I don't know if the mainstream media has it out for video games and gamers, but if they don't, then they're not doing a very good job of covering it up, as another potential "controversy" has arisen on the airwaves. The latest barrage from the media seems to just be bubbling up to the surface. This time, it's manifesting itself in disgust towards a WiiWare game that's set to release sometime this year about the good ol' college game or beer pong. Except last time I checked, there wasn't actually going to be any references to alcohol in this game.

Still, the folks over at Headline News, the little sister network to CNN, trotted out psychologists and other experts on kids, who all decreed that this game and its Teen rating would lead kids to start drinking at a young age. No mention of any other form of media that children could access, like movies or television, where they might see similar amounts of drinking content. No mention of the fact that kids as young as 13 were already drinking before this game even came out. Just those experts spouting out the same talking points they always do.

Perhaps we should expect that kind of response, but what truly disturbed me is that they neglected to interview a single member of the gaming media or in the gaming industry about their thoughts on this. They simply ushered in those concerned with the problems this game might bring and left it at that. It is something I am much too accustomed to seeing nowadays, and a practice that needs to be stopped now.

It's not that these media outlets cannot find anyone to talk to on the air. It's that they willingly choose not to talk to any members of the gaming media with the intent of providing a biased perspective ideal for scapegoating the entire gaming industry as "evil corrupters of youth."

This isn't some blind accusation, either. Fox News is one arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation business, the same media conglomerate that owns IGN. However, it's been years since I have seen Fox News bring any member of IGN on the air, even high-ranking personnel like Tal Blevins, Peer Schneider or Jeremy Dunham. Instead, they choose to regularly trot out the likes of Jack Thompson to speak out on the dangers of violent games corrupting our youth. I don't think I need to say anything more.

But before it sounds like Fox News is alone in their conscious ignorance, let us not forget that MSNBC regularly has journalists from Newsweek appear on their programming. Yet, when the discussion of video games being "bad" comes up, the well-respected N'Gai Croal, Newsweek's technology and gaming editor, is missing in action. It's not like MSNBC doesn't realize he exists, right? ...Right?