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Image: The Guardian

Here in the UK, the government's promoting various subjects in education in order to supposedly entice young people into studying them. These subjects include Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths, but since the current government seems hell-bent on phasing out more artistic pursuits, this new focus is perhaps a bit of a worry for the British games industry.

So, in comes John Cridland, who's the director general of the Confederation of British Industry. Cridland reckons that the arts should be added into the aforementioned list of subjects - and rightly so. He's fighting for a good cause, then, but there's no denying he's buggered up the message.

"One of the biggest growth industries in Britain today is the computer games industry," he told The Independent. The problem is that he then goes on to say: "We need extra coders - dozens and dozens of them but nobody is going to play a game designed by a spotty nerd. We need people with artistic flair."

Now, we get where Cridland's coming from. He's tying the argument into the importance of young people studying the arts, but the mention of a "spotty nerd" isn't going to do the debate any favours, is it? It's a classic example of a stereotypical statement, and one that's birthed directly from ignorance of the industry we adore.

What do you make of this? Try not to get your argument torn to shreds by the gaming press in the comments section below.

[source independent.co.uk, via kotaku.co.uk]