I have to agree with enlightened, that video games are painted with a broad negative brush that some of them don’t observe. Of course, if you listen to the news, you will only hear about the most horrendous games.
When I was a child (60’s) comic books were considered harmful, which I understood. Some comic books were bad, but many were great – they told a great story with pictures and words.
Now, I don’t have gaming system, and I do encourage the boys in my house to play outside and get off the computer.