Slashdot Mirror
Retailers Won't Sell New Acclaim Game
DrEnter writes "According to this Yahoo article, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and Kay-Bee Toys are refusing to carry Acclaim's new video game 'BMX XXX'. Best Buy has stated it will sell a censored version of the game. Acclaim is billing it as the first major release game to feature full-action nudity, with prostitutes and pimps and main characters. A Wal-Mart spokesman stated "We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity -- we're just not going to do it." I'm pretty sure Wal-Mart sells rated-R movies (including those arguably targeted at the same age group as this game is), so make your own judgement..."
Acclaim has announced that the refusal of some retailers to carry the game would have no impact on sales, as no one has planned to buy the worthless piece of crap anyway.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
There is all that Playboy and Penthouse software on the top shelf of the computer software section at Hastings...
That was vulgar and featured nudity and everybody loved it. No stores, as I recall, refused to sell that. Still I suppose the graphics have come a little since those days, perhaps it is the realism that shocks them.
Rake Free + Mac Poker: CardCrusade
Prostitutes and pimps - sure, but main characters? Won't somebody please think of the children?
-- Free speech is only free if your time is worth nothing.
The walmart spokesman cleared his throat and continued, "The staple of gaming content has always been VIOLENCE. Sure, we'll sell games where you can watch someone get their head cut off, THATS good clean fun."
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Books, comics, movies, tv shows, news and games with violence are everywhere.
Violence is OK everyone.
A naked person, though, will destroy the fabric of society as we know it. And s*x, I won't even dare say the word.
-... ---
Just like one of the posters said on the accompanying message board, this is nothing but capitalism working as it normally does, and working quite well.
;-D) in person.
"Developers have the right to make it. Stores have the right to carry it or shun it. We have the right to buy it, ignore it or shop elsewhere."
Sure, it serves as an eye-popper and conversation piece for news outlets since there's (gasp!) nudity in a video game, but it's not like 99.6% of all 15-year old guys haven't already seen a naked woman on video, in a magazine, or (hopefully
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
This isn't these stores taking "responsibility", its them acknowledging that the parents who can't police their children properly will shove their responsibility (that of the parents) onto the store. The fact is, if parents were able to actually take care of their children, it wouldn't matter if hard-core pornography was shelved next to Barney cartoons - the kids wouldn't ever actually get access. My parents made it quite clear whenever I was not to be doing something, and when I went behind their backs I was inevitably punished. More importantly, they explained their reasons for each edict, and as a result I respected their decisions as my parents instead of resenting them blindly. Thats the lesson the stores are teaching parents: if you dont take care of your kids, we'll do it for you. Thats plain fucking lazy.
"Stumble before you crawl"
Wal-Mart has a history of selling censored music selections; it's not surprising to hear that they aren't willing to sell a soft-porn version of a game. Especially when you consider that while middle-age men may buy movies at Wal-Mart while the wimmunfolk are shopping; most of the PC and console gamers that buy from Wal-Mart (or K-B, or Toys-R-Us) are under 18.
That being said, what retailers _are_ going to be selling the uncensored version of the game?
Truck driver, plumber, Linux systems engineer.
People will do as they want. If stores didnt carry Grand Theft Auto 3, they would be losing out on a good chunk of change.
If this game gets that popular, then either they will sell it or miss out on the profit.
I really dont have a problem with things like this unless it is the government (federal, state, or local) saying that something can't be sold in town, state, or country. If Wal-Mart et al want to not sell it, frankly, its their business.
Of course it is good that the public stays informed... Wal-mart doesnt get my money when I need paper towels any more if they choose to censor this.
But that their choice, and I imagine plenty of other people who like dirty games will continue to buy their paper towels at Wal-Mart.
good, my little 6 year old billy is way too young to see such vulgarity! the makers of this game should be thrown in jail for exposing our children to this filth!
now, if you'll excuse me. i need to take billy to the movies, he wants to see the transporter.
Gentlemen...BEHOLD!
-Dr. Weird
From reading the blurb from the acclaim site I would say it is not near X rated. While I do think it is compleatly distastefull, I think you can find more sexual content in "Not Another Teen Movie" or "Too High".
... I won't *buy* it at Wal-mart, Best Buy...
