Yes, the vidgame format could and should be used in an educational context. However, I disagree that present commercial games would be applicable. It would be nice if I could play Valkyria Chronicles in order to understand Ecce Homo or Twilight of the Idols, but better tools are available in the library.
In my view, game tech would prove useful to universities if people developed leveled systems that also functioned as art (Shadow of the Colossus as a huge anthropological site rich with excavated histories), and worked harder to create games that functioned as literary novels (Borges and Calvino in place of Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain and Hotel Dusk). To do these things, the States would need Canada's programs and budget for artistic development, which is rather unlikely.
Why hasn't Canada begun tapping people at universities to create game content as challenging as experimental literature and music? Is it a question of lack of money, interest, exposure or public support?
I also see a difference between typical U.S. candidates denouncing the "immorality" of vidgames and Obama telling voters to stop being distracted. Older candidates have attacked the medium itself. Obama has simply suggested that, like every other kind, this medium has its place.
