January 17th, 2004
child’s play: endgame
A lot of whining about Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play permeated the blogosphere a few weeks ago, the most prominent being that of someone who’s curiously risen to the throne of geekdom, Wil Wheaton (discussion). Finally they got recognition, though, by the same person that insisted that video games train kids to kill only a few weeks prior. A motion like this means more than we know, however, since it has caused a man to look beyond the hyperbole and see that video games are actually played by humans.
I think a large part of the problem was that news media at the forefront of the discussion seemed a little preoccupied with the shitstorm surrounding Vice City. But also, anyone who isn’t into games has not heard of or could care less about Penny Arcade. I love those guys, but let’s be realistic – it’s a niche website. Trying to get the common man to invest valuable brainspace to actually consider the enormity of their donation would be hard, because PA aren’t well known figures. I’m not making excuses, because frankly I think it’s disgusting that it has taken this long for them to get noticed formally. I’ve seen the pictures, and there are a lot of gamers out there that did a completley selfless act by donating to this cause, which is more than I can say for myself. The reason I mention any of this is because it’s futile to get bent out of shape after a 10 second mention on the local TV news and no word whatsoever in mainstream news media. Did you really expect them to play fair? Know that what you have done is a truly noble and great thing, and leave it at that. The debate around violent video games and kids that use them as an excuse will continue regardless.
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