FLR
I beleive there were also similar efforts back in the day invlovling Leisure Suit Larry, but I doubt any of those retailers sold PC games during the 80's and early 90's when Leisure Suit Larry was at its peak. This probably the best publicity going, especially if the game isn't that good, which I can't imagine how BMX and XXX would go together well.
Walmart does however, sell censored versions of a lot of media. Which is why I refuse to buy anything there. I'd hate to bring a cd or dvd home that's been Walmartized.
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
Dear Walmart,
Thank you for insuring that our new game "BMX XXX" becomes the most sought after title to ever hit the market. You see, in our business there is no such thing as bad publicity, which you have provided us in spades. We are now the "Sopranos" of the gaming world. There is nothing like controversy to insure we have an audience.
Again, Thank You.
P.S. We're sorry you are going to miss the sales revenue generated by this sleeper cult classic... On second thought, we could care less about your puritanical revenue model destroyed by a week's loss in imports.
If voting were effective, it would be illegal by now.
Acclaim is to the game industry what Troma is to the movie industry.
On a related note, does anyone know if this game will use the extremely rare "AO" (Adults Only) ESRB rating?
Schnapple
I think the article's comparisons to GTA 3 are unfounded. Why? Because GTA 3 had some very innovative gameplay: a continuous and hugely interactive world with missions taking place directly in the environment, a wide variety of exploration options leading to a huge replay value.
BMX XXX is a.... bmx game. Now I'm not going to say that GTA 3 is a Goodfellas or even a Sopranos but it at least had a semi-adult theme: criminal underworld. It was about as accurate as... I dunno, a CBS Sunday Night movie on the mob. And so there was little stretching the imagination to see that prostitution and drugs and violence would be involved.
But a BMX game? It's like trying to get people to switch to Linux by lacing nekkid girlie pictures into the kernel. A shallow attempt to spice something up.
What is music when you despise all sound?
On another note, this game might be just what it takes to get me into gaming. Final Fantasy didn't do it, but if Aki had been naked....
OK, so Wal-mart, K-mart, and Quicky-marts can sell Eminem albums (and lots of 'em), but they won't dare sell videogames with 16-bit color depth-versions of naked women?
So the following sample of Eminem lyrics -- "Ya'll niggas wanna dead..Then wanna ride..Ya'll know the niggas that be steady screamin'.. (Fuck you!).. It's murda murda.. you know it's murda murda.. We scream it.. we yell it.. we livin' murda murda murda" -- is perfectly wholesome, family-oriented poetry, but the aforementioned dorky BMX racing game is just too crude to sell?
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
... until Kazaa users turn ethical.
now THAT's more like it. I haven't seen this good of a game since Leisure Suit Larry!
screenshot
oh baby! - Jenni-cam move aside.
HURD - Hurd's Under Research & Development
"I'm pretty sure Wal-Mart sells rated-R movies (including those arguably targeted at the same age group as this game is), so make your own judgement..."
This is likely because video games present an interactive environment. While movies may desensitize us to violence and sex, video games give us the feel that we are part of the action. When presented this simply (which is how the general public is likely to perceive it) video games with similar adult or violent content are worse than movies of the same genre.
That said, this move by these retailers isn't something to poo-poo too much. Retailers are free in this society to choose what they carry. No one goes into a WalMart and demands they sell hardcore pr0n. As a corollary these businesses have their respective markets to think about. For instance, one may prefer to buy a book at B&N over some Christian book stores, even though they may carry the same book (I don't know what book but just as an example), because of the "JESUS! JESUS! JESUS!" mentality that store may push on its customers. While they aren't the same, IMHO proselytizing in a bookstore isn't all that different than big SALE signs and such over merchandise. Let's not also forget we do have a free market and where there is a demand for the game there will be someone willing to sell and produce it. I predict much of the sales of this game will be online.
sig
Pretty sanctimonious words for the largest retailer of firearms in the US.
When Acclaim was asked to comment on the current situation, the CEO had this to say:
"I am outraged that consumers are even THINKING that we are targeting children. Every CD bought comes with a EULA that requires them to return the merchandise if they are not at least 21 years old."
When asked why Acclaim gives 5 packs of Pokemon Trading Cards with each purchase, he had no comment.
Yes, I know Nintendo's changed their policy over the years to accomodate fighting, but I'm surprised that they are going beyond the line that WalMart draws.
