Praise for Don Foster’s stance on computer games

Via kotaku.com:

On this site you can read a lot of lecturing about how others should do their jobs. Well, when an elected official shows that he can take [computer] games seriously, instead of personally, he should get credit for that. Unfortunately for Americans, this guy is a member of the UK Parliament. But here’s what struck me about Don Foster of Bath, in his remarks to The Guardian backing the gaming industry as an important part of the British economy:

“I hardly play any games, I’m not from that generation, but because of my job, I had to research the industry. The vast majority of my parliamentary colleagues are always wanting to ban the latest game, but they don’t know the details of the industry. Few people in this country realise how important it is to the UK economy.”

Instead of trivializing or dismissing something he didn’t understand, he looked into it and gave it a fair evaluation. It’s part of being a representative and a leader, and I wish others would practice it more — and on subjects other than video games, of course.

Read more by .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

4 Comments

  • Not just an economic but a free speech, censorship and privacy issue too. Don can come and play Metal Gear Solid 4 on my PS3 any day……

  • Mark Littlewood 27th Oct '08 - 2:13am

    2.9 cheers for Don.

    Only fails to get the last 0.1 of a cheer for defending the “industry” in terms of its economic importance ratehr than on grounds of freedom of expression.

    Real test is wading in heavily – and liberally – on the next mad call to ban a game.

    But – goddammit – he may be the first politician to say something this sensible in this area and he’s also our DCMS spokesman so hooray!

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Sandy Walkington
    Such a newbie...
  • cim
    The easiest way to demonstrate stability around joining the EU would be to get through the ~ten/twenty year accession process without any UK government pulling ...
  • Nigel Ashton
    I first met Simon circa 1978 when we were both on the Home Counties Regional Executive, he as the ULS rep and me as his YL counterpart. We share many of the sam...
  • Andrew Tampion
    " A clever wheeze might also be for the EU to demand we store half our gold reserves in Brussels, to be repatriated in 20 years time provided the UK has not by ...
  • Anthony Harris
    @David Allen do we have any gold reserves left? I thought that Gordon Brown sold them all at the bottom of the market? :-) He sold so many that he caused a s...