U.S. President Barack Obama recently visited a Washington D.C. Best Buy to pick up a video game for his daughters. No doubt Ubisoft will be delighted to know the game he chose was one of theirs.

When asked what he was buying:

“In case you all are wondering, Just Dance for the Wii. The girls beat me every time on these various dance games. And you'll never get a picture of me [playing] because I get graded F every time," said President Obama.

There's an interesting story in several Filipino newspapers involving the president of the Philippines, Angry Birds, and the PSP this week. According to several Filipino newspapers, the president is being grilled about his gaming habits, which he vehemently denies. In fact, President Aquino finds the whole line of questioning insulting. President Aquino told the press at an event yesterday that he felt "insulted" when asked to comment on rumors that he was playing video games at the height of a hostage crisis in Manila last year.

Britain’s game development community received some good news this week that gave them hope that tax relief for the industry is still a possibility. One of the most vocal supporters of giving the games industry tax relief is now at the top of the political heap. Labour MP Tom Watson has been appointed as Labour Party deputy chair, part of a reshuffle of the opposition party. Watson, whose activism during the News Corp phone hacking scandal saw his popularity soar, is also an avid video game fan.

UK Culture Minister Ed Vaizey wanted to have a game console in his office, but unnamed members of Parliament objected. Now he's talking about Parliament setting up a game room in a new interview with Edge.

"I asked if I could put a games console in my room in the department," Vaizey told Edge. "The powers that be were against it, because people coming for meetings would assume that I was spending every spare minute playing games!

Last night Microsoft hosted the second annual Capitol Hill Family Game Night, bringing its games and technology to the nation's capital where policymakers and their families learned more about Kinect, Xbox 360 and various games. The event was presented in cooperation with congressional hosts Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).

The event, which took place in the Rayburn House Office Building, and featured the controller-free Kinect for Xbox 360 and such games as the upcoming games Kinect: Disneyland Adventures and Dance Central 2. Picturing lawmakers shaking their stuff in front of a camera or flying through the sky like Peter Pan is kind of scary, but apparently all involved had fun.

Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas) may be polar opposites in the political arena, but when it comes to video games both are on the same page. But what initially brought the two together to join the Congressional Caucus on Competitiveness in Entertainment Technology (E-Tech Caucus) was another activity: softball. Wasserman Schultz loves softball and organizes a Congressional Women’s Softball Game every June to raise money for breast cancer research, along with co-coach Brady and California Democratic Rep. Joe Baca.

The other reason this congressional odd couple got together for the E-Tech Caucus is because both have kids, and by extension, a familiarity with video games.

"I was looking for someone with young kids," she said, "because [my co-chairman] had to be someone who was 'living' video games."

UK-based game player lobby group Gamers' Voice held its first "Parliamentary Games Day" with Ministers of Parliament and video game industry representatives at the House of Commons. The group describes the event as "a real success" with politicians of all three main political parties attending to play video games with Gamers' Voice on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii.

A total of 16 MPs attended the event. John Whittingdale, Ed Vaizey, Luciana Berger, Clive Betts, Pete Davison, Don Foster, Dr Julian Huppert, Karen Lumley, Jason McCartney, Nigel Mills, Stephen Mosley, Andy Nuttal, David Cairns, Simon Kirby, David Hanson and Keith Vaz all made appearances at the event.

A highlight of the event was when MPs John Whittingdale and Don Foster traded punches through the Kinect Sports boxing game.

Screen Play has an interview with David Bartlett, the Premier of Tasmania, about his long-running love affair with video games. Bartlett is a longtime video game fan that has been playing games since the days of Pong. He played games on a Vic 20, he lived through the early days of Apple, and he hung out at his friend’s house to play around with his Commodore 64. Now he is sharing his love of games with his son. Yes, he is a rare breed of politician.

Here's a few excepts from the interview about Wii and DSi gaming:

What games have you discovered on the Wii?

I’m going through a second wave of gaming fun with Hudson. He and I play a lot of the Lego games, Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman... We’re currently playing Lego Indiana Jones.