Someone doesn't have to be "psychologically repressed" just to disagree with you about what represents normal human behaviour and what represents perversion, you know. As long as they're not trying to tell you how to live your life, it's kinda impolite to call them names.
On a side note, I've met a fair number of "zealots" who aren't Christian, too. Zealots come in all shapes and sizes: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Pagan, etc.
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
Doubtful that there's connection between this and lax parental responsibility. Different parents raise their kids differently.
This is about WalMart, et al, making a decision about what they'll sell or not sell, and also avoiding a great deal of bad publicity by carrying the games. The game section of these stores are meccas for kids; no store manager wants to explain to the local news folks why they let school kids buy the games.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
There's no reason they would have to allow kids to buy the game. They card for other things, why not this?
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
I would guess that many people have the perception that games are 'for kids' not realizing (or possibly even caring) that many gamers have grown up. As the game attempts to use nudity as a selling point many conservative retailers easily adopt the stance that they will not carry the filthy smut. Tomb Raider games feature an extremely busty main character which is prominently displayed on much of their advertisements but the word nudity or XXX isn't featured anywhere so it slips in under their good taste threshold. These same conservative retailers 'know' that R Rated movies are targeted at adults rather than children, and are therefore safe for sale regardless of content.
This is very similar to the controversy around the first Heavy Metal movie. As an animated film parents first assume it's for kids and are shocked and disgusted to find R rated content, again not realizing (or caring) what the target audience is.
A steaming cup of soykaf would be real wiz right now.
I'm a store manager for one of the video game chains that will be selling BMX XXX, and last month I got a chance to hear about the game from the people at Akklaim and even saw a bit of game footage. Here is what I took away from the preview: 1) This game plays like the old dave mirra games, but with more plot thrown into each stage ( pimps yelling at their employees, monkeys throwing poo, dogs fornicating) 2) Somebody went to great pains to give you the ultimate control in the create a skater mode including breast size and (abscence of) choice of clothes. 3) If you get enough money, you get to go to Scores gentleman's club to watch a video clip of a real dancer. 4) The Gamecube and XBOX versions will have a raunch-o-meter to let you turn off nudity and bad language while the PS2 version will automatically be a little more tame (no full nudity). 5) They made sure to stay in the M rating, as an Ao would mean that the rest of the chains that are selling the game would also drop it from their shelves.
Basically, it looks like annother lame BMX game that Akklaim is trying to boost sales of by tossing in a little raunch. A good buy, if you have no life or acess to better adult materials.
I must admit, I'm a bit confused as to when, in the eyes of "Your Smut Online" retailers lost the right of choosing how to stock their shelves while, somehow, you retain the right to buy it. You have a right to speak: you don't have a right to make me or anyone else listen.
"He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
As a zealous Christian, (dare I admit that I might be categorized as a 'fundie' by the /. crowd?)
I can say that I am not afraid of the human body. I like sex quite a bit, too.
That having been said, I believe that God designed sex to be expressed in the context of an emotionally intimate committed relationship. One reference that discusses sexual satifaction survey results is here
Apparently Christians have higher rates of sexual satisfaction than non-Christians.
With regard to censorship, perhaps Walmart is making decisions based on what their customers want. The marketplace is free, and I don't get up in arms when your favorite pr0n store refuses to carry Jonah - If you want the game, you know where you can find it - Google is your friend.
Respectfully,
Anomaly
BTW - God loves you and longs for relationship with you.
If you would like to know more, please email me.
But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?
This is the problem with censorship nowadays, they're too damn cunning.
/angry/ about not being able to obtain. Who the fuck would go through a world of trouble to get this thing available in stores?
/seriously/ overused themes in modern games) So when they want to ban the next Thief or Deus Ex for "encouraging criminal activity" it'll be that much harder to stop them.
In the past, censorship enthusiasts* were dumb, and banned works of art, stuff that people could defend on quality grounds, stuff that people would get
I hate censorship, but can I actually be bothered to complain about reduced distribution for an "extreme" sports game featuring hookers? (two
*I know that Walmart not selling != censored, but you have to consider the size of the company and the number of games they shift. When multi-billion dollar companies refuse to have anything to do with controversial and "anti-social" games then it's not long until we're all playing "The Happy Little Elves(tm)(c) go to Disneyland(tm)(r)" and "DMCA Takedown: Piracy Bust".
