Legal Niches

Out of Touch Mom Apologizes (Sort of)

By pete_gallagher

Orange County Register columnist Marla Jo Fisher took to her blog to issue an apology of sorts for writing that videogames were created by Satan.

Noting that her blog was inundated with comments from outraged gamers, Fisher entitles her post My Bad: Video Games Are Not From Satan, and proceeds to substitute Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort for Satan as the specter behind evil videogames.

Fisher then resumed her rant against games and gamers, stereotyping videogame addicts as having a 'deathly pallor,' who have 'forgotten what daylight looks like.'

What does she think about videogamers that, inspired by their love of the medium, eventually became developers?

Also, I'm not too convinced by people who were such ardent gamers they became video game creators. That's like saying, 'Gee, I loved crack so much, I went to Colombia and started my own business and now I'm rich.'

How about the educational merits of videogames?

Video games are educational? Sorry, people, I do not believe for one second you are learning quantum physics while you are shooting down zombies. Or that you got your scholarship to MIT by using the skills you learned shooting guerrillas.

About the only insult missing from Fisher's column is a quip about gamers living in their parent's darkened basement—something to look forward to in her next blog perhaps.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on January 07, 2010 (boomark / email).