For an industry that had total revenue of more then $7.1 Billion US in 2005, the video-games industry is startlingly misrepresented and portrayed in the mainstream press. The games industry is generally shown to be a small, niche market, catering to mere children, and worthy of no more attention then an industry of this nature would normally receive. News and current affairs reports, documentaries and exposé's consistently fail to show that the games industry caters to a range of demographics almost as broad as Hollywood, and certainly too more than mere children. The average age of game players is 33 years old - hardly the prepubescent teenager the media generally makes it out to be. So why does the media continue to misrepresent the games industry? Why are games still seen, in some circles, to be socially unacceptable? Why do we have a Florida Attorney practically devoting his life to bringing down the video-games industry? Was film treated to this level of disdain by the mainstream press whilst in its infancy? These questions trouble me, as an avid supporter of the video games industry, and a gamer. Why aren't games treated with the respect they deserve as an entertainment form? Sure, games are slowly making inroads back into popular culture, but it seems like it is going to be a very long time before games have reached the acceptance that films have in today's society. And I think that this is a great tragedy.

Aqua-Vitae.