"We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity -- we're just not going to do it."
I just don't get these double standards. They sell all kinds of movies and videos where sex and violence are rampant. Walmart sells Sopranos, American Pie and some other R-rated dvds. I am guessing (and hoping) that they don't sell such videos/dvds to underage children.
Then why in the world they refuse to acknowledge the ratings on the games. The rating are there for a purpose. Of all the big games that are out/coming out, violence is a big part of them. And of course, as we all know from TV, sex follows. Read and understand the the ratings on the games and stick to them. Sell the games like cigarettes if you have to, just don't give me your double standards.
Being from NZ an' all...
Wal-mart won't sell a computer game because of a little bit of nudity, yet it continues to sell guns.
Is there anyone _inside_ the US that doesn't find that just a tad strange?
Consultancy: If you're not part of the solution, there's money to be made in prolonging the problem
Custer's Revenge for the Atari 2600 was probably the first game that retailers would refuse to sell. Check it out here
Does Walmart sell Penthouse / Playboy / Hustler? No?
Do they sell Time / Field & Stream / Sports Illustrated? Yes?
Then why isn't everyone here getting their panties in a bunch over _that_ bias? Why would not the clear policy they have for which print media they retail carry across into the electronic media they stock? Why should a retailer like Walmart make an exception for a one-trick pony console game?
Hey, Mr. Magazine Man! Yeah, you! You're selling House & Garden, but I don't see no Juggs! What kind of friggin' hypocrite are you? Don't you know this is America, Land of the Free, and I gotta right to buy what I want where I want to? [spit]
[sigh]
Sometimes it seems everybody is spoilin' for a fight, but all these Walmart guys are doing is looking to make a living and not piss off their core clientele. Seems to me they're behaving sensibly.
No, I think you're missing the point -- the fact that parents have a responsibility to take care of their kids does not in any way take away a store-owner's right to decide what type of establishment he wants to run.
Nor is this `just' about morality -- the storeowner (in this case WalMart) is making a clear business decision based on the fact that many customers will choose a store without porn in it over a store with porn in it when they take their kids shopping.
Only topless nudity. The dialogue and such isn't anything worse than GTA3. No full frontals, definately no sex .. just alot of attitude. Really, if they dont sell this, they shouldn't sell GTA3.
....
.. graphic violence is fine, easily found on their shelves, the heavens forbid we should see a nipple! For crying out loud ...
[sarcasm]
yeah, its way more moral to carjack and kill people in GTA3 than it is to ride a skateboard and look at women's boobs
[/sarcasm]
This society has a rediculous double standard when it comes to what kids see and watch
"Old man yells at systemd"
Killing and violence have been commonplace throughout history. Sex has been pretty popular too, judging from the six billion people on our planet today. Every society condemns violence. Yet many cultures that depend on sex to propagate their values treat sex as a shameful act. Who the hell pulled that manuever?
I doubt that historically all cultures have been so prudish. What kind of organization could propagate such a ridiculous idea to so many people? Hmmm...
Yes but how about when everything is gratuitous? You just plain don't have to add this kind of trash to a BMX video game to make a good game. It's stupid. If the stuff actually added to the game, I may see it (say murder mystery game where a guy walked in on his Wife having sex and he killed the guy and you got shown this as your character figured everything out and was describing it in the end). Or something other then a BMX game. This is Walmarts point. It's stupid to sell a censored version, so the chose not to sell it. I think it's their choice. I will still buy my snack foods and caffiene there. I agree Parents should be in their kids lives, but just having this thing on display is problem enough.
Gorkman
Here it is
VGs with violence always integrate it into the gameplay but VGs with nudity or sexual content make it some side bonus that isn't really part of the game.
What if there was a video game that did integrate sex into the gameplay? In Japan they've had point-and-click dating games, but what if nudity/love/sex were part of other genres?
For example, the Japanese have a comic book about a sex sport where a man and woman try to make the other person come first. What if there was a video game about that, styled after 1 on 1 fighting games? There'd be the usual selection of characters and backdrops, but instead of a damage bar there'd be a horniness bar. There'd be plenty of flashy special moves, but instead of doing damage they'd be foreplay moves that raise the other person's horniness bar. Horniness would also be represented visually by clothes falling off, blushing, trembling and heavy breathing. Instead of Mortal Kombat's "Fatalities" or Street Fighter's "Super Finishers" there'd be orgasm moves. I'd want an anime-style game company doing this because the Japanese put sex in their entertainment way better than Americans do.
