video games: should you feel ashamed?

Oh look, it's a new year. New is good, right?

During my few days in Philly over the new year, my friend introduced me to the YouTube-autiful world of "Street Fighter: the Later Years": a hilarious mini-series of the characters from the famed old school video game Street Fighter living as regular (pathetic?) people in the world--e.g. a taxi driver--after the game lost popularity while still maintaining their superpowers.

Video games have always been one of those items that are fun and totally understandable to be played as a child but sad and pathetic when indulged as adults (with the exception of Wii accidents, of course). Even myself, who is a firm believer in all things child, am a bit frightened by their incredible ability to suck people even farther out of the real universe and into some alternate reality filled with ogres, aliens, or, lately, us very same living humans only in creepier animated form.

But then I come upon movies such as the Street Fighter one above and quickly realize the hilarious hidden video game culture buried in the minds and hearts of millions of fully functional (typically male) adults--that even though .001% of us actually still play those games, 100% of us remember in full detail the characters, their moves, and even sometimes the button combinations required to perform them.

So let's give some love to the video game world. After all, I hope every adult clings to fond childhood memories of the first time their city was attacked by aliens in SimCity.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the painful showering of boos you had to endure when you'd click the little button to raise your citizens' taxes. Ah, the memories.