Here's a bit about the National Broadband plan in Australia:

The 42-year old Premier of the Australian state of Tasmania appears to be a rather hard-core gamer who grew up playing a wide variety of game machines and even used his political standing to get into a videogame exhibition early, just so he could get some hands on time with the games.

The blog Just One More Game details the gaming exploits of David Bartlett (pictured), a member of the Labor Party who has been Premier of the island since May of 2008. Bartlett’s gaming odyssey began with Pong, before advancing through the Atari 2600, the Commodore Vic-20, a variety of Apples, and eventually, the Atari ST.

Just how boring are Rome town council meetings? Politicians participating in the gatherings have been given the okay to play videogames during the meetings to assist in combating the monotony.

Even worse (better?) perhaps, the Metro insinuates that officials were given laptops pre-loaded with computer games. Rome’s Mayor Giannai Alemanno (pictured) added, “Each councillor can amuse himself and defeat stress during our long, hard meetings.”

The Metro compares the Italian initiative to a “fact-finding” mission—to local strip clubs—suggested by members of the UK’s Cornwall Council. Council members wanted to see what kind of “impact” the clubs had on local economies and neighborhoods.

In an attempt to make some point, the California-based Merced Sun-Star has been following, and publishing, the Mafia Wars exploits of a local councilman.

A July 30 column on the publication’s website began, offering a look into Atwater City Councilman Nelson Crabb’s Facebook gaming tendencies, after dubbing Crabb, an ex-policeman, the “Dapper Packer,” citing his penchant for carrying a gun and sending photos of “dead and dying men” to city officials.

Crabb was described as “a cold blooded killer” within Mafia Wars, where he had pulled off 1,159 murders (as of the July article), extorted a corrupt judge and become a master burglar, all in addition to opening his own chop shop. The paper wrote of these achievements, “That isn't exactly what you might expect from a law-and-order man.”

A UK journalist attempting to write a story on videogames in 2006 sent out an “informal” email to a string of fellow journalists, civil servants and MPs requesting some feedback on what types of games they played, and failed to receive a single response.

National Videogame Archive co-founder Iain Simons was penning an article for The New Statesmen at the time, and, as detailed in GamesIndustry.biz, took the non-replies to indicate that “to be identified as a gamer (in 2006, at least) was incompatible with being a 'serious' civil servant or member of the Westminster set - be that journalist, MP or whatever."

After sending a second email offering anonymity, Simons stated that, “…this time lots of them got back in touch and came 'out' as gamers."

Simons added:

An article on The Game Reviews.com notes that while videogames have emerged into a “significant cultural force,” only a handful of games have been made in order to communicate political ideas.

Author Andy Johnson outlines a few games that attempted such incorporation, like America’s Army, Full Spectrum Warrior and religious games like Left Behind: Eternal Forces and The Bible Game, before describing a few games that feature a pure political bent, like the Bushgame and September 12th.

While politicians have been quick to latch on to social media tools to spread their message, Johnson says that it would be difficult for elected officials to latch on to videogames because their interactive nature breeds “unpredictability.” He continued:

The Australian pro-videogame political party Gamers4Croydon is disbanding.

Founded by David Doe, a former videogame tester, the party was created in order to champion the addition of an R18+, adult videogame rating category in the land of Oz and to assist with the removal of anti-game South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson.

On the Gamers4Croydon website, Doe wrote that the party would not be competing in the upcoming federal elections as “all good things come to an end, and it’s time to pass the torch on to people with the resources and experience necessary to bring the change to bear politically.”

Doe encouraged backers to “look closely” at the Australian Sex Party and the Australian Greens as possible replacements for support.

Microsoft and its Get Game Smart initiative, in cooperation with Representatives Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), are hosting what’s being billed as the first Capitol Hill Family Game Night this evening.

With the event, the organizers hope to educate attendees and families on “how to enjoy video games and online media in ways that are safer, healthier and more balanced.” Members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, and their families, will also attend.

Wasserman Schultz offered, “The very same computers that help our children study and literally place the world’s knowledge at their fingertips can also open up a pathway to risky behavior.”

What if Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was an avid gamer? Better yet, what if the entire structure of the U.S. government as we know it was thrown on its head and ordinary people came to occupy the nation’s most powerful posts.

