EA Sports President Peter Moore has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging U.S. President Barack Obama to a "30-day EA Sports Active Challenge" to prove that not all videogames are turning kids into fat, lazy slobs.
Videogames have been squarely in Obama's sights over the past couple of weeks. GamePolitics says he has equated videogaming with underachievement three times in the past ten days, beginning with comments made in a speech to the American Medical Association in which he said parents need to cut back on kids' gaming to ensure they lead an active lifestyle. "[Preventive care] starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children," he said. "It means... raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside."
But them's is fightin' words in the eyes of Moore, who said that while he "applauds" the President for urging Americans to become more active, "it may be time for the President and his family to put their Wii to good use and fire up the 30-Day Challenge with EA Sports Active."
"I know he's in pretty good shape, but I guarantee the President wouldn't look quite so smooth walking across the White House lawn to Marine One the morning after his first session," Moore wrote on his blog. "Mr. President, here is my challenge to you: Try EA Sports Active and I guarantee you'll need aides saying 'Yes You Can!' to finish your first workout."
It's doubtful that Obama reads Peter Moore's blog (or GamesIndustry) but regardless of the likelihood of Obama accepting the challenge, or how serious Moore was when he made it, he did touch on one very valid point. "I'd be willing to bet there are more consoles getting far more use in American homes than there is exercise equipment, so it's up to us to continue to use the platform for good," he wrote. Nobody is going to argue that physical activity isn't an important part of a healthy lifestyle but it's becoming increasingly difficult to argue that gaming can't be a part of that.
GodsOneMistake: Honestly, he's got a point If your son or daughter is a little chunk muffin tell him/her to get there fatass off the couch and go outside.
It has yet to be proven to me that videogames can count as a work out.
Pretty sure waving your arms and legs wildly about in front of your television for 45 minutes must count as some kind of exercise.
GodsOneMistake: Honestly, he's got a point If your son or daughter is a little chunk muffin tell him/her to get there fatass off the couch and go outside.
It has yet to be proven to me that videogames can count as a work out.
Pretty sure waving your arms and legs wildly about in front of your television for 45 minutes must count as some kind of exercise.
GodsOneMistake: Honestly, he's got a point If your son or daughter is a little chunk muffin tell him/her to get there fatass off the couch and go outside.
Videogames currently can't really equate to a good hour playing outside, or what ever people do for a workout..
I don't like that Obama's attacking videogames though, kinda worries me
He wasn't so much attacking video games as saying kids needed to get off the couch and go outside and play. It was rhetoric, but people are clutching their pearls and hollering that he's attacking video games, when it was just one example out of others he used and it seemed like more of a "go play real games outside for exercise rather than sit on the couch and play ones on your TV" and could have just as easily been "go play real games outside rather than watch them on your TV."
GodsOneMistake: Honestly, he's got a point If your son or daughter is a little chunk muffin tell him/her to get there fatass off the couch and go outside.
Videogames currently can't really equate to a good hour playing outside, or what ever people do for a workout..
I don't like that Obama's attacking videogames though, kinda worries me
He wasn't so much attacking video games as saying kids needed to get off the couch and go outside and play. It was rhetoric, but people are clutching their pearls and hollering that he's attacking video games, when it was just one example out of others he used and it seemed like more of a "go play real games outside for exercise rather than sit on the couch and play ones on your TV" and could have just as easily been "go play real games outside rather than watch them on your TV."
No, don't get me wrong I understand where he's coming from, but you know politicians do some weird shit even Obama.
Am I the only one who thinks this is getting blown way out of proportion. And that we gamers are getting way to defensive about it. He didn't say video games are bad. He didn't call for the end of the industry. He just used games as an example that could have easily been substituted with TV, reading or movies and said kids need to get outside. And to lay off the junk food. Where is the problem here? He didn't say games make you fat. He may have said that they are a part of the problem. And is he wrong? NO! They do contribute just like all the other things mentioned.
GodsOneMistake: Honestly, he's got a point If your son or daughter is a little chunk muffin tell him/her to get there fatass off the couch and go outside.
Videogames currently can't really equate to a good hour playing outside, or what ever people do for a workout..
I don't like that Obama's attacking videogames though, kinda worries me
Yeah I agree. And flailing around playing Wii Fit will never be as fun as a game of football.