I also wonder if abstract or "cartoonized" sex is better than realistic sex. Think of the arguments about realistic violence vs cartoon violence. Some say that kids will be less harmed by seeing fake, cartoon violence because perhaps if kids don't see the real thing, they won't do the real thing. Others say that kids will be less harmed by seeing realistic violence because they'll see the real consequences and fear them. I don't know the answer to that argument, but I do ask: Is fake looking sex or realistic looking sex better for kids? If that 1-on-1 sex game kept the moves but hid the crotches, would it be OK for kids of all ages?
...or if you're not up to taking on the opposition physically. For instance, if you live in a relatively wild area, you wouldn't want to have to fend off a hungry cougar with, say, a knife... or a fist, which is about what some countries would let you use.
.45 ACP, OTOH, would be quite discouraging to an attacker who lacks a death wish.
And I doubt that, say, a 110# female with a sedentary lifestyle could spar with a pair of 170# thugs with a habit of violent exercise... and your 70-year-old grandmother is probably too slow to even try to run. When it comes to self-defense, without weapons, the fight would generally be extremely uneven.
Only the dead have seen the end of war.
Some screenshots and extra info can be found here:
http://cube.ign.com/objects/017/017510.html
There are 2 kinds of people in this world: Those who write in decimal and those who don't
Yes walmart sells r-rated movies, but censored. They also sell sensored audio cds. For instance, I made the mistake of buying a Cake cd. CAKE for christ's sake, and it was censored. It doesn't suprise me in the least they'd refuse to sell even a censored version of the game.
Its only a matter of time until Namco announces Cocksucker Pacman
Well, during unprotected anal sex, if she farts, when he comes, that might just produce a mess you don't even want to think about ...
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
This makes sense because it's relatively easy for a parent to figure out if a movie or magazine is R-rated. They know what to look for and how to judge the content.
You don't need to worry so much about books which contain adult themes (these stores do not carry erotic stories, but do carry books that may contain sexual or adult content) because anyone who can read those types of books is probably old enough to handle it. Plus reading the book places those adult themes into adult context.
But when it comes to video and computer games, how often do you hear the kid asking the parent what the game is about? It's entirely the other way around; the parent asks the kid what the game is about. It's entirely plausible that a lot of parents will actually stand there and buy a game like BMX XXX for their 10 year old son and not realize what they are purchasing. I doubt the same is likely to occur for a movie that has XXX in the title let alone a magazine.
|
R |
e |
s |
p |
e |
c | Acclaim's somewhere around here
t | X
+--------------------
Free Advertisement
I'm not exactly sure that oogling a naked girl on a bike equates to making love. Nor do I ever recall any pimps being equated to eros for helping desperate men find their star-crossed lovers.
While I'm all for gratuitous nudity, I don't see why this is such an issue, As big as Wal-Mart is it has the same right as any mom-and-pop location;
to refuse to sell whatever it wants, whenever it wants to.
What if a store wanted to sell me a shotgun, a Nirvana album and an R-rated movie, but no nudity-containing video game? Well I'd settle for a few porn magazines. Point is, I need a one-stop-shop, and WalMart ain't got it.
Please, Walmart, for the decent people out there, give us a place to buy recordings of violent acts, endorsements of violence, instruments of violence and porno. Think of the children.
...but it's not like 99.6% of all 15-year old guys haven't already seen a naked woman on video, in a magazine, or (hopefully ;-D) in person.
.4% have seen it in national geographic and emphatically deny that it counts
and the other
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
I am a Wal Mart electronics associate.
We carry Fallout (vulgarity, text), Die Hard (vulgarity, audio). We'll be carrying GTA4: Vice city (audio vulgarity ?).
We carry very violent games.. (PS2) GTA3, (XBOX) Dead to Rights, the new Mortal Kombat game, (PS2) Mark of Kri, (PC) Mafia, etc etc.
The register prompts whether the customer is 17 when you ring a [M] rated game, or [R] rated movie. I let every parent know what they're buying -- and kids don't get mature games from me. :)
Now some guys in suits play the "we da bad boyz" card with a well-orchestrated PR blitz, stupid Walmart plays right into their hands, and all the usual comments are made.
