Political Milestone

There was a time, not too long ago, when any politician looking for a quick headline in the right-wing press could rely on a manufactured stink about a violent videogame to do the business. A few inaccurate descriptions of the game in question, peppered with fiery condemnation from politicians and wildly uninformed statements from various victim's organisations or individuals who have never actually seen the game, was a guaranteed hit with the audience - and the backlash from the industry and the young people who form most of their vocal consumers was sufficiently small as to be unimportant.

Indeed, some politicians and news journalists are under the impression that times haven't changed - that games remain a soft target, with just about everyone that matters being willing to believe any old nonsense about this evil force that is corrupting the nation's youth. Every couple of months, some news source will attempt to make a scandal out of a new game, and each time, they manage to find a politician so desperate for public exposure that they're willing to spout off about a topic they know nothing about in the hope of earning a soundbite on TV or a quote in a tabloid newspaper.

This isn't new. Countless gamers have complained about exactly this over the years. I've written about this phenomenon in columns before, bemoaning the mainstream press' willingness to view games as an easy target for negative stories during slow times for news - and especially during the "silly season" that ensues in the press during the summer, when political news tends to dry up.

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