Slashdot Mirror
Blair Bullied Over Bully
Following up the banning of Bully by British retailers, UK BM Tony Blair faced criticism from Parliment members over the Rockstar title. During the daily 'Question Time' the PM faces, Leicester East's Keith Vaz called for a meeting on the game, and investigation of the title. From the article: "'I know that the Minister for Creative Industries and also the Minister responsible for the industry are very happy to meet with him and stakeholders to discuss it. It's obviously an important issue. I know there's a lot of concern about it. It is, I think, right to say that the video games industry, or certainly a very substantial section of it, have made significant strides and advances over the last few years, but he's quite right, it's important that's maintained,' Blair said."
"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed"
So yeah, I have a way to solve this problem without a bunch of emo hearings and speeches:
1) Ask the citzenry what should be done.
2) Do it.
The game got a 15+ rateing, some guy (aparently likend to Thompson) does not like it, so they are going to have a meeting about it.
Out of curiosity, can Parliment ban a game/movie?
And is The British Board of Film Classification a govn't organisation, or is it like the ESRB?
Do Or Do Not, There Is No Spoon, There Is Only Zuul. Everything in the above post is probably opinion.
Who cares about the controversy, its manufactured (on both sides!). Is the game any good?
Test your net with Netalyzr
At what point does it become libel/slander to describe Bully as anything approaching a "columbine simulator", when it's rated T(Teen) and has no guns in the game? If we're going to bother Tony Blair about a game, shouldn't it at least be over one of the many rated-M games?
Just because Blair's buddy is a bully doesn't mean he has anything to do with the game.
Oh well, never stops the gov't types from forming a committee to look busy.
Think of the children, well the 16 and 17 year-olds that have never seen a bully, since it's rated 15 and up already.
Blair Bowled by Bounders Bashing Boffo 'Bully'!
Dark Reflection
Whackjobs like Jack Thompson have a huge impact. He has convinced the media, politicians, and alot of the public that this game is some horrible, extremely violent game about a kid killing schoolmates. Of course that's not even remotely close to reality, but the people wanting to ban it are never going to actually try playing it. I keep hearing gamers say we should just ignore Jack, because responding to him makes him seem credible. Ignoring Thompson is not the way to go, we need to loudly, publicly and frequently tell people the truth about whatever game he's attacking this month. People find him credible because they aren't hearing the truth.
Bullied? I realise it's an attempt at a pun, but he was just asked a question about it in Prime Minister's Questions, by a member of his own party.
I just wish US presidents were made to answer questions in a similar fashion.
No matter what happens, Rockstar will win. They have gotten so much publicity in recent years, that even if they released a tame title, it would probably be a hit, just cause people want to see what all the hype is about. If the game gets held back, they can sue for censorship. If the game gets released, everyone wants to see what the hype is about. If the game gets held back, they can re-release with "special adults only product" purchasing, where you buy a special license via a credit card (online for legal-age verification). Again. Rockstar can't loose.
That's authoritarianism, you just shifted it from the elected and appointed elites to the population. How is that any better?
Here's what you do, unless you like authoritarianism. It's called being "liberal" (as in "real liberal", not some American socialist weenie who stole the name because he didn't want to be called a socialist):
Nothing.
If the people you talk about don't want it, they won't buy it, and future titles of the sort won't emerge.
QED
You get penalized in this game for resorting to violence at all--and that violence amounts to fisticuffs. The game is about outwitting bullies and coping at a dysfunctional school, not about being one. In fact, it's one of the most interesting game concepts to come out in a while. These people are reacting because of its name, and because it was made by Rockstar, who also make the GTA titles. Beyond that, they haven't a clue.
Once again, another example of politicians grandstanding with no idea of what they are talking about. Did you know, by the way, that the premise of the terrorist plot which recently hit the headlines--the plan to mix chemicals on the plane to produce explosives--was completely unworkable? You need a reasonably well equipped lab to control the reaction, keeping it at low temperatures, otherwise the chemical mixture will go off prematurely and all you'll get is a loud, smokey fizzle--enough to draw a lot of attention to yourself, but not enough to actually kill anyone, let alone bring down a plane. But none of the politicians could actually be bothered to ask a chemist about that, either. So now people can't bring any liquids on a plane, because our leaders are just too fucking lazy to do a little research...
Prime Minister's questions happens weekly, for half an hour on Wednesdays. It used to be twice weekly for 15 minutes, but Bliar thought it would make for a more mature debate if he only had to face the Commons once in a week. Yeah, right.
UK BM Tony Blair
Am I the only one who caught this Freudian Slip in the text?
"Following up the banning of Bully by British retailers"
1 retail group has banned it - and as the BBC article on the banning reported yesterday, it can still be bought from most of the high street retailers, thus is not going to cause anyone who wants the game any problems.
"During the daily 'Question Time' the PM faces"
While it would be fun for it to be daily, it is actually weekly, midday on a Wednesday during parliament.
Posting Anonymously for non-karma whoring.
Go to straight to the source: Official website of PM's Question Time.
Direct links of the Oct 18 session:
Windows Media.
Real Player.
