Conservatives and too many liberals view video games through a jaundiced lens: they are sources of violence and mayhem that destroy the minds of impressionable teenagers. But, as Rejeski points out, “policymakers have spent far too much time focused on the effects of a small number of violent video releases and lost sight of the pedagogical function and advantages of games in general.” True, violence makes video games a highly profitable enterprise.

But it’s also the case that the new frontier of the serious game space contradicts those who like to fulminate against video games as a fount of evil. —Katrina vanden Heuvel —Playstations for Peace (The Nation)