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Australian Road Safety Authority Criticizes Racing Game
Thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald for their story revealing Australian road safety authorities are trying to pull the plug on Project Gotham Racing 2 for Xbox, claiming the real-life Sydney course in the game is "undoing a lot of the effort authorities are putting into road safety." According to State Labor MP Paul Gibson, chairman of the Staysafe Committee: "This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behavior. If I had my way I would ban it." A spokesman for Microsoft responded: "It is not about driving on the streets, it is purely a racing game. The streets are blocked from other traffic and there are no pedestrians. All we are doing is taking the geography of Sydney and turning it into a race track."
how SHOCKING.
i wonder if arnold movies send the wrong signal too, glorifying killing and mayhem.
virtual mayhem is much better than real, live mayhem. what if it was an imaginary city the track was set in? what real difference there would be? except that they wouldn't get huge extra free advertising from biggots like this? grimm stories glorify violent revenge too, they must be bad as well.
actually if it's realistical enough it provides an incentive to not do it in real life(as you end up being a murderer of innocents and trashed by a truck in mere minutes, after which the game burns).
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
"This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behavior. If I had my way I would ban it."
Someone call Bernie Ecclestone and cancel the next Australian Grand Prix.
Why is it that idiots like this get a soap box on Slashdot?
Oddly Draconis
Too cynical to live, too stubborn to die.
Or substance abuse.
Or intolerance.
Or civil disobedience.
Or anything that disagrees with one or more branches of government.
Having done over 110 in a RL car many many many times I am here to say : You're not missing much.
The whole point is ZERO RISK in a game. HUGE risk in RL. Taking a car over 110 in RL is NOT fun. It's THRILLING. Games are FUN. It can be somewhat thrilling, but worrying about getting the best time is not the same as worrying about cops, and managing to stay on the road.
Google Toolbar is SPYWARE!
"This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behavior.
I love these guys. While this subject (and others like it) will be debated about until the end of the civilized world, I don't think the important point is ever going to come to light: the difference between a cause and a correlation. I don't mean to portray mass media or videogame makers as blameless, but honestly, they are largely giving the public what they want. Some people like games (and movies) where you speed around in cars, and do absurd things you could never realistically do yourself in real life. It's a form of escape.
Some people are quick to argue that this sort of game encourages the same behavior in real life. I'd argue that the fantasies people have about this sort of thing create a need for these games, and software devs and movie producers are more than happy to cash in.
Take a look at some of the more absurd games that have been created in response to things people like to do. We have a bazillion low-quality "Deer Hunter" games (Huh?), and Paintball PC games, which, when you think about it, is a simulation of a simulation. It's no surprise to see the GTAs or the Gran Turismos of the world being so successful.
Auto-reply to ACs: "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."
um... Mad Max?
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