I'm getting a little sick of the constant arguing over what constitutes "mature" video games.

Tell me, what is the fundamental difference between a game that offers something like this:

and a game that offers something like this?  

I'm not talking about the subject matter of the games themselves. I'm talking about the ideas behind them. One game lets you pretend to create music, the other comes with a pretend gun that vibrates and makes chainsaw noises. How do either of these fantasies push us past an age when we said things like, "Hey, Billy! Let's go play in the dirt, chase frogs, and then go dodge traffic!"?

Now, I'm not trying to defend Nintendo here. I agree with the consensus that its E3 press conference was an embarrassment and an insouciant slap on the cheeks of its fans. What I'm saying is that whether you're holding a Wiimote to your mouth or hefting a fake assault rifle, you're still a man-child playing with a plastic toy. Nintendo and Epic are both guilty of making games for kids, or at least for adults who want to feel like kids, because ALL VIDEO GAMES ARE FOR KIDS. So can we get past all the bullshit about what games are "mature," and what games are "kiddy," and concentrate instead on what games are fun?

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