Scott Adams, call your office!
...about how "In America, kids watching sex on TV == bad but kids watching violence is OK" really need to learn something about American kids.
We'd rather have them kill each other than reproduce. It's all part of a master plan.
"Kill your family, kill the band, then kill yourself. Please make sure you get your WHOLE HEAD in front of the shotgun."
Wow, after seeing that trailer, I was cracking up so much I think I woke other people in the house. Jeez, my rebelious side is riled up, and I just want that game now. That is too much fun. Maybe when I feel more moral and inline in the middle of the day I will regret saying this, but damn, I want that movie now.
It just made me think during watching it. Its human nature to enjoy sex and sensational themes, yet our religious and "civilized" side just wants us to fit in some pure ideal. But the most fun is where we are right now. We are not in sheer puritan minded times, but we havent degraded to utter pathetically primitive attitudes. Were in the balance right now where we can enjoy the advantages of both ends. We arent at either extreme. So enjoy!
Or maybe Im wrong.....
Ya know that US stereotype of a cowboy - the guy who carries at least one gun on him at all times, but doesn't even take his clothes off to bathe?
That's us.
We still think violence is an excellent way to solve problems, and are largely inured to it - hence the reason why we're one of the last countries in the world to allow captial punishment for mentally retarded individuals.
Besides, violence raises few anxieties in people that affect them directly. Sex, on the other hand, raises all sorts of issues that Americans never deal with - like our own lack of comfort with our bodies. I still think one of the biggest reasons why there is basically no full-frontal male nudity in movies as opposed to female full-frontal nudity, which is quite common, is related to size issues. I wouldn't be surprised if there are guys out there who have refused to se The Pillow Book because they know they'd have to see Ewan McGregor's big dick.
Of course, I can't really say this is all that much different from other cultures, since I have never lived anywhere but the USA. Let's hope I'm providing some insight, though - I'd be depressed if this is the way it is around the world.
he got sucked in by that vulgar computer game, and next thing we know he's running around his school like a madman.. flashing everyone!
Moo
Furthermore, if guns were not freely available, then I'd say its more likely that a criminal would have a gun than a law abiding, sedentary female.
Here in Japan, guns are illegal. And yet the number of people (outside of gang members) who get shot a year is on the order of 20-25. In the whole country.
Hmm.
Acclaim has amended their previous announcement, stating that because of all the free publicity they got from the furor over their game, they were able to market it enough for it to sell well. Plans for a sequel are to be announced shortly.
May we never see th
...to regain their reputation as a company pushing the envelope in video game vulgarity. Remember how big of a hit Mortal Kombat was when it first came out? Pure shock value. Acclaim made a killing off it, as well as MK2, and even made a movie out of it the video game.
Since then we've had countless other fighting games, some of which were purely copycat games, others which introduced new technology such as 3D arenas, which Acclaim hasn't really been keeping up with. Now that gore fest fighting games are no longer so offensive, perhaps even tame compared to gore fest shooters like Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament, they decide to make money off the next most provocative cultural taboo--Sex.
What's next? A game about wife beaters? Kids who set fire to animals? No, I'm not some paranoid Rosie 'O Donnel wannabe, and I'm glad id won their lawsuit against those neglegent deadbeat Columbine parents, but there is a point when it just becomes painfully obvious that some in the entertainment business are out to take advantage of stupid kids with too much money by offering them the forbidden fruit in a medium their parents are likely very ill-informed about.
Why do I get the feeling you don't have kids?
I know many parents (my wife and I included) who work very hard at raising their children responsibly. Many of them forego income so that a parent can remain home with the children and many of those home-school because of deficiencies in our local public schools.
Trouble is, no matter how responsible you try to be, each of us is only human. Each of us gets tired, has off-days, etc. Even at our best, we have only two eyes, two ears, etc.
In the (not so) old days, people watched out for their neighbors' children, not just their own. That doesn't happen so much any more, at a time when parenting is harder than ever.
I greatly appreciate that Wal-Mart makes the job just a little bit easier.
How many billions of dollars in sales does Wal-Mart do each year? If you honestly think they are staying up late at night because of the missed revenue for a single video game title, you are sadly mistaken.
