14 DAY TRIAL // "Any trend to produce programs and products - including animated movies and video games - which in the name of entertainment exalt violence and portray anti-social behaviour or the trivilization of human sexuality is a perversion, all the more repulsive when these programs are directed at children and adolescents"
Pope Benedict XVI tries to make his statement well understood and further more he suggests that parents should direct their children's daily activities to more educative material such as "children's classics in literature" OK, who says that princess tales are better when they are filled with monsters, bad guys and all sort of negative characters that are eventually killed in the most sadistic manner, whether they drown, burn or get their heads cut off.
It's all about common sense. Playing the right video games at the right age even expands children's perception of life, improves their skills and coordination making much more powerful learning tools than books.
The Pope says what's worse is that such violent or sex related games are directed at "children and adolescents." Who says they're directed to children? (besides the Pope I mean). They're just out there for anyone to buy and shop retailers are instructed to be careful what they sell and to whom.
"I appeal to the leaders of the media industry to educated and encourage producers to safeguard the common good, to uphold the truth, to protect individual human dignity and promote respect for the needs of the family." All right, I really don't mean anything wrong with this but "common good," "uphold the truth"? Come on, if all we'd be allowed to watch on TV, or play on our computers were good then that would be very boring and besides, if the main concern are children then let's ask this question: How are they going to make the difference between what's good and what's not? Don't tell me, parents right? Like they're perfect...
I hope upholding the truth doesn't go for video games too because more than 90% of them or more have plenty of fiction in them and that's what makes them worth buying.
I'm sure Pope Benedict XVI wishes the best for the poor inhabitants of planet Earth, but I don't think that game developers are going to change the content of their games just because the Pope said they ought to.