As fans of video games, we’re certainly familiar with the bizarre claims thrown at our hobby by the ill informed. Whether it’s the fact that violent video games cause people to go on killing sprees, or the unavoidable truth that games like Bulletstorm and Mass Effect will lead to rape (something we touched on during the most recent episode of The GamerSushi Show), video games are the current scapegoat for our world’s problems.
It wasn’t always this way, though. Before Fox News accused Commander Shepard of violating aliens, people pointed their mass hysteria elsewhere. In a recent article by the good folks at GamePro, things like the bycicle, Dungeons & Dragons and even the bikini were pointed to as instrumental in the demonizing of the young folk and the cause of the world’s problems.
GamePro basically put together this article to demonstrate that we’ve always been willing to shift our blame onto the current hot trend and make that the reason our civilization is going down the crapper. As time has gone on, though, our previous trouble-makers have become social norms, or at least acceptable. Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t lead to satanic cults, and who doesn’t like a good bicycle ride? Even though comic books and music are still sometimes blamed for crazy people doing crazy things (just ask Marilyn Manson), we’ve come to understand that sometimes people are just weird, no matter what their taste in entertainment is.
What do you guys think of GamePro’s expose? Will video games come through their time in the fire? What new trend will take over as the lead cause of the impending armageddon? I’m guessing either The Jersey Shore or Justin Bieber. Hit me!
Source- GamePro