Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin debuts a new column for Industry Gamers with a look at negative stereotypes of gamers and how such prejudice can be addressed.
Halpin writes:
Combating the negative stereotypes the gaming industry and gamers themselves face is becoming a daunting task. We’ve allowed people to equate gaming with everything from laziness to isolationism and antisocial behavior, when so clearly it’s the opposite.
Because we’ve permitted everyone from anti-games advocates (disbarred attorneys included) to the President of the United States of America to perpetuate those fallacies and said and done nothing, we need to take ownership of at least part of that blame; until and unless we speak up and do something about it. It’s time.
FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.
Comments
Re: ECA's Halpin: Gamers Must Fight Negative Stereotypes
The membership page says:
"The discount codes are presently unique one-time use coupons. Members should download one coupon per game, one game per cart. Multi-time use individually-assigned codes are coming soon."
Brett Schenker
Online Advocacy Manager
the ECA
www.theeca.com
Brett Schenker
Online Advocacy Director
the ECA
www.theeca.com
Re: ECA's Halpin: Gamers Must Fight Negative Stereotypes
Unfortunately, for every 5 level headed, normal people among the gamer culture there is 1 ameri-oops-
Annoying 13 year old kid who thinks that death threats are the way to show how mature and nonviolent we are, a good example of what happens in that situation can be found in bionic commando.
my question is, how do we properly engage in dialogue with our detractors when they already have a negative image of us, courtesy of FOX news?
chick chick chick chick chickeeeeen lay a little egg for meeeeee!
Re: ECA's Halpin: Gamers Must Fight Negative Stereotypes
You think this is caused by Fox News? Columbine was blamed on gaming for the longest time (some people still think so) and that was back in Fox News's infancy, and EVERY news company was blaming gaming. The fact is, gaming stereotypes existed for a long time, and blaming Fox News isn't going to fix anything. Neither is claiming it's all America's fault, which is what you were trying to do.
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Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.