"Yes, videogames are toys. So what?"

The world is hard. The reason media outlets like Fox News rabidly demonise specific elements of our lives is that it's easy. Addressing the underlying issues to any problem in society - be it the'infantilising of men', feral youths or self-serving consumer culture - is an awesome challenge, requiring rock-solid commitment and the sort of balance, lack of ego and cultural awareness usually only held by figures in society who are drowned out by short-termist, bellowing government or scare-mongering media sowing a fresh moral panic. This is obvious, but unspoken stuff.

I've strayed off topic into some seriously difficult territory, but that's the nature of arguing against this sort of criticism - there's so much below the surface. The truth of the matter is that I'm not offended by someone saying videogames are "toys for very big boys", because I know that's the case - and that's why we love games, isn't it? They're fun. What else really matters?

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games. 

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