[hooande]

I think Kamen is wrong for dismissing a video game (or any kind of software project) as frivolity. I'm not sure that giving a water purifier to a starving village is necessarily "better" than a video game that provides millions of people with a few hours of entertainment every day. I tend to be wary of people who rush to grab the moral high ground.

I think it's noble that he choose to dedicate his genius to helping people, but there's no need to belittle the work of others.

[kingkawn]

Video games are entertainment, but not the only kind and so not themselves essential. Water is the only water.

There is an actual value scale here for people, and belittling or denying it shouldn't be part of choosing to be a game maker.

[richcollins]

When people have their basic needs met, they will almost certainly start doing things like playing video games.