The interactivity is still limited, though. It's not like games resemble real life. You don't have the choice to do every conceivable number of things that you could possibly do from day to day, you only have a few limited options that the developer gives you, and these are all intrinsically linked to whatever the game's story or premise is. When I'm playing Manhunt, I'm doing crazy shit because I'm playing Manhunt, and it's no more training me to do something nefarious than Mario is training me to eat every mushroom I come across in the forest.
What I really wanted to say, though, is that I think this is why we need to be doing things to change people's views. For quite some time now I've been periodically sending out letters and CDs of game music to select friends and family, and I talk at length about the music that's on the disk, the person who composed it, how it relates to the game, and a bit about whatever game it came from and whoever developed that game. It's been very well received, not only because people have really enjoyed the music selections I've sent out, but because few of them had any real idea what games were really like or what was involved in creating them. Several of my aunts and uncles keep bugging me to send out new stuff because they find it so interesting. I think changing the opinions of people is importing where something is so grossly misunderstood, not because it's going to change the face of gaming as we know it (which is becoming more widely accepted by the day), but because it changes the minds of people in your immediate circle and opens them up to new experiences that they'd completely miss out on otherwise. The Oblivion OST and some other assorted Soule, some of Final Fantasy XII, and the Arcanum OST are what I've sent out so far, and the music is enough to get people's attention and show them that hey, this isn't strictly something for youngsters, and even if they are exposed to it, there are positive elements that can come from that exposure (getting interested in the creative forces behind the games, enjoying musical genres they might otherwise dislike or ignore, or in the case of things like Civ, Eternal Sonata or BioShock, possibly getting interested in a little history or philosophy despite themselves).
So I don't know about the rest of you, but I think it's our own responsibility to change the way people look at this stuff. It isn't a sure thing and it isn't always easy, but I think you'll be surprised at how willing most people are to climb the precipice and look at a new horizon when you're leading them there by the hand and promising them something worth looking at, and in my experience few of them are disappointed when they get there.
