Video games are a shared cultural, no, shared personal experience of geeks across generations and national boundaries. When this important element of geeks lives and to a lesser extent identities was demonized and smeared by the media, it upset a lot of people. Outside of insulting a major nationality, religion, or language, I can't think of another shared human activity which you could choose to attack and provoke as many people as you would by attacking gaming. Soccer maybe. Maybe.

If you imagine geeks as country, the media's attacks on gaming could be likened to an allied nation vigorously campaigning against cat/dog ownership. It may sound silly, but what would become of public opinion of nerd-hipster NATO in such a scenario?

Given the long history of moral panics against video games, the tactics and hysteria being used by the media and culture warriors have -- entirely predictably -- backfired and continue to backfire in a way which has profoundly affected mainstream geek opinion on public discourse for the foreseeable future. Geeks of every stripe will view the media with a new skepticism for years.