This is the premise for a new book entitled The Naperville White House from author Mark Pedriani. The story, set in the near future, revolves around a “fantasy government game,” called Nationizer, in which players man different governmental positions. Following a terrorist attack on the nation’s capitol, the players in the fictional game are suddenly thrust into action, becoming “the nation’s only real hope.”

The current state of politics may be exasperating to most, but it takes a certain mentality to dive in and try to personally bring about change. One of GamePolitics own community members has had enough and decided to do just that.

Zachary Knight is a GamePolitics moderator, ECA Chapter President and burgeoning game developer, and he’s made the decision to run for State Representative in his home state of Oklahoma. EZK, as he’s known around here, will be running in District 46, which comprises Newcastle, Noble and Norman.

EZK was good enough to take a few minutes out of his day in order to answer a few questions for us.


This is your first foray into politics correct? What prompted you to jump in now?

Playing Farmville on your own time, some might say, is bad enough, but playing it on the job, especially if you are a politician, is a definite no-no.

Councilor Dimitar Kerin, a member of the City Council for the region of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, was dismissed from his position after repeated warnings about playing the Facebook application during meetings. Several councilors were first caught playing Farmville early in March, during debates for the city’s 2010 budget, reports Novinite.com.

Fellow committee member Todor Hristov suggested that Kerin be removed from his seat as he “needs more time for his virtual farm.” A vote to remove Kerin was taken up, and passed by a slim 20-19 vote. Kerin then complained that he was not the only council member playing Farmville and noted that he was only a Level 40 farmer, while a fellow councilman had reached Level 46.

If an earlier eBay auction of an Xbox 360 purported to have been autographed by Sara Palin was too rich for your blood another Microsoft console owned by a female politician is now up for sale on the auction website.

The 360 in question was actually a key component in the resignation of ex-Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon (D), who was charged with taking gift cards intended for charity and using them to buy videogame systems for her family. Dixon resigned in January of this year.

A former Canadian politician might have to do some creative dancing around following a probe into improper spending.

Former cabinet minister Len Goucher’s spending habits between 2006 and 2009, when he was Minister of Immigration, have come under scrutiny following a Nova Scotia probe into government expenditures. It’s claimed that Goucher spent $9,238 on electronic technology during the three-year span, including the purchase of a copy of Dance Dance Revolution Universe for the Xbox 360, reports the Canadian Press.

The inquiry has already resulted in the resignation of Nova Scotia House of Assembly member Richard Hurlburt, who reportedly used around $11,000 of public funds to purchase a generator and television.

The man behind the Gamers4Croydon party (formed to knock South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson out of office) recently gave an interview to the Sydney Morning Herald.

One clarification to come out of the chat—30 year old David Doe will not run himself against Atkinson. He is simply taking the steps to get the party formed, then will look for an appropriate candidate to take on the incumbent.

Doe stated:

As a registered voter of Victoria, I cannot run in the South Australian state election. We'll be finding a local candidate by holding a party caucus once Gamers4Croydon has been officially registered by the SA Electoral Commission.

Doe on what his “dream scenario” one year from now would entail:

A Gamers4Croydon member sitting in the House of Assembly as the member for the SA electoral seat of Croydon for a start, with another member sitting in the SA Legislative Council. Having all parents in Australia knowing how to use the parental controls found in their home consoles. Having an R18+ rating for videogames implemented, thereby giving parents the ability to correctly determine the type of content they are purchasing for their children, and giving adults the right to play adult-oriented material.

South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson has acknowledged his possible videogame developer opponent in the 2010 state elections.

As reported previously, David Doe and his Gamers4Croydon party hope to topple Atkinson. The main purpose of Doe's party is to introduce an R18+ classification for games, which Atkinson strenuously objects to. According to a News.com update, Doe is well on his way to gathering enough signatures to register his party, with over 75 signees. He needs 150 to make the party official.

Atkinson said he “welcomed” Doe’s challenge, adding:

The voters of Croydon will now be asked directly whether they want interactive games in which gamers score points by raping a mother and daughter, blowing themselves up, torturing human figures . . . killing people and taking drugs to improve their sporting prowess.

