Or maybe it is the other way around. 

With all the news media reporting on civil unrest around the world, whether it is the wars in Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan and more, or the street violence in the US and Central America, it might seem so surreal that it could very well be coverage of video games. In fact, the difference between real life and video games is so slight that many in the news media mistake video game footage for real life carnage.

Pac-Man will be the first game to be inducted at the International Video Game Hall of Fame in Ottumwa, Iowa with four days of ceremonies starting Thursday. Certainly The ghost chomping, power pellet eating Pac-Man deserves such an honor. The Hall will have 29 inductees that includes Pac-Man as the first game with the help of Shigeru Miyamoto, Namco founder Masaya Nakamura, and gaming champs Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe and Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel.

Supporters of the International Video Game Hall of Fame are hoping that this event will spur some funds for the museum, which has a goal to eventually collect more than 100,000 coin arcade and home video games produced in the last 25 years. A tall order for sure, but something that the founders - like William Day of Twin Galaxies - are committed to. Day and Otummwa officials compare the museum to the great sports museums in the United States like the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY or the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Ma.

GameSpy has a whimsical, multi- (really multi-) panel cartoon depicting the great circle of life as it pertains to games.

Click here for the full cartoon.

GP: Thanks to sharp-eyed GamePolitics correspondent Andrew Eisen for the tip...