And frankly, there are larger marketing issues here which I'm sure you can't appreciate. Wal-Mart has spent a lot of money to cultivate a family-friendly image. A BMX game that overtly promotes sexuality would cost more to repair the PR damage than the revenue it would generate.
From Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" website:
.22 caliber handgun in the store, then chased Marsha through the aisles and shot her before killing himself. Marsha survived, but suffers from severe brain damage.
.38 caliber bullets. He then returned to the school, went to Locke's office and, shortly after noon, shot Locke three times, killing him instantly. Kelly then turned the gun on himself.
On August 27, 1999 Bryan Midgette was arrested for abusing his wife, Marsha. Despite a restraining order, Bryan tracked Marsha down three days later at the Wal-Mart in Pottstown, Pennsylvania where she worked. He purchased bullets for his
For ten years, James Easton Kelly had studied towards a graduate degree in English at the University of Arkansas. Then, his professor, John R. Locke, informed him that due to his lack of progress towards his doctorate, the school was dismissing him. At 11:27 AM on Monday, August 28th, 2000 Kelly went to a Wal-Mart 10 miles from the Fayetteville campus and purchased 50 rounds of
On May 22, 2001 Laura Gassaway entered a Wal-Mart in Rockford, Illinois, went to the sporting goods section and tried to purchase bullets for her handgun. After the clerk refused to sell to her because she did not have a state firearm owners identification card, Gassaway began shoplifting other items before store security stopped her. The security officers called the police and then took Gassaway to the back of the store. There, she pulled a handgun from her purse and shot three security guards before police burst in and killed her.
During an argument with his estranged wife on July 31, 2001, John VanGraafeiland threatened to go to Wal-Mart, buy bullets and kill himself. Police contacted the two local Wal-Mart's in Wilmington, North Carolina, warning them not to sell bullets to the man, but no one told the clerk selling the ammunition. After purchasing the bullets, VanGraafeiland went to his car and killed himself. Wal-Mart eventually settled a lawsuit brought by his family, paying them $130,000 for their negligence.
A Wal-Mart spokesman stated "We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity -- we're just not going to do it."
From AP: Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, is refusing to carry Sheryl Crow's upcoming album, because one song says the chain sells guns to kids.
In both cases Wal Mart seems to be simply protecting its most profitable sales: GUNS. We all know video games and good music detract from gun sales. And certainly, kids would want to buy a video game with naked chicks over a new rifle.
And can we blame Wal Mart? After Congressman Pat Kennedy "motivated" Wal Mart to move Guns away from the toy department in 2001 (effectively destroying the under 18 sales market) and with cigarette sales at an all-time low, Wal Mart must protect its last REAL AMERICAN profitable sales area: GUNS.
So Wal-Mart will glady sell me a pump shotgun, ammo, and a bandoleer strap, everything needed for a killing spree, but they won't sell me a video game with titties in it?
Christian America has some very, very fucked up priorities.
It was not my intention to suggest that atheists are immoral. I'm sorry that what I wrote sounded like that to you. What I meant to communicate is largely in agreement with what you wrote above - that absent the existence of an objective standard it comes down to the individual's conscience.
However, when you make that statement, you do two things:
1) You are stating a moral absolute. (That no absolute exists.)
2) You are saying that your opinion has more or less merit than someone else's. This too, requires a moral judgment dependent on some sort of moral standard.
The DC sniper, and Al Queda terrorists are probably acting within the guidelines of their conscience - as do I, and as you suggest above - as do you.
The fact that we claim to have a standard does not address the validity of that standard. I'm pretty sure that the DC sniper and Al Queda are in violation of what your conscience and mine would agree is reprehensible. The question to answer is why would you and I agree?
WRT the existence of God:
When one asserts that there is no God, by the nature of that statement (assertion of a logical negative) one must in one instant have all knowledge of all that exists.
Otherwise would it not be possible for the thing that is asserted not to exist - simply exist in a portion of the universe about which the person making the assertion is not knowledgeable?
In short - to authoritatively assert that no god exists requires that one posess attributes that only god could have. I belive that this refutes the premise.
This leaves us with the concept that God may or may not exist, and we need to determine whether we belive that He does or does not. This depends on evidence and our interpretation of it.
WRT the provability of the existence of God - I'm curious...what evidence would be sufficient to convince you?
Respectfully,
Anomaly
But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?