My Dentist on Gaming Coverage

So I just got back from a visit to the dentist, which was far more interesting than I would have expected.

My dentist, it turns out, plays World of Warcraft.

After asking me what my major was, we had launched into a conversation about American media. He thought that major newspapers and magazines were tending to be too one-sided or cliched, one example being their treatment of video games. He said that ever article about gaming in mainstream media is either about gaming causing violence or about Second Life. I agree.

I told him then what my ambition is: to write about gaming, from the perspective of a real gamer, for the masses. My dentist summed up my view exactly when he said that mainstream media does not offer anything of interest to gamers. All of their stories are either about anti-gaming crusades, or are some weak heartless stories about Halo 3 or Second Life, written by a reporter who obviously knows nothing about games.

I want to change that. I want to be a reporter who knows games, who plays them and loves them and reads about them, but can write about them for the general public. Imagine how many younger poeple the NYT could reach if it had a few gaming articles every week? And not just fluff articles or sales reports, but real articles that really examine the games and the industry. Getting just a couple gaming reporters to bolster the entertainment section could add considerably to papers' lagging sales. This is a demographic that journalists around the country are trying to reach.

It was really nice to hear an average, hardworking gamer like my dentist voice the same concerns and hopes that I feel. He also agrees with me that the biggest problem with gaming is not video game violence, but gaming addiction, especially with MMO's. My dentist played both Everquest and WoW, and has a friend who has succumbed to a life of fast-food and fatness because of his addiction to Second Life.

Everyone in America is playing games now, even dentists. So its time to acknowledge this evolution by really covering the gaming industry in mainstream media.

- Scott