I do partially agree with Obama that videogames make people underachieve especially if used excessively but if I wasn't on videogames I probably wouldn't be studying anyway. I would just watch TV or play sport >.>
GodsOneMistake: Honestly, he's got a point If your son or daughter is a little chunk muffin tell him/her to get there fatass off the couch and go outside.
Videogames currently can't really equate to a good hour playing outside, or what ever people do for a workout..
I don't like that Obama's attacking videogames though, kinda worries me
He wasn't so much attacking video games as saying kids needed to get off the couch and go outside and play. It was rhetoric, but people are clutching their pearls and hollering that he's attacking video games, when it was just one example out of others he used and it seemed like more of a "go play real games outside for exercise rather than sit on the couch and play ones on your TV" and could have just as easily been "go play real games outside rather than watch them on your TV."
No, don't get me wrong I understand where he's coming from, but you know politicians do some weird shit even Obama.
Yeah, they do, but that one line in the speech struck me as more a rhetorical flourish thing--instead of playing video games play (outdoor) games; it works better stylistically than instead of watching TV play games--than an attack on games. He didn't seem to be particularly attacking games as much as the sedentary lifestyle of a lot of kids nowadays.
Wait a minute. Forget about the arguments of video games causing violence and rape and such. Isn't it a common consenses that video games are unhealthy? Obama did not insult anybody or the industry. Peter is trying to get free advertising for the EA fitness game line-up.
Seriously, do none of you use any comprehension skills at all?
How many times have your parents, your friends, your doctors, whatever, tell you "Get off those damned video games and get outside!!" or something similar? How 'bout "get off yo' ass and get outside!!" or "You're such a couch potatoe, move around a little!"?
This whole thing is being blown waaaaaaayyyyy out of proportion and the sad truth is that Obama is right; playing too much video games doesn't help you get thinner!
Please, explain to me, how are the majority of games in any way healthy for you? Especially an addiction to games. What about fitness games that Peter Moore is advertising right here? Certainly too much play time with those could give you numerous health problems with overworking and exhausting yourself.
All of you are being so extremely stupid with this one quote, and none of you are using any comprehension skills that you learn in 2nd grade. Obama has never once centered these arguments around video games, only video games, hell, electronics in general, have been referenced in any of these quotes.
For more information, look at these quotes;
squid5580: Am I the only one who thinks this is getting blown way out of proportion. And that we gamers are getting way to defensive about it. He didn't say video games are bad. He didn't call for the end of the industry. He just used games as an example that could have easily been substituted with TV, reading or movies and said kids need to get outside. And to lay off the junk food. Where is the problem here? He didn't say games make you fat. He may have said that they are a part of the problem. And is he wrong? NO! They do contribute just like all the other things mentioned.
Oops my bad Someone else did realize it.
yeah_so_no: He wasn't so much attacking video games as saying kids needed to get off the couch and go outside and play. It was rhetoric, but people are clutching their pearls and hollering that he's attacking video games, when it was just one example out of others he used and it seemed like more of a "go play real games outside for exercise rather than sit on the couch and play ones on your TV" and could have just as easily been "go play real games outside rather than watch them on your TV."
Next time you see your son/daughter becoming a lardier. Istead of cutting back video games, try these alternatives
Cut back their portions No, they do not need that ice cream No, they will not die if they play in the pool for a couple of hours Sign them up for a fucken sport No, they will not die playing hockey That camp/gym pass costs less than a $500 PS3
Malygris: Nobody is going to argue that physical activity isn't an important part of a healthy lifestyle but it's becoming increasingly difficult to argue that gaming can't be a part of that.
I'm going to argu.... oh, wait, healthy. Never mind, carry on.
squid5580: He just used games as an example that could have easily been substituted with TV, reading or movies and said kids need to get outside. And to lay off the junk food. Where is the problem here?
The "problem," such as it is, is that Obama has touched on videogames, and only videogames, three times in the past ten days. He's not lumping it in with other time-wasters, like television; he's hammering on videogaming specifically.
I don't happen to see it as a big deal, I think it's just a reflection of the way gaming has emerged as a dominant form of entertainment in contemporary society, but I do love the way Moore managed to turn the matter to his advantage. :)
squid5580: He just used games as an example that could have easily been substituted with TV, reading or movies and said kids need to get outside. And to lay off the junk food. Where is the problem here?
