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Games As The Mainstream Media's Demon
1up has an editorial up exploring the biased nature of mainstream media gaming coverage, especially in light of the recent Hot Coffee scandal. From the article: "...Are CBS, Donny Deutsch, and Ed Bradley actually informing their viewers--or just inflaming their fears in a culture already on edge? Many, certainly many in the videogame industry, believe it's the latter. There's no shortage of gaming coverage, but it seems that what's out there, outside of enthusiast coverage, focuses disproportionately on certain kinds of games or on partial information that does no justice to the industry's successes. "
"...Are CBS, Donny Deutsch, and Ed Bradley actually informing their viewers--or just inflaming their fears in a culture already on edge?"
It'd sure be interesting if these dudes would say "Here are games we approve of!", as opposed to just bla bla bla'ing about how games they've never played are evil.
"Derp de derp."
I don't know if people realize how messed up parents are nowadays.
I was at a well off neighborhood mall with this Italian friend with fairly tanned dark skin. He's got a beard, mustache, and a mario nose.
The mall was tight on parking space, we pulled into this space right before this other family did. The father of that family was obviously pissed that we got to the space first.
He got out of the car, banged on our car window while holding these 5 year old kids in his hands. To my Italian friend, he yelled "Go back to fucking Iraq you terrorist!" My Italian friend was speechless.
you know, this actually make me think about something. If the ESRB is just given a video with the most extreme content in the game, which I would assume is not all that long, in order to rate the game, why not have the companies who want to sell games provide the retailers with a copy of this video.
The retailer could have a small kiosk that could allow parents to walk up and scan a game and see a video of the content in the game to help them decide if it is or is not appropriate for their children.
It really seems like a somewhat simple and elegant solution to helping parents know what's in a game. It would also probably work in the favor of game companies as well. I know more than a few 17-18 year olds who would be more likely to buy a game if they could scan it and see the extreme amount of gore/sex in the games.
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
At the end you ask a question which I imagine you mean rhetorically to reinforce your point. However, if you truly ask the question "What does it say about our priorities...when we find out somebody hid a little sex in there?" the answers lead to some interesting conclusions.
It says we are a society that thinks corruption of justice, excessive drug use, every crime a human can commit, prostitution, and mass murder are acceptable topics for a fourteen year old (as per the woman in your letter) to consider and commit in jest. Then it says that the process of reproduction is so outrageously scandalous, that even to imitate with animated characters, is not suitable for children below the age of 21 (in most US areas, 18 here in Canada). It's a pretty disturbing thing to think really, that something every living thing from the first prokaryotic cell up till now has been doing (for you creationists, read Adam & Eve, and then read fuck off and die, k thx la) is so horribly distasteful it warrants all the attention it is getting, but all the other atrocious things games (and every other form of media since the dawn of media) has been imitating are so perfectly commonplace.
You know why I think it is? The Bible. Here is a book detailing every horrible thing a person can do to another person, which has pretty much set the bar for graphic violence, disturbing images, betrayal and mass murder but that touches on the concept of sex so briefly you don't even know it did unless you were looking specifically for it. Apparently it's perfectly normal in western religious society to read to your children how a man was nailed to a cross and then stabbed for trying to help other people, but not suitable for them to have any idea what the hell sex is until they reach the magical age of (18 or 21 take your pick, both are stuipd ages). Do you know the US board of education is trying to decrease sex ed in school and instead promote abstaining from sex until your married, even going so far as to make kids promise this before they reach the age of reason or a level of understanding to make an informed decision? I find information like that for more disturbing than animated sex in a video game.