by night?

It's all pretty much summed up in this thread. Special mention to posts by Mantonio, Agema and stefanbertramlee.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/528.290815-The-Falkland-Islands

I guess I'm just still angry/ annoyed about it.

 

[Baldry]

But I already read books and I read stuff in games soooo no, Obama, no.

 

[wrightguy0]

wasn't he just given a copy of the witcher 2? methinks someone couldn't get past the first boss

 

[Kiefer13]

I don't think he's saying that kids should stop playing videogames entirely. He's just saying that they shouldn't spend all their time playing them. As an enthusiast of both gaming and reading, I can agree with that sentiment.

 

[AgDr_ODST]

hey I resent that! I get my bookworm on and read! I just do so more often when Im online rather than picking up a hard copy of a book

 

[bob-2000]

Video games have the potential to engross and educate children to a much higher degree than most books. A better statement would be "Get off your ass and take a walk once in a while.".

 

[Atticus89]

Who needs to read the article that was given when I can simply amuse myself with all of these comments?

If this was said by someone who was a professed lover of video games, would there be all this hub-bub? Honest to God, would there be this much anger if the exact opposite was said by anyone else? How many of you would be cheering if the President of the United States said "Children should put down the books and play more video games," and fervently agreed regardless of politics?

Seriously, if you've taken offense to this when you not even the target demographic then what the hell does that say about you? The audience was to parents with young children who play games. And before you start spouting "But the average age of a gamer isn't even in grade school anymore!", don't forget that plenty of kids play games. Don't forget that your grandma or local retirement home might own a Wii. And your mom might play Farmville!
(actually, that last one could be used as an insult these days...)

And yes, I'm sure that by "books" he meant Twilight and not textbooks, required books for an English class, or anything else of that sort. By the way, how's Pac-Man? Is it still fun? I mean, that's a video game, right? And Pong? Oh boy, I sure love Pong. And whatever happened to Asteroids? I can't seem to find the joystick to my Atari 2600 and all the arcades have closed since that's where video games are, right?

Have we really become so defensive of our hobby that the mere mentioning of it in a negative light turns some of us into raging people devoid of any reason? Has it gotten to the point where the very notion of even saying "Y'know, children should cut back on playing video games so they can focus on school," can make some people who avidly play games go on a rampage saying how they aren't children when their actions prove the opposite? If you feel so insecure that you must defend every single time the mere idea of gaming having a detrimental effect, how do you suppose you can continue to promote what good it can do?

I don't like ranting, especially on forums of sites that I like, so I'll give you the TL;DR version:
If you're not in grammar school or have children in grammar school, Obama's comments don't apply to you. Chill the fuck out.

 

[Continuity]

What if I do both? Also, since his coments about The Falklands and Argentina, My opinion of him has lowered, so I'm less inclined to agree with him.

What comments?

*gets ready to be offended*

 

[Herbsk]

however, since kids are more in the developmental stage - its probably better to read more books than play more video games...

Let's face it - how many games that we play actually have a huge amount of educational value along with the entertainment value?

I'm more with Obama on this one than against him

 

[DaJoW]

"And every father can encourage his child to turn off the video games and pick up a book; to study hard and stay in school."

What a monster!

He isn't saying "Nobody should play video games, everyone should read", he's only saying the second half. And you know what? Books are better than video games. The worst book is still an exercise in reading, whereas most top-selling games are exercises in moving your fingers quite quickly. Literacy and being able to read at speed is far more valuable than being able to push a button at the exact right moment for most people.

 

[CD-R]

Every president since the 50's has said something similar. Stay school don't do drug blahady blahdy blah. It's really nothing to get bent out of shape over.