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See that picture? It’s a little resized, so let me tell you. It’s MSNBC.com’s main page. And what you can navigate to through the “Tech & Science” menu? That’s right, Games! In a time when Video Games are the new Rock’n'Roll, and everyone else is condemning us for watching Lesbian Alien Porn (to quote DeaconBlade 360), MSNBC is finally embracing gamers and gaming.

CNN & FoxNews (the two other “24 hour news networks” here in the United States) aren’t featuring “Games” on either of their front pages - but we wouldn’t expect them to, as they spend their time bashing games. Perhaps it was more of a push from the “MS” half of the joint venture, but it feels good to know that someone out there is taking us more seriously, and looking for some postive stories, some good in it all.

It’s a multi billion dollar a year industry which is being studied more and more. Here’s to the concept of gamers not having to close the blinds and turn off the lights to indulge in a hobby!

While it was reported yesterday that video game sales in Japan are expected to peak this year, and fall over the next two to three years. Meanwhile, in the states, even the Christian Science Monitor admits that gaming is still tapping into new (see: female) audiences. So much so that the powers that be over at C|Net’s news.com have determined 2008 to be the year of gaming, and companies like Sigma Designs have started partnering with our beloved Microsoft to work on the ability to provide 16 simultaneous streaming video channels to a “set top box” - potentially even the Xbox 360. The pull the gaming industry has on other industries is growing, as the whole video game “fad” becomes more of a cornerstone of American living. Take that, Fox News.

In an interview with Financial Times (FT) EA’s Chief Executive stated that we are in a time when “the greatest games will be viewed by almost everybody as being as important as Best Picture at the Academy Awards.“

Oh how I wish it were true, but I have to disagree with Mr. Riccitiello. One of the best games of the last few years was undeniably Mass Effect. Unfortunately for the industry, we spent more time talking about a 30 second scene than the brilliant quality of the game as an interactive piece of fiction - a piece of art. There was a graphic sex scene somewhere in the middle of Schindler’s List, too, but that’s not what people remember, or what people focused on. But unfortunately for video games like the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV, clearly rated “M” for Mature (age 17+) in the United States, the media will have nothing to say of the brilliant script, fantastic voice talent, and fine details in imagery that go into the game. No, they’re going to focus on virtual use of drugs and alcohol, objectification of women, and violence. All of which were themes of many prominent films.

The silver lining to the FT article, was the undeniable success of the video game industry. His appointment to this position and decision to split EA into several lables all comes with a bit of pressure. “Under the 16-year tenure of his predecessor, Larry Probst, the company had grown from sales of $102m in 1991 to $3bn in revenues last year.”

I’m having a strange off sort of day… just can’t seem to focus. So I thought I would take just a couple of minutes to clear my fuzzy mind! So, let’s play catch up, shall we?

• Yet another crime balmed on video games.
• Microsoft sticks to their guns about mods for games… and… you know… that they’re bad.
• Sony’s PS3 is dealing with (or denying) a few problems of their own.
• A sweet sequel appears, 5 years overdue, will be hitting the multiplatform scene.
• The 360 is still in a sales slump in Japan.
• Daniel Maher leaves Playstation.com team to join Europe’s expanding Inside Xbox team.
• Mystery game codenamed Project RedLime still unknown. The guys who brought you The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay are likely to take the reigns of one of Origin’s classic franchises, my hopes are pinned with the WCNews guys, wishing for Wing Commander. But anything could be in store.

You all caught up? I thought so.

Despite typos and an all out lack of citation, I’m pointing to this article, which claims that horror novel author Stephen King had a few points to make defending video games, recently. Upon researching the citationless work, I stumbled on to the Reuters article, stating that the comments come from King’s recent Entertainment Weekly magazine column. While I will not quote from the brief article, King’s strongest point is that, essentially, video games are pop culture, and pop culture is something everyone can have some kind of opinion on, while ignoring larger issues.

While the ensuing comments from the first article are sparse, they are precisely what I hope to hear from parents taking an involved role in their children’s upbringing.