What's going on in the world today?

So now that I've graduated (shower me with praise, please), I'm free to POST ON MY BLOG more. And boy, howdy, do I have some retreading to do.

An IDG article provides commentary on the subject of the canceled Konami title "Six Days in Fallujah," what would have been the first game to recreate scenes from Operation Iraqi Freedom within the context of a first person shooter. As the article points out, it isn't the first title to "tackle" the conflicts going on in the Middle East but it is the first one to try to remain "true" to actual events, people and places from the scuffle.

However, the article presents the game as fodder for derision rather than a true step forward in games as both communication and entertainment medium. Think about it: movies, the news, TV shows, music, all popular forms of media in our culture are "allowed" to provide timely interpretations of current events, much of them rewarded for "speaking out" on a subject. A video game is still not held to this standard, is scoffed and canceled for being "too controversial a topic." I can garrote sociopaths in any number of ways, shoot insurgants as 50cent over concert payment, but an attempt at (what I assume is) tasteful digital recreation of a real conflict is too much? Even under the guidance of actual marines who'd faught? What kind of homage is that to their sacrifice, both of the living and dead? Is it because it's a game that it's unsuitable and too controversial a topic?

In other news, the DSi is the shining star amid a dregscape in current gen gaming. The new DS helped boost system sales for Nintendo during a season of poor economy and lacking titles, while other companies and their respective systems did not experience any similar windfall.

Do these two things, a relative stagnance in video gamery coupled with a collective lack of taking gaming serious as an artistic medium (yeah, games aren't art, etc, etc, but bear with me; TV's farther from art than most games are and it's clearly taken infinitely more serious and has been taken more seriously), does this spell a downturn for gaming? Is this the retread of my first post and gameoverthinker ranting? We'll have to wait and see. In the mean time, try and support some real games.