Labour MP sticks up for gaming

Labour MP for West Bromwich East and parliamentary secretary for the cabinet office Tom Watson has leapt to the defence of gaming, claiming that he’d rather his son sat in front of a console than simply started at the TV.

The Mirror quotes Watson as stating: Basically, I think playing games is a good thing. I’d rather my boy be playing on his Wii than passively watching telly.

Most games are educational. Even the fun stuff has serious real-world applications. They make you think, focus, challenge and change – 500 years ago a medium that did this would be called art.”

Watson added that his three-year-old son learned to count thanks to a TellyTubbies game, and that a friend’s eight-year-old child learned how to make bronze whilst playing Runescape.