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Australian Road Safety Authority Criticizes Racing Game

Posted by simoniker on from the angry-anderson dept.

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."

4 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Glorifying speed and power by wed128 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Please...speed and power have been glorified since cars were invented...did we forget the GTO's and Mustangs of the 60's? this game won't make kids irrisponsible drivers any more than doom makes them kill or Pacman makes them crave candy and run away from ghosts...

    1. Re:Glorifying speed and power by DLWormwood · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Please...speed and power have been glorified since cars were invented... this game won't make kids irrisponsible(sic) drivers...

      Amen. The way the quote reads, it makes it sound like drag racing and Nascar-like events are illegal in Oz. While not as common now, "road course" events were a popular draw in the States and Europe for Indy/Formula One races. The roads are always closed off, and markings and signs are added to make it clear to both drivers and spectators that it is a racing event.

      Did the Australian authorities act up when Crazy Taxi was released? That would have been a better target, though acting against the game's release would have still been a waste of time.

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
  2. Now that is funny. by DAldredge · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Look at what the 60's generation has done since the tookover the political enviroment. Things have gotten worse.

    Power corrupts.

  3. Games vs. reality by keithosu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maybe which should rename "video games" to "reality". It is really hard to tell the difference.

    Seriously, games are an escape. It is a virtual environment to do things that you may not necessarilly be able to do in real life. I have never been able to do more than 110 MPH in a car in reality but it is fun to do in a video game because you don't die when you crash that high speed car.

    I've also chosen not to join the mob, pickup hookers, kill people on the street and steal cars. Though, it is real fun in a video game since there are no consequences.

    Maybe they should make games about sitting in front of a cumputer, in cubicle and being the low man on the totem pole. I'm sure that would sell quite a few games.