Midway's Slugfest, Ballers Inappropriate For Kids?

Thanks to ABC News for its article discussing controversy over the content of Midway's officially licensed baseball and basketball videogames, as the story explains: "Nine-year-old Stephane Safar likes to play MLB Slugfest, a video game rated 'E', that is, for everyone 6 years old and older... But then he played it in front of his mother Amy, and what she saw went well beyond real-life baseball, as players punched and kicked each other during the course of the game." Amy explains: "Does he know that that's not really how Barry Bonds acts out on the field? Does he know that Nomar [Garciaparra] can't punch somebody?" Midway's NBA Ballers also comes in for criticism, with Kimberly Thompson of the Harvard School of Public Health complaining: "I think the message that kids take away from NBA Ballers is, it's all about money... Women are objects in this game."

Comments

Hrm....

[Hank Reardon]

What the heck, I suppose I'll take a Karma hit for this...

I think the message that kids take away from NBA Ballers is, it's all about money... Women are objects in this game.

I guess I must have missed something. With all of the endorsement deals, players being paid so much that only one team can afford to pay them, tales of sexual conquest (a-la Wilt Chamberlain), and the inconsistent enforcement of the rules, isn't this an accurate representation of the NBA?

I quit being interested in the NBA as players like Dennis Rodman became more and more common. I miss the general good-natured playing of Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Bring back that level of sportsmanship and finess and I might change my opinion.

Re:Hrm....

[Hank Reardon]

I never meant to imply that they were squeaky clean. Sorry if it sounded that way. I suppose a little explaination is in order.

I couldn't care less what kind of racial comments Bird is making; he's entitled to his opinion, as is everybody else. I haven't heard any of the racial comments he made, so I don't know much about them. In all the time he played, I can't recall a single racially-based incident on the court. It's a non-issue for me.

Likewise with Kareem. Who the hell cares if he hung out with Hugh Heffner? He was also busted for smoking pot after he retired. He played ball very well and kept his personal bullshit off-court.

Same with Jordan. His marital issues are his. How did they affect his playing and conduct on the court? And, if he was a decent baseball player, why shouldn't he play that, as well? Kobe also has marital issues, and has been accused of rape, however unlikely the charges appear to be. Why didn't I use him as an example of the players I miss? According to his teammates, he acted aloof and wasn't really a team player. You never heard that about Jordon.

And Magic is a perfect example, in my opinion. He screwed up, he admitted it, he used his star power to get the message out about how not to make his same mistakes, and he quit the one thing he was good at not because he wanted to, but because he was worried that some of the physical contact in basketball could put his fellow players at risk.

Neither Kareem, Jordon or Magic were seen bragging to the news media about sleeping with multiple-hundreds of women and lamenting about how nice it was. To his credit, Kobe seems very contrite about his missteps.

Look at Rodman's actions on the court. Belligerant and unsportsman-like as a rule, not an exeption. I recall a game where he hauled off an kicked a reporter in the crotch. All Rodman ever appeared to care about was promoting himself, not playing a good game of basketball.

Wasn't it Spreewell that choked his coach on the sidelines on national TV? I think he paid a fine to the NBA for the assault where your or I would have been jailed.

The current professional players have been tainted in my eyes by the constant wrist-slaps that the organization gives them for criminal offenses on the court. I'm sure there are pleanty of good players who don't let their personal lives intrude on the playing of the game, but they get harder to find as the younger players emulate those who get all the screen time because of the on-and-off-the-court bad-boy bullshit.

Re:Hrm....

[Hank Reardon]

You are correct that the word is not "racial". The parent poster used it, so I responded directly to his comment; next time, I'll be sure to quote from the parent message as I just noticed that it was posted by an AC, so not everybody will see it.

And, knowing the quote now, I'd say Bird's comment was, in fact, racial in nature. :)

Re:Ballers

[pudge]

You're conflating the sporting event with the people who participate in it. I can go to movies without knowing or caring about the lives of the actors. And, in fact, I do.

Anyway, since when does the fact that something really happens justify its inclusion in entertainment? Saying it happens in real life is a non sequitur.

Further, the things you speak of are not endorsed by (e.g.) the NBA, but the NBA does endorse this game.

And besides.. IT IS A FUCKING GAME.

A game that is rated E for Everyone, and contains prostitution. This is really more about the rating of the game than anything else. If it were rated M for Mature (not that I think it deserves such a rating), there would be far less of an outcry.

Personally, I think the ESRB has a big gap between T and M. M is a bit of a stigma and implies explicit content, whereas IMO suggestivity, as exists in Ballers, is not appropriate for T and not explicit enough to warrant an M. Regardless, an E rating for this game is just stupid.

Re:Ballers

[lightspawn]

And besides.. IT IS A FUCKING GAME.

Exactly! It's even called NBA Ballers, for crying out loud... what do you expect?

Re:Ballers

[NanoGator]

"If the NBA, NFL and MBA are appropriate for children, then so are these games."

The E-for-everybody rating overrides this statement. Video games and television shows are not rated the same way. For a fight to happen in a video game, it has to be put in. A fight during a sporting event, however, cannot be prevented.

"So what, do they want the game to be a lie and pretend that these sports franchises are wholesome and goodnatured? "

Games are meant to be fun, not to be true reflections of what they're recreating.

"And besides.. IT IS A FUCKING GAME."

Normally I'd agree. However, if they're rated as E-for-everybody, they really should respect that as well as they can. The last thing video games need right now is attempts at heavy handed legislation due to complaints that the ratings system isn't an effective babysitter.

Re:Ballers

[Anonymous Coward]

Lakers legend Jerry West was slated to have his likeness in the game, and he backed out once he saw the content

Funny. The developers' diary on IGN said they'd dropped him because they negotiated for a fixed number of legends, and they removed the least interesting guys. The roster hasn't changed since well before they ever showed the game.

In other words, West isn't included because he's not on the 20 most interesting legends list.

Re:Ballers

[pudge]

And again, I am not saying the game shouldn't be made. I think the idea is kinda lame, but I hate that part of the NBA culture, so I am not the target audience. I just think it an E rating for it is clearly disingenuous and stupid.

wait...

[Hinkey]

Does this mean parents assume anyhting sold with a "g" label is what they consider appropriate? Last time i checked they were guidlines for parents. Anyone who lets there 10 year old kid play a game they have never even seen before shouldnt have them :) Seriously, you dont have the 10min it'll take to watch your kid play the game when you get it for them? I think far to meany people are blaming there kids behavior and influences on media,school,tv,games, etc. instead of on the fact that parents spend allmost no time with there children anymore, but then again im only 20 years old what do i know :)

Re:wait...

[bckrispi]

but then again im only 20 years old what do i know

Since I assume you don't have kids, let me answer your question: You don't know shit.

As a parent, I *do* use the rating system to determine what's appropriate, that's the whole reason the ESRB system is there.

Anyone who lets there 10 year old kid play a game they have never even seen before shouldnt have them

Yeah, that's great. I have no problem knowing the contents of each and every game I get for my kid. The probelm is is that he has four grandparents and three great-grandparents (uncles, aunts, etc.) who aren't as tech/game savvy. The ESRB should be a simple-to-use (and ACCURATE) way of discerning the games contents and appropriateness.

Seriously, you dont have the 10min it'll take to watch your kid play the game when you get it for them?

Uhhhh, you mean to tell me there's a way I can preview an entire store's game library before I make a purchase?? Last time I checked, there were demo consoles set up for a limited number of titles.

I think far to meany people are blaming there kids behavior and influences on media,school,tv,games, etc. instead of on the fact that parents spend allmost no time with there children anymore

The reason games are being blamed is because uneducated parents purchase inappropriate titles. The ESRB system is meant to be a way of informing parents of the game's contents. If the game has graphical violence and "prostitution", I would expect to see that on the label (and I *certainly* woudn't expect it to get an "E" rating. As far as your last silly statement, I could spend 23 hours a day with my kid, it's the 1 hour where he goes unsupervised that I need to worry about.