George Hook on gaming

Where were the illogical arguments? Where were the sweeping generalisations? George Hook's discussion on gaming was a disgrace. There was nothing to be angry about! Now I've all this pent up annoyance that I had brought to the surface, because you have to be prepared. But there is nowhere for it to go.

I have to say, the radio show was a breath of fresh air. He admitted that he wasn't a gamer in any way, and treated it like a discussion. In reality, there was quite a bit of explanation. When he put some of the general fears to the experts, he allowed them to voice their opinion and use actual research that has been conducted.

Yes, there are idiots in the world. People who get sucked into the world of games (or some other activity) and forget to take care of themselves or others. Those people have problems. It should not be used as a barometer or standard for all gamers.

Popcap's representative, Cathy Orr, came across very well. She had a variety of facts and statistics to utilise, and really knew her stuff. It helps that Popcap are loved by most gamers. They don't seem to put a foot wrong! I also appreciated that she put across the point of "everything in moderation". I, and many other gamers, manage to do other stuff with our lives but we do like to game.

Going to dock her points because, while she made reference to how some people like to watch TV, she didn't use a line mentioning how people use their Sky+ box and then watch those shows all night. Golden opportunity that people are presented with so rarely.

While it wasn't the deepest discussion, it avoided pointless arguments, etc. Many others could take note that this is how you approach the subject of gaming (I'm looking at you Joe Duffy or Panorama).