UK mainstream media still see consoles as Call of Duty magnets

It’s a bit disheartening isn’t it when you put a load of effort into something, and then only one facet of your creation is focused on. Well that’s what has happened yet again with our beloved games consoles.

UK national newspaper The Sun reported yesterday on Conservative Culture Minister Ed Vaizey’s request to have a PS3 or Xbox 360 in his Whitehall based office (paid for by the taxpayer) on the grounds that MPs are allowed things like TV sets. His request has been refused by those in control of the budgets, although he suggests he’ll press on further with the request.  As Culture  Minister, the games industry is very much part of his remit, and if viewed without the blinkers, makes sense. However, what is perhaps disheartening about how The Sun reports the story is in its commentary piece where they simply suggest Vaizey’s reasoning is to play Call of Duty!

The Sun should know better considering they feature video game content on a regular basis in their publication. Anyone worth their salt will know that consoles provide far more applications than just playing games including playback of media files such as video, music and images, streaming TV/Radio channels such as Iplayer and allowing for browsing the Internet. Having a PS3 or Xbox in an office shouldn’t really be deemed so alien then, should it?

Microsoft has spent  huge numbers of resources in making its console a media unit and this is likely to continue in the future. Sure, the primary function is to play video games, but when they now do so much more, it’s a shame in this instance the consoles are deemed as toys for grown up boys by those who should know better. As if the 44 year old Culture Minister is ever likely to call over mates for a few rounds of Modern Warfare outside of the chambers, is a ridiculous notion indeed.

 

 

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.