The "problem," such as it is, is that Obama has touched on videogames, and only videogames, three times in the past ten days. He's not lumping it in with other time-wasters, like television; he's hammering on videogaming specifically.
I don't happen to see it as a big deal, I think it's just a reflection of the way gaming has emerged as a dominant form of entertainment in contemporary society, but I do love the way Moore managed to turn the matter to his advantage. :)
But really, how many times have a loved one of yours or an old geezer tell you "get off the damn couch and do something!"?
Obama is using "video games" in a very broad term, it could probably be subsituted for "electric play-things" or "time-wasters" or just plain "games". They're general terms, they're not centered specifically around "VideoGames", just "video games". Really, this whole thing is blown way out of proportion, people use the term "video games" much more than we think.
Hell, just this second my dad told me to "get off your computer games, we're leaving in 5 minutes!"
squid5580: He just used games as an example that could have easily been substituted with TV, reading or movies and said kids need to get outside. And to lay off the junk food. Where is the problem here?
The "problem," such as it is, is that Obama has touched on videogames, and only videogames, three times in the past ten days. He's not lumping it in with other time-wasters, like television; he's hammering on videogaming specifically.
I don't happen to see it as a big deal, I think it's just a reflection of the way gaming has emerged as a dominant form of entertainment in contemporary society, but I do love the way Moore managed to turn the matter to his advantage. :)
Well...his Secretary of State was buddy buddy with a certain disgraced and disbarred lawyer from Florida *cough* JACK THOMPSON *cough*. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some action against the gaming industry here and there. Fortunately, given how badly Tipper and Al were decimated by Metal Heads in the 90's in front of the world, no less, we can be certain that several champions of the digital era will stand up, and do the same, in the defense of games.
Video games aren't the problem. Anything, that's done to excess will lead to bad things. Everything. It's nothing new to the world, it simply is. If you let games rule your life, and get fat, hey, your problem. But...if video games were found...to say, transmit fat cells directly to you, while playing...well then, I'd certainly have a problem with that.
If anything Obama will change his statement from "All" to "most" that's all. Not every game comes with the sole purpose of fitness, so I don't really understand why he even made this proposition.
Wizzie: I don't really understand why he even made this proposition.
To try and make american parents feel like it isn't there fault that their little timmy is stuck to the couch having a stroke while holding a bucket of ice cream in his lap and also a controller. So there you go it's the games fault.
Even still, it's going to be hard to cover up the fact that the Wii is the only console that has these fitness prephirals and it's only a game or two that can use it. As I said, the statement will change to "most" instead of "all", perception won't be changed on the issue.
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Peter Moore Issues Fitness Challenge to Obama
EA Sports President Peter Moore has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging U.S. President Barack Obama to a "30-day EA Sports Active Challenge" to prove that not all videogames are turning kids into fat, lazy slobs.
Videogames have been squarely in Obama's sights over the past couple of weeks. GamePolitics says he has equated videogaming with underachievement three times in the past ten days, beginning with comments made in a speech to the American Medical Association in which he said parents need to cut back on kids' gaming to ensure they lead an active lifestyle. "[Preventive care] starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children," he said. "It means... raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside."
But them's is fightin' words in the eyes of Moore, who said that while he "applauds" the President for urging Americans to become more active, "it may be time for the President and his family to put their Wii to good use and fire up the 30-Day Challenge with EA Sports Active."
"I know he's in pretty good shape, but I guarantee the President wouldn't look quite so smooth walking across the White House lawn to Marine One the morning after his first session," Moore wrote on his blog. "Mr. President, here is my challenge to you: Try EA Sports Active and I guarantee you'll need aides saying 'Yes You Can!' to finish your first workout."
It's doubtful that Obama reads Peter Moore's blog (or GamesIndustry) but regardless of the likelihood of Obama accepting the challenge, or how serious Moore was when he made it, he did touch on one very valid point. "I'd be willing to bet there are more consoles getting far more use in American homes than there is exercise equipment, so it's up to us to continue to use the platform for good," he wrote. Nobody is going to argue that physical activity isn't an important part of a healthy lifestyle but it's becoming increasingly difficult to argue that gaming can't be a part of that.
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