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The Video Game Industry Goes Political
An anonymous reader writes "The video game industry is finally forming a PAC by the end of March to get some political clout. A story in The New York Times yesterday reports that the video game industry has finally woken up and realized that in order to stay strong going forward, it can't rely on 13-year-old pimple-faced kids to promote its agenda."
That's exactly what's wrong with the industry. Or rather, people's views of the "users" of the industry's output.
Hands up. How many here are above 18? Eligible to drive, drink liquor and (most of all) vote? Ok, hands down again, I can't see the opposite wall anymore.
I think it's a good step. It's time the politicians see that it might not be a good idea to use games as the scapegoats anymore, because gamers vote. Computer games ain't for the 13 year olds anymore. Computer games aren't just for kids who don't matter because they can't vote. 20 years ago, computer games were a teenager pastime, today, more and more computer gamers are well above 18, many are interested in politics and many take their games, and their freedom to play the games they want, serious enough to consider it and the stance politicians take towards games important enough to have it influence their decision who to give their vote to.
There is a reason why politicians have no problem blaming every single thing that goes wrong with today's youths on games, but surprisingly few blame TV and movies. The reason is simple: TV and movies do have a political lobby.
While I'm not really a fan of political lobbying (it is so close to political bribing), it seems to be a necessity in today's political climate.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
There's a difference between a private institution offering a rating, like the movie industry does, and the government enforcing one. If G rated movies suddenly appeared with odd content, we could *fire* the people who rated it. Not so with the government - it is necessarily above the law. We just need to recognize that and give it as little power as possible. Specifically, support characters like Obama (dem) or Ron Paul (rep) if video-games are an issue you care about. Hell, I think free-speech is something both sides of our silly little bi-partisanship can get behind.
Quickly, now.
Name one - just one - developer whose name doesn't begin with the letter R that makes headlines for the violence of its video games. Whose PR trumpets the casts the player in the role of the psycho killer. The use of the Wii controller to mime torture porn kills. F.E.A.R, The Orange Box, Bioshock. These games and a hundred others enter the market to critical and popular acclaim and nary a whisper of complaint. You take Rockstar out of the picture and most of the problems disappear.
To take an example from television - and from Fox, of all networks: "The Sarah Conner Chronicles" has all the patented shock and thrills of the Terminator franchise. In a sense, the story begins with a shootout in a high school classroom. But there is a lot of fun to be had here too. You get to save Summer Glau by tossing her out of a twelve-story window. Fun is something we haven't seen much of in sci-fi since Battlestar Galactica turned so bleak.
she just seems to be for enforcing content/age restriction laws
The game ratings set by the ESRB are voluntary. Just like the movie ratings by the MPAA are voluntary. No game "HAS" to be rated. In fact several games (and movies) are released as "NR" (not rated). Hillary of course feels that government should ENFORCE ratings systems.
Oh and as for the "age restriction" - yes, there is a HUGE difference between a 17 year old playing a violent video game and an 18 year old playing the same violent video game... All this politics came out because of the "hot coffee" mod for GTA... a game released with a 17+ rating. Now at 17 you are old enough to enlist and go kill Iraqis oh sorry "insurgents", but apparently heaven forbid you witness some bad attempt at video porn (no actual oral-gential contact is visible). Big fucking deal.
Enough of the "nanny state" philosophy. It's up to parents, not the government, to regulate what their children can and can't play. And guess what - violent crime and rape statistics are at an all time low since the mid/late 90's and the popularity of home computers/internet/gaming systems.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.