Obama: Don't Let Your Kids Waste Their Time On Video Games, Unless They Are Featuring My Ads
Barack Obama wants us to spend moar tiems with our children, and not letting them play video games until their brains ooze out of their ears and their bones turn to mush. As a parent of a video game addict, I agree in principle...there are times I have to say enough is enough. Besides, that new Star Wars game is about to drive me nuts. How about a little peace and quiet, or at least a game with a cool soundtrack?
Here's a little blurb out of a speech Obama gave back in February:
We're going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that's going to take some time.
Oh wait. In Obama's case, it seems to have become okay, just as long as the video games in question feature his ads:
In its eternal quest to capture the youth vote, Barack Obama's presidential campaign has taken to the streets of Burnout Paradise, filling the game with billboards promoting the presidential hopeful."I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," Holly Rockwood, Electronic Arts' director of corporate communications, told virtual world fixture Wagner James Au.
"Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates," Rockwood added. "Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams."
Well, now. Going for the subliminal vote, are we? No word on whether or not it would also be okay if the ads featured McCain.
I'm not anti-gamer...in fact, I think many video games are well-designed and look like a lot of fun (although I admittedly do not like the ultra-violent ones and won't let them in the house), but I am not a big fan of any product placement in them. Much has been made of in-game advertising, which attempts to encourage our kids to buy products ranging from stereos to shoes to soda. It seems that in almost every game I've seen my kids play, there is some sort of product placement ad hovering in the background, especially in the sports-themed games, where such advertising mimics real life. However, I personally think Obama paying to have his ads placed in video games is a bit much, especially when the demographic of the people playing these games (mostly young men) is taken into account. While not necessarily falling into the category of subliminal messages, these images do stick in your head after the game is over. I thought this was one of the things Obama was rallying against? And do people really want politics spilling on their escapism?
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