Simply turning off the offending game (or movie, or TV show), does nothing to change these things. I’m not happy with just sitting back not trying to change things.

And yes, this sort of thing does help. It’s small, but the more companies are willing to step outside the idea of “only straight white men play our games” and actually include everyone in their games in ways that do not rely on offensive stereotypes, the more that these games are held up as examples of how things SHOULD be done, the more the players and consumers (that is, us) point out that games that are inclusive of everyone, the more things will slowly change.

Not being happy with the status quo doesn’t mean that someone has issues. The opposite, in fact. Things like sexism, racism, and homophobia need to be fought wherever they appear – including video games.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/The_Cataclysm

Additionally, there is merit in innovation and originality. It’s cool to have nostalgic ol’ content, but new stuff makes games so much more entertaining.

The way I read it, this article series highlights elements of the Guild Wars games that are different from those found in other current (and past) popular game series. I think you are right that this is an intentional ‘reaching out’…but ‘reaching out’ as in ‘helping out’.

I’m pretty sure your comment on people having ‘issues’ comes across as insulting (even when that’s not your intent). And I hope you don’t tell people who disagree that they have ‘issues’ too. Having objections to how games treat ‘types’ of characters is fine, imo. It’s not like we have to like every part of our favourite game and find it unobjectionable. Even ‘pure entertainment’ can be messed up, or weird to some people, or ‘wrong’ to some other people.
Sure, some comments make me wonder ‘is it that bad?’ when someone outright won’t even consider playing a game for some minor reason. But really, the reason is probably valid, no matter if it’s an excuse or a minor part of the game or not. Trying to convince folks to change their mind by telling them ‘it’s a game’ is kind of misguided. Kind of like telling a kid that bullying is a normal part of school…and so switching to another school is out of the question.

I think you raise the very important point on agendas. They are not the point of most games, and if they lead games …it can be risky. But they are a part of any game anyway. Even if you try your best to have no agenda, you will have one. The result might be extremely visible to players (treatment of a childhood trauma, e.g.) or it can be something that is more typical, like a simple political message that anyone can agree with (torture is bad, e.g.). So I think games can be justified in being conscious (and political) about ‘reaching out’. The risk is worth it. It’s nice to have games featuring many ‘types’ of people, and not all games require that amount of diversity, but some could use it.

Sorry for the rant. : )

But yes, the developers do an amazing job of making everybody feel at home in their world.