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Electronic Arts Offers $2B For Take Two
quanticle writes "The New York Times is reporting that EA has offered $2B for Take Two Entertainment. The effort appears to be a move to consolidate the two companies before Take Two releases the next iteration of its blockbuster franchise, Grand Theft Auto 4. Take Two has politely declined the offer."
Offtopic my ass. It deals directly with Clinton's views of video game publishers, with specific reference to GTA. Anyone who bothered checking the link would've seen that. For the lazy, here's the article text straight from Senator Clinton's website:
Washington, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) today announced that she will introduce legislation to help keep inappropriate video games out of the hands of children. She also called upon the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take immediate action to determine the source of graphic pornographic and violent content appearing on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game. Recent reports have revealed that this graphic content can be unlocked by following instructions widely available on the Internet.
"The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it's making the difficult job of being a parent even harder," said Senator Clinton. "I am announcing these measures today because I believe that the ability of our children to access pornographic and outrageously violent material on video games rated for adults is spiraling out of control."
Senator Clinton announced that the legislation she will introduce will put some teeth into video game ratings by instituting a financial penalty for retailers who fail to enforce the rules. It will prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors and put in place a $5000 penalty for those who violate the law.
Recent research has confirmed links between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behavior in children and a groundbreaking new study by researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine show that playing violent video games triggers unusual brain activity among aggressive adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders. Senator Clinton noted that this is just the latest piece of evidence that confirms the potentially damaging impact of these games on children. Senator Clinton also noted that the current, industry enforced system is not yet working as it should and is not acting as a deterrent to kids accessing inappropriate video games, underscoring the need for today's action.
In calling for the FTC to launch an investigation, Senator Clinton urged the FTC to determine whether an Adults Only (AO) rating is more appropriate than the current Mature (M) rating for the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game given this new, alarming content. She also requested that the FTC examine the adequacy of retailers' rating enforcement policies.
According to research by the National Institute on Media and the Family, games rated M, which means they are appropriate only for people aged 17 or older, are relatively easy for teenagers and even children as young as age 7 to obtain. In the National Institute's recent study, 50 percent of boys between the ages of 7 and 14 successfully purchased M-rated video games, and an astonishing 87 percent of boys play M-rated games. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of retailers in the study don't even understand the ratings they are supposed to enforce, and only half of the stores train employees in the use of the ratings.
"No wonder these games are falling into the hands of our children and no wonder so many parents feel everyday like they are fighting this battle with their hands tied behind their backs," said Senator Clinton. "We need to do better. We need to do everything we can to make sure that parents have a line of defense against violent and graphic video games and other content that go against the values they are trying to instill in their children."
The following is the text of Senator Clinton's letter to the FTC:
Deborah Platt Majoras
Chairwoman
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, DC
Dear Chairwoman Majoras:
Recent reports have revealed that the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, has graphic pornographic content which may be unlocked by following instructions widely availabl
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
I know I'll probably get modded off-topic (or flamebait) for this but it's relevant to the parent post and I'm curious- what is it with everyone in countries other than the US being so proud of how their currency is doing? I mean, when I go to countries where the US dollar is more valuable than the local currency I'm happy because stuff is cheaper, but it's not something I care enough about that I go bragging about it. But when I was up in Canada when their dollar overtook the US dollar, and that's all every Canadian I met could talk about. Now the US dollar is (slightly) back up on the Canada dollar, but I didn't even hear about it here and I know that very few Americans actually give a crap. Of course, maybe that lack of caring is why the