I think my favorite example is a story I remember where a young lad or lass, I can’t remember, wanted to play some Call of Duty. The father agreed, provided that the child first read the Geneva Conventions. They would then pause the game every so often and discuss if the soldier’s were adhering to the conventions and, if not, what they could have done differently. Brilliant bit of parenting in relation to a potentially desensitizing experience.

It is true that video games are still very much in their infancy as an entertainment medium and dare I say art. As people who have grown up with the hobby mature the debate won’t be quite as loud. However, ultra-conservatives who can’t help but demand that everyone see what they see and hear what they hear still thrive and, unfortunately have the loudest voice. I assure you it is only a matter of time before the wonderful media outlets here and perhaps abroad pick up on these tremendous Resident Evil 5 sales and start running stories about how this game will cause your son or daughter to be a racist due to the fact that you are killing dark-skinned Africans.

Take for instance this country’s largest annually televised event: the Super Bowl. A few years back one of Janet Jackson’s breasts was shown during the show. The FCC, charged with policing public airwaves, was so inundated with complaints by furious members of the far right that to this day nothing with even the slightest hint of racy content, even implied, can make it to air without severe public outcry from concerned parents, psycologists and clergymen. Meanwhile, most of us just don’t care or don’t see what the big deal is. Would any other country on the globe have made this into such a scandal?

While video games will continue to grow into their own skin, we will always hear the cries of a few drowning out the cheers of the many.

Personally, I think this moral panic over video games is problem now, but will become less of a problem in future generations as more and more gamers become parents and appreciate the proper boundries for their children and move into the right positions of power.

As I’m from the UK, consider this (from our Guardian newspaper)

“Resident Evil 5 outsold every item in the UK Singles Chart (Based on physical and digital sales of UK Top 200)

Resident Evil 5 outsold U2′s chart-topping new album’s total sales since release in one weekend (in the UK)

Resident Evil 5 grossed more than the top five movies in the UK this weekend – combined (Source: IMDB.com).”

I don’t see how a medium that is rapidly becoming bigger than movies, music and possibly DVD sales (here in Europe) can continue to be the big bad wolf for much longer.