Transcript
"'I know that the Minister for Creative Industries and also the Minister responsible for the industry are very happy to meet with him and stakeholders to discuss it. It's obviously an important issue. I know there's a lot of concern about it. It is, I think, right to say that the video games industry, or certainly a very substantial section of it, have made significant strides and advances over the last few years, but he's quite right, it's important that's maintained,' Blair said."
That just totally cleared up Blair's position for me. Glad he took the time to say that.
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
Always
Loading
Which can be a pain in the ass. It will really depend on if it drops off past chapter 1. Chapter 2 I just started (which according to most reviews is where the game officially "starts") and it's pretty neat.
The school classes you must attend are all minigames, some good some bad. (Art is very similar to the arcade classic Qix . . . and is much fun)
I can't give any sort of definitive review at this point because it feels like I'm at that point with a lot of games where I've gotten a good 4 hours of play out of it that has been fun, but it could swing either to Really Annoying and Repetitive or Fantastically Cool Game.
So far it seems to be a really big hit if you like minigames. There's a shitload of them.
And as an aside, the whole "you're helping little kids fight back" P.C. line is total bullshit. You're pretty much a bully in the game through the first act, and if the fighting moves and the like are any indicator, that's the case through the whole game.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
I've played the game for a few hours. While you can't hit girls and get away with it (mostly - you CAN get away with it but it's really tough to do) you're a bully in a school of bullies.
You're not helping the little guy in any meaningful way, except in side montages propelling the plot forward.
You're beating people up all the time. You can humiliate them and while it raises your threat level incrementally, it doesn't impact the game through the first 2 chapters at all.
Frankly, I think both sides are guilty of lack of investigation. It's not a Columbine simulator, but there's mud to be slung.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
The media in the UK is, with the exception of maybe three newspapers (The Guardian, The Independent and the Morning Star (which is hardly a major player)) and TV and radio, extremely right wing, with an almost fanatical devotion to "family values". The major newspapers, like the Daily Mail, the Express, the Sun, are extremely able to whip up people into angry, paranoid frenzies against just about anything. And it will happen with Bully.
They'll stomp and cry and scream in their usual way, not for any real purpose or end, not because they think it'll do good, but because it sells newspapers, and then their readers will stomp and cry and scream, and it'll end up with Bully being banned. Joy.
Boy do I LOVE living in a tabloidocracy.
By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
How one random person voicing her opinion in a one line question/statement can make international news, I don't know!
The TV program in question is a sort of "letters to the editor" program but where members of the general public ask MP's (meaning "Members of Parliment" - the British equiv. of probably "Senators" in the USA)) questions. As is the case here though, often the members of the public are just making one-line political statements rather than asking actually meaningful questions.
"Following up the banning of Bully by British retailers"
This is a bit of an over-statement. According to the BBC: Currys and PC World, two shops which although big names for computers and electronics equipment but afaik quite small in terms of computer game sales, have said they won't stock the game (for the time being at least, but if the past is anything to go by they probably will in the future).
The big boys in the Computer Game sales industry, shops like Game, HMV, Virgin and Woolworths etc. have all specifically said they will stock the game. Besides, the game only has a 15+ certificate, hardly encouraging massive censorship.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6063502.stm - Article on the stores censoring the game (but keep in mind they will all probably stock the game in 6 months time anyway)
Who modded this up? Members of Parliment ask questions of the Prime Minister, the general public don't get a look in. Keith Vas is a twit, but he is an elected twit.
I just wish US presidents were made to answer questions in a similar fashion
You should watch it sometime.
In years of watching PMQs (Prime Ministers Questions) I have rarely, if ever, seen a sitting PM actually answer a question. They reply to them certainly, but that's not the same thing as answering them.
For instance, at a recent PMQs, David Camaron, the opposition leader, asked Tony Blair (who, if you don't know, will be stepping down next year) "Does the Prime Minister support Gordon Brown as his successor" (I'm paraphrasing) Tony's so called answer was " I know the honourable gentleman doesn't want to talk about his policies, but I'm going to anyway..."
How the hell is that an answer? Only if the question was "Does the PM know what I don't want to talk about?" could that be an answer.
Having said that, PMQs, and indeed the whole parliamentary system, does serve serve one useful purpose; it prevents a complete moron from achieving truly high office. The adversarial nature of the House of Commons means that to survive in a high-ranking cabinet position, a minister has to be able to think on their feet and answer questions under pressure. George Bush could not do this, and would be humiliated every time he stepped up the dispatch box. Remember him being unable to answer when a journalist asked him his biggest mistake in Iraq?
Sure, some of our ministers have been poor at their jobs. Some have been out of touch with reality. One or two past and present ministers even come across as, well, completly fucking batshit insane. But no morons.
"I realise this is not a very popular opinion but it's the truth, and there for needs to be said" -Bill Hicks
This excessively protective attitude towards children in the West is why we're going to end up with a generation of wimps. This issue just a small reflection of a more significant problem.
My point (which you seem to have missed entirely) was that the whole apologetic "you're FIGHTING the bullies!" is a bullshit story.
I made no judgement on whether the content of violence in Bully is excessive or whatnot, simply that the whole battlecry of the GP is off base.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .