With all the flak that video games have gotten from politicians, we're tempted to think that two will probably never mix.

The latest one involves U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama and his comment about video games. You can read an excerpt of his statement n the full article after the jump.

Common Sense Media recently submitted a questionnaire to the 2008 US presidential candidates, asking them: "What [...] strategies would you support to keep the video game industry [...] from marketing and selling inappropriate content to children?"

Perhaps the most interesting answer comes from candidate Hillary Clinton, who introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act back in 2005, circa Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas era. Read her answer in the full article.

 

President Bush is suffering from low approval ratings, Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are already in the running to be the Democrats' presidential candidate. Yup, the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election is just getting warmed up and 80soft.com, a software company whose forte is making political video games just released their latest PC game, President Forever 2008 + Primaries.

The game boasts of using a realistic electorate modeling techniques, but you could still lose even if you got more votes (just like in 2000). Anyhow, if you want to be responsible for electing the first woman US president or the first African-American US president, you better start massive campaigning and fund-raising activities. Here are the game's features:

• battle across each party's primaries and then enter the general election!
• criss-cross the country doing barn-storming campaigns
• setup detailed platforms to outmaneuver your opponents
• unleash foot soldiers to stop your opponents, or get campaign crusaders to rally voters to your cause
• run attack ads to steal voters leaning towards your opponents
• give a fiery custom-made speech, but remember to prepare for the debates!
• craft a detailed electoral strategy to give you a landslide on election day
• play vs. computer players or hotseat with other human players!
• play with 18 ready-made candidates in 2008 complete with detailed attributes and skills, or make your own!
• play 2008, or try a Great Campaign of the Past: 2000 (Bush-Gore), 1992 (Bush-Clinton), 1980 (Reagan-Carter), or 1960 (Nixon-Kennedy)!

The game is already available for roughly US$ 20. Or if you have your doubts, you could also try the demo which is around 5MB. The read link below will take you to 80soft's site.

It is human nature to find strength in numbers. When faced with great adversity, people stand side by side to meet the common enemy head on. With that said, it seems that various segments of the society have been viewing the gaming industry as the common foe. And not only that, it looks like they are so keen on trampling these "evil weed."

Accordingly, a new alliance has been formed to combat ill effects of videogames to kids, beginning with educating parents about game ratings. The alliance, if we might add, is looking formidable indeed. It is composed of Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and ESRB President Patricia Vance. Surprisingly enough, Best Buy President Brian Dunn and GameStop President Steve Morgan complete the "Power Rangers."

Senator Clinton maintained that the renewed movement is in light of the coming Holiday season. It is needless to say that sales for gaming software and hardware will skyrocket during this time of the year. Clinton explained:

We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games, and I'm pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced.

The group's first action included sending public service announcements to 800 TV stations nationwide, as well as radio and print ads. The PSAs are intended for parents, instructing them to regulate the games their children play. Senator Lieberman seconded:

I have long said that the ESRB ratings are the most comprehensive in the media industry. There are many age-appropriate games that are clever and entertaining. Parents should understand and use the ratings to help them decide which video games to buy for their families.

Over the past few weeks, ESRB was able to come up with various announcements regarding their plans to intensify enforcement of ratings for videogames. In the meanwhile, a big contrast is happening overseas, with some countries considering self regulation for the industry.