Can Games Address Serious Social Issues?

Thanks to AVault.com for its editorial ruminating on whether games can or should reference the more serious social issues of today. The piece starts by noting: "Only a very few computer offerings have anything resembling any form of probing social critique... In contrast, other entertainment media - including movies, music and books - all address these issues on a regular basis without raising eyebrows." The author concludes by suggesting it's "conceivable that games would reap greater societal acceptance and more legitimacy as a medium for presenting important concerns of our times", although mentioning the worry that "increasing the respectability of gaming might reduce the pleasure of the pastime" if done in the wrong way.

Comments

Re:Comparing books to games

[GTRacer]

I'm guessing the console big 3 are all refusing to license any porn games...

I don't know about Japanese GameCubes and Xboxen, but there are lots of lightweight pr0n-type games for the PS2 in Japan. I've seen many strip-[insert boring game here]-type games, model/posing/voyeur types, and then there's the "Princess Maker" kind.

I don't know how many hentai games there are (don't see many on import sites or eBay) but I'm sure some of the ren'ai gets a bit hot.

GTRacer
- Wouldn't mind making princesses...