As a sidebar, a poll embedded in with the story on the paper’s website asks “Should there be an R18+ classification for video games?”  83% of the over 2200 respondents chose “yes” an answer at the time this was written.

The story also notes that Atkinson, who has held his seat for 20 years, received 67.1 percent of the first-preference votes in the 2006 state election.

Thanks Ryan

A 30-year old Australian videogame tester has formed a political party and aims to give South Australian Attorney Genera Michael Atkinson a run for his money in next year’s election.

David Doe and his Gamers4Croydon party plan to challenge Atkinson only in the Croydon electorate with a sole purpose to “exert pressure on the Attorney General for South Australia, Michael Atkinson, as he is currently the only Attorney General voting 'no' against the introduction of an R18+ classification rating for videogames in Australia.”

Noting that winning a seat based on a single campaign promise would be difficult, Doe outlines a few other items he would attempt to get enacted if elected, which include extending solar rebates, making rainwater tanks for new homes mandatory and providing rebates for electric vehicles.

Doe is accepting donations for his run and promises to donate any left-over post-election funds to Child’s Play.

|Via Games.on.net Thanks Ryan|

Congressman Jared Polis (D) represents the Second Congressional District of Colorado, is the first openly gay male to be elected to Congress as a freshman and is, apparently, also a gamer.

A series of articles for CNN detail the trials and travails of Polis during his first term in Washington. The Congressman’s partner, Marlon Reiss, penned the most recent entry into the series, in which he details the life of a Congressional spouse, noting the types of activities the couple like to do in their free time:

We take time, when we have it, to enjoy dinners together, to play video games, to walk our new puppy and to celebrate life's happy moments.

We have an inquiry in with the Congressman’s office to see if we can find out what titles, platforms and/or specific games he plays.

CNN has a story on Silicon Valley bigwigs moving into the political arena. They are tracking former eBay chief Meg Whitman in her race with Steve Poizner for the Republican nomination for California governor in 2010. Poizner also has a few high-ranking, high tech jobs on his resume, including selling his company SnapTrak to QualComm before becoming the state's insurance commissioner.

The CNN story looks at other tech-savvy politicos and their success. The story concludes:

In the end, there is no real proof that wrestling fans helped get (Jesse) Ventura into Minnesota's state house or that space enthusiasts helped elect John Glenn to Congress. But, as (Republican strategist) Allan Hoffenblum notes, women and techies are two powerful voting blocs in California.

Since game developers also tend to be an opinionated lot, with a lot of interest in government because of the money involved in their industry, it begs the question: What game developers would make the best politicians? It would be interesting to see how John Carmack or Warren Spector stand on various issues.

Who do you think would make an interesting political candidate?

A pair of Connecticut legislators were embarrassed when an Associated Press photographer snapped them playing Windows Solitaire during recent deliberations on the state budget.

The Hartford Courant reports that one of the game-playing pols, Rep. Jack Hennessy (D, left) has issued a rather profuse apology in a letter to constituents:

It was certainly bad judgment for me to play a computer game even for just a few minutes during the final House session on the budget. I am embarrassed, and I apologize to each and every person in the North End and to people across the state.

My actions were inexcusable. I do want my constituents to know that my poor judgment for a few moments on Monday in no way means I ignored your interests in representing you on this very serious matter...

I sincerely apologize to each of you. I look forward to having the continued privilege of representing you and your interests in Hartford. I thank you in advance for your understanding and have been humbled by those of you who have already expressed your understanding and forgiveness.

Hennessy maintains a photo gallery on his official website. The solitaire-playing picture is not included, however. The other Solitaire player was Rep. Barbara Lambert, also a Democrat.

Via: GameCulture

We've written before on GamePolitics about Ray Tenorio (left), a member of Guam's Senate who also happens to be a hardcore World of Warcraft player.

But Tenorio has an announcement to make about his next political move, and he sent it here, which is kind of cool:

Hafa Adai (Hello) Game Politics.com.

I hope everyone at GamePolitics.com are healthy and doing well. As most everyone in WoW are eyeing level 85 in the Cataclysm expansion, waiting to take down the Lich King and still grinding heroic Ulduar...

I wanted to let GamePolitics.com know first that I am running for Lt. Governor with my friend, Senator Eddie Baza Calvo, who is running for Governor... 

I want to let your readers know that, among the numerous web sites and related comments to the articles about my gaming life some years ago, I understand the issues faced by the people who write on GamePolitics.com.

 

Perhaps together, we can continue to let people, voters and those in positions of authority know that gamers are the same as those who do everything from clean public parks, fight and die for democracy, conduct intricate procedures in professional careers, and, Yes, even make policy...for our communities, everywhere around the globe. That simple fact is rarely said but is the basis for an even broader discussion on the depth and breadth of people who enjoy gaming and still carry out their responsibilities.

Tenorio's WoW character is Paleray, a level-80 Dwarf Priest on the Silverhand server. He belongs to the Knights of the Marianas guild.

Guam is a territory of the United States and has one non-voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives. Tenorio is a member of Guam's 15-member unicameral legislature.

Tyler Hudgins plays politically-themed games like The Political Machine 2008 and Oval Office on his PC and dreams of a career in real - not simulated - politics.

Oh, and the Arizona teen just graduated from high school.

The East Valley Tribune reports that Tyler (left) is, for now, dedicated to local politics but has aspirations that extend beyond his home town:

Hudgins spends more time in the council chambers than just about anyone who isn't on the council or the town payroll. He hopes to be a councilman himself someday, a first step to what he says will be a long and illustrious political career...

 

But, for now, he's reading "How to Get Elected to Local Office" during breaks from his job at Liberty Market. He said it's a long road to the White House, and that's how it should be.

"I'm stopping to study the issues that will come into play in the future," he said. "I feel like I'm going about this the right way, by starting at the grass roots."

It's unclear whether a member of Britain's Parliament may have purchased a PlayStation game with his tax-funded expense account, reports Eurogamer.

A number of MPs have been found to have used public funds for questionable expenses in recent months. Eurogamer spotted the Labour Party's Nigel Griffiths (left) among a list of MP with oddball expenditures published by The Guardian. Griffiths strongly denied that he bought a game, however, and Eurogamer can't find one with the title as given:

According to a list of the stranger expense claims... Nigel Griffiths, Labour MP for Edinburgh South and former deputy leader of the House of Commons, expensed "GBP 29.99 for a PlayStation computer game, Premiership Arsenal".

Griffiths disputes the report, however, telling The Sun that the Dixons receipt in question is misleading. "It's not a game, it's a branded memory stick," said the beleaguered MP. "I'm well past playing video games."

We certainly don't recall a game called Premiership Arsenal and can't find any reference to one, either, although it's possible the title refers to Codemasters' PS2 offering, Club Football: Arsenal 2005.

Under somewhat more of a microscope than Griffiths is frequent video game critic Keith Vaz, also of the Labour Party. Bruce on Games cites a BBC report detailing Vaz's questionable use of public funds:

[Vaz] claimed more than £75,000 to fund a second home in Westminster, even though his family home is just 12 miles away in Stanmore. The Telegraph also suggested he changed his designated second home for a single year to property in his Leicester constituency, before claiming more than £4,000 on furnishings.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) has, it would seem, something of an up-and-down relationship with digital technology.

GameCulture reports that Hoekstra visited a second-grade class in Holland, Michigan yesterday. While there, Hoekstra revealed that he owns a Wii:

After lofting Hoekstra a string of softballs, such as "Do you like your job?" "Have you, um, ever, like, gone to Hong Kong?" and "How old are you?" the shorties laid in with the bomb — "Do you own a Wii?"

After confessing that he was 55, "really old," Hoekstra broke down and conceded that, yes, he owns a Wii. He also let slip that he has a dog and a cat and that the two are friends.

Nice.

Also to his credit, Hoekstra is heavy Twitter user, although GamePolitics readers may recall that in February, Hoeksta spilled the beans about a top-secret congressional trip to Iraq by tweeting about it. 

During the Bush years, Hoekstra presided over a 2006 congressional hearing during which House Intelligence Committee members were told that a YouTube video featuring stock Battlefield 2 gameplay footage and a voice-over from Team America: World Police were products of an Al Qaeda propaganda campaign.