I follow GamePolitics.com, Next Generation, and other gaming news sites fairly closely. As a result, I see a lot of discussion about the "mainstream" media's reaction to my hobby, and I've reflected a bit on the cause.
Ultimately, I think non-gamers have an outmoded view of who plays games. In the early days, when electronic games were first catching on, I think that games were marketed above all to children. When the first Nintendo system was released, it was pretty clear that that's the demographic they were going for. This is not surprising. Children were probably the first to see the great potential of this medium. They (we) weren't hampered by preconceived notions of the world. Sure, games were new. But everything was new--we were kids!
But the effect of this was to pidgeonhole games into a "kids' stuff" category. This perception lives on today. The problem is that gamers aren't kids anymore. As we grew up, so did the medium. And it's still maturing. Many games express adult themes that are not for kids, and they're not meant for kids. Of course, some kids will want to play those games, just as some kids want to watch films that have more adult themes. That's where parental control comes in.
Parents have often been criticized for failing to supervise their kids' game purchases. I think that's valid, but it's not entirely their fault. This perception that games are only for kids leads some parents to think that any games are fine. I think as time goes by, this lack of awareness will fade. There's no need to panic.
Incidentally, the history of animated film and TV is somewhat similar. Just because it's animated doesn't mean that it's for kids. For example, I was fascinated with Serial Experiments Lain, but it's not for kids (though I think it would just be more confusing than harmful).
Bottom line: parents need to realize that there's as broad a spectrum of games as there is of movies. You wouldn't want your kids to watch Scarface, so don't let them play Grand Theft Auto IV.
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