The blunt awkwardness of my argument

The more I pursue this particular topic, the more I realize just how tough it is to describe the particulars of why games can be enriching, especially when it comes to what it is that games do that other mediums don't. I suppose the main reason I haven't been providing particular examples of statistics is that video games are such volatile issue that needless to say, they tend to range from "beyond a reasonable doubt" to "a definitely reasonable doubt" in my experience. And these aren't just extremes like angry old people on the "are" and young people as "aren't" as to whether this or that video game caused this or that school killing, or controversy. Upon googling the topic "violent video game study", for example, on the first page you get both a PBS and CNN study on opposite ends of the spectrum. In essence, this is such a hotly debated topic that even major news media is arguing over it. But let's say, hypothetically, video games somehow have negative effects (at the very least there's clear evidence that World of Warcraft does) then, let's face facts, there are plenty of things in this world that are possibly harmful, if not clearly addictive, yet have flourishing sub cultures based on them. And no, I don't mean the whole movement of people trying to legalize mary-jane, although that is something of a noble goal. I mean people like wine connoisseurs and the people like we read about in that last article we had to read for this class.
The main source of the controversy is, in not just my opinion, that it's just a reaction from people who don't understand it or haven't had much experience with it having a visceral reaction to something new and scary to them. Like rock and roll, or violent movies. Heck, although I have my doubts that I could find a decent source, even books at one point.
All of that being said, it's hard to deny the cultural impact that games have had, especially now that a good generation has gone by that grew up to video games. This goes without saying the incredible community that has formed up among fans (as tempting as it is to use "gamer", this doesn't really hold up), people who share their love of video games with one another and engage in almost philosophical arguments on internet forums. Hell, if you doubt the cultural significance of video games then just follow this link for iam8bit. Trust me, it's a sight to see.