dallasnews.com has an interesting piece up about the huge amount of war video games out there today, examining just why they're so prevalent.

It has a good bit of history, too, comparing the current trend with earlier eras of film, in part focusing on the content itself. One of the reasons listed for the shift is the 2001 WTC attack. So it appears, gamers have been a lot more open to adapting the topic in such times.

Give it a read.

During the 1990s and earlier this decade, Hollywood was happy to show U.S. soldiers battling on the other side of the world. From Three Kings to Black Hawk Down to Rules of Engagement, audiences saw stars including George ClooneyJosh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson play troubled but essentially heroic soldiers fighting in real or realistic conflicts.

But after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Hollywood went silent instead of ramping up production on war epics as it did when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, that silence turned largely to criticism, as anti-war films like Redacted and Lions for Lambs emerged.

The $20 billion-a-year video game industry was ready to enlist.

chautemoc via dallasnews.com »