A Prez That Played Pong

So it’s November 5th and we’re looking at 70+ days until Mr. Obama takes up his rightful position in the Oval Office. However, given that we’re Geekadelphia and we (I, more accurately) spend entirely too much time reading/writing about the videogame industry, figure today’s as good a time as any to look into the president-elect’s record on videogame censoring policy. (It probably helps that 1UP and MTV Multiplayer had some very interesting pieces exploring the very quotes you are about to read!) Hit the bump to find out more on the first American president who grew up in a world where videogames weren’t “new-fangled devices that only kids know how to use.”

(Also, in case you were wondering, Obama has said that he’s played Pong. Not quite Final Fantasy VII, but it’s a start.)

We weren’t surprised to find out that Mr. Obama has a well-measured and intelligent response when asked questions regarding the (non)-correlation between videogames and violence. The first question, taken from a 2008 Common Sense Media survey, states:

To date, nearly 10 states have considered legislation to keep violent video games out of kids’ hands. Would you support this type of legislation at the federal level? What other strategies would you support to keep the video game industry and other media companies from marketing and selling inappropriate content to children?”

And his answer?

We need to give parents the tools and information they need to make choices about what programs their children are watching or what video games they are playing. As we move towards a digital environment, there is a golden opportunity for the industry to do this on their own—to use the latest in technology to give parents more information and more choice. For example, this technology could make it possible for parents to create their own family tier just by programming their television to block certain channels, block certain genres of programming like dramas, or block television at certain times of the day. The same can be said of video games, especially as we’re moving into an era when they can be downloaded as easily as today’s movies and television shows.

“I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would.

“And even if the industry does do some responsible self-policing, there’s still a role for the federal government to play. We need to understand the impact of these new media better. That’s why I supported federal funding to study the impact of video games on children’s cognitive development.”

Crazy thoughts, Mr. Obama. Just crazy. Do you mean to say that parents are held responsible for child-rearing and not the federal government? Now you’re going off the deep-end. Clearly you know where we stand on this — what about you, Geekadelphia? Is it up to the game makers to police their content, the government to censor it, or the parents to keep an eye on their kids?