Well, I can think of a lot of successful nonviolent video games.

All of the Sims like Simcity, Simtower, sim Farm, the Sims, etc. Card games like hearts, solitaire, pinouchle etc. Racing games, MS Flight Simulator, Railroad tycoon, Settlers of Catan. Admittedly a lot of these got there start as nonvideo games, but then most games did.

I put violent video games into more than one category. You have your gratuitous violence like Grand Theft Auto, Carmeggedon, and then mid range like Doom, Halo, Americas Army, then the low range like Steel Panthers, RTS games and flight sims. I like a lot of the stuff in the low to mid range, but don't go for the gratuitous violent stuff. Its a turn off to me. I've been playing video games most of my life, and yet I've never felt the need to play them.

I've also never felt the need to hunt living animals, yet my ancestors did it to survive.

Video games serve the same purpose television and books do. It gives you a chance to step out of your life and play a different life. Sure it can be taken to extremes, video games even more so than tv and books, but it doesn't make them bad in themselves. The biggest danger is in children and adults who get overexposed to the games to the point where reality starts to blur between the game real life. Video games are certainly addicting, and should be kept in check. When I was 12 I spent most of my paper route money at the arcades. When I finally realized why I was always broke, I vowed to quit arcades completely. I haven't played them since. I still play video games on my computer, but the only cost to me there is time. They can be a great way to relieve stress at the end of the day, and they are fun.

If it sounds as though this is a long rant against video games - it is because it is a long rant against video games.

In case you think it's violence I'm worried about - that's not it at all.

It's not about violence at all. It's not Ender's Game at all. It's exactly the opposite!!!

It all about pacification.

Channeling all that violent human energy, time and thoughts into video games.

That's about control.

I guess I don't see what you are ranting about then. What's wrong with channeling some violence into video games?

Pacification? Huh? Its called playing. When I was a boy without video games I played "Army" with my 3 brothers. We had very realistic looking toy guns and an acre of semi-forested land to play in. When we moved to the city, we played the same game in the blocks surrounding our house. Playing that game in today's society might get you shot by the police. I'd prefer that game take place on the computer now, its much safer. I also doubt I ever spent any more time playing video games than I did playing in other ways. Sure you can make the case that kids' time is better spent reading or doing constructive things. I'd even agree with you. The truth is that unless kids like doing those things they won't do them, video games or not.