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Throughout the Presidential race and continuing into his Presidency, President Obama on numerous occasions has said “put the video games away”.

As a gamer and a voter, we're asking you to email President Obama to point out some of the ways that video games have empowered and educated you. Take a moment to speak out and make your voice heard.

February 09, 2010

Subject:

Dear President Obama,

Throughout the Presidential race and continuing into your Presidency, on numerous occasions, you have said “put the video games away”. 
 
As a gamer and a voter, I wanted to point you to some of the ways that video games can empower and educate, as well as build teamwork and make people healthier.  In fact, I think that you’ll find that the video game community is quite vibrant and active, and that playing games can be beneficial.

1) With the recent launch of the Nintendo Wii, we have taken the next step in physical immersion in video games.  Nintendo has made it a part of their system and known to the masses that video games allow us to be physically active and no longer tethered to our couches.  We as a community have known this for years.  Numerous schools have been on this bandwagon as many of them have introduced Dance Dance Revolution as part of their physical education programs, often times with the help of the video game industry to implement such programs.

2) Video games are highly motivating by virtue of their interactive nature, they allow for practice and problem solving.  You yourself as a Senator and President have partaken in various educational scenarios using video games.  Government uses games to plan out contingencies, plan for future events, and work on possible scenarios.  The United States Military uses video games to not only recruit, with America’s Army, but also train our fighting forces to be better prepared in the field and work better within teams.

3) Video games are no longer a solitary hobby.  Entire communities have cropped up over the years bringing video game players of every social strata around the globe together to enjoy their hobby.  Over 17 million members in 26 countries come together to play.  This population eclipses the population of even the largest city in the United States, New York City.

4) Video games are very much the new global form of entertainment with $11.7 billion in sales in 2008, a growth of 22.9 percent.  68 percent of American households play computer or video games and the average game player is 35 years old.

5) Creativity is encouraged; game players are sometimes creating new content.  Sony’s Little Big Planet puts the player in control of creating game content, including new levels, and sharing them with the world.  This is a growing trend that began decades ago with the pc “modding” community.  Players are taking game content and remixing it or modifying it on their own to create new content, which teaches skills needed for future employment.

I hope this letter will allow you to think about video games and the gaming community in a new light and that you’ll rethink their inclusion in future speeches.  If you have any questions on this or other similar issues please contact Jennifer Mercurio, the Entertainment Consumers Association’s Vice President & General Counsel, at jenn@theeca.com.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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