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ESA Pushing for Gamers to Vote

Grooves writes "The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced the first voter registration drive aimed at gamers, called 'Play for Real: Gamer Voter Drive'. The drive is being managed by the ESA's Video Game Voters Network, an attempt at growing a grassroots community around the issue of games legislation. From the article, 'Lowenstein would like to boost these figures by convincing younger voters that their voice will have an influence over issues they care about, particularly efforts to create new laws restricting video games.'"

20 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. I can just see the bumper stickers... by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
    I can just see the bumper stickers...

    • I'm a Guild Member and I vote
    • End Violent Game Player Discrimination
    • If I Don't Rule The World With An Iron Fist, Who Will?
    • Virtual People Have Rights, Too
    • Kazola For President
    • "A PS2 in every living room and a rusting bicycle in every garage"
    • Elect Jack Thompson - Then Impeach His Ass
      • Keep Politics Out of Games
      • Keep Games Out of Politics
    • Speak Softly And Carry A Bat'leth
    • My Child Is 60th Level In World Of Warcraft School
    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  2. It bears repeating by mcmonkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    If voting worked, it would be illegal.

    1. Re:It bears repeating by Jesterboy · · Score: 2, Funny

      I always liked Winston Churchill's view of Democracy: "Democracy is the worst form of government except from all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

  3. Voting rules by robpoe · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, and the cheat code for the voting booth is

    Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, VOTE

    That way the machine will access it's hidden firmware and convert ALL the votes to the person of your choice..

    --
    = Grow a brain...
  4. Re:Vote or Die, P-Diddy by mordors9 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well no wonder. I am 45 and can barely stand to vote for most politicians. Most elections in the last 14 years have been votes for the lesser of evils as I saw it. If I struggle to relate with them on any level, how much success is an 18 year old going to have.They haven't gained a sufficent level of cynicism at that age. Although God knows our society is trying to beat them down until they do.

  5. Money by ludomancer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The problem I see with this is that the only reason there is any movement for pushing gamers to vote is so the industry doesn't lose out with money. No one involved in this cares about the issue as much as it's threat to their pocketbook.
    I am a member of the IGDA, a developer, and I don't want to see free speech be limited any more than the next person. But when the IGDA directors started spamming my inbox last year trying to rally folks to fight against legislation for limiting game sales to minors, it didn't matter if games actually were harmful to the psychology of adolescents, it was just a perceived threat of lower sales that drove them to action.
    I can agree with saving our civil rights and our artform, but I can't agree with blindly following these decisions and encouraging others to fight for it solely based on profit.

  6. Huh? by MojoBox · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Vote? Based on games? Why? The right would ban GTA because it's violent, the left because it's racist.

    Besides, I've allready joined the "Re-elect Nobody" campaign.

    1. Re:Huh? by paranode · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The left would ban it for both. See Tipper Gore.

    2. Re:Huh? by LGagnon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you think the Gores, Clintons, or Liberman are on the left, you haven't learned what the real left is like. Kucinich, Feingold, Nader and others like them are on the left. Tipper and her ilk are just centrists posing as leftists.

  7. Who would they vote for? by MikeRT · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Both major parties are anti-video gamer. The Democrats are actually even worse here on "morality" than the Republicans, but the bottom line is that neither party is a good vote on this issue.

    If you want them to make a difference, have them en masse vote Libertarian at the local level. That's where most of the "decency" legislation is really passed and enforced.

    1. Re:Who would they vote for? by NineNine · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you want them to make a difference, have them en masse vote Libertarian at the local level.

      You're right. Unfortunately, my state (NC) has decided that it's illegal to either be a registered Libertarian or to put Libertarian candidates on the ballot.

      Unfortunately, this country is so completely corrupt, and the government is so powerful, that it's really too late for voting to be any more than an empty gesture.

  8. Re:Vote or Die, P-Diddy by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I bet ya this will fail miserably just like the Vote or Die campaign aimed at youngsters.

    Or backfire. The typical voting in gaming is whether or not to boot troublesome players out of the game whereas in politics you vote someone into office that (you think) would be better than (typically) the incumbent you want out.

    Primetime TV game shows perpetuate this (voting someome off the show).

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  9. Re:Vote or Die, P-Diddy by fmobus · · Score: 2, Interesting
  10. Everyone knows... by aliendisaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    Voting doesn't work anyway. The Illuminati makes all the decisions about who's in charge. And if they votes are different than what they want, they create "voting errors".

    --
    Freedom is a state of mind. A mind is a state of being. Stay the fuck out of my mind and my being. - Corporate Avenger
  11. voting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    votekick bush

    if that fails, we might be forced to:
    votemap canada

  12. Re:Vote or Die, P-Diddy by russ1337 · · Score: 4, Funny
    The typical voting in gaming is whether or not to boot troublesome players out of the game
    I'd LOVE to see the kick-vote system in politics...

    Dick Cheney has initiated a Vote to kick George (Press page-up to Vote Yes, Page Down for No)
  13. Get those polls to the gamers! by Dutchmaan · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now if you could vote from your game!!! now that would work!

    Quest Giver...

    !

    Vote
    Election magistrate wants you to collect information on 6 candidates and return them to him!

    Candidate Information 0/6


    Rewards:
    Voter registration Card

  14. Play For Real by Digital+Vomit · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I tried playing that game a couple of time before. I keep dying a few levels in.

    There are two unlocked characters to play from the start, but they're virtually identical. There are other characters, but I've yet to be able to unlock any of them. And there is no way to switch characters between levels, which would've been nice.

    The controls are sluggish; it seems to take forever to get anything done in the game. There appears to be a controller glitch because the characters often do not go in the direction you are pressing. The Jump and Fire buttons work sporadically, and sometimes switch for some reason. It seems the only thing you're really meant to do is turn the game on; the controls are that bad.

    The graphics are really flashy, but the story-line is pretty shallow and cliched. It's not much fun at all.

    My rating: 2/10

    --
    Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
  15. It could work by whoisearth · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Here's to the effort put into getting this age group to vote. It's been tried numerous times though. Rock the vote was the most recent. Voter turnouts continue to plummet and obviously something is not being done to change this.

    Getting gamers to put their voice in their vote isn't guaranteed to work. There is a disconnect between youth and voting and the underlying issues aren't being addressed.

  16. Re:Vote or Die, P-Diddy by FriendOfBagu · · Score: 2, Funny

    Except Cheney would already have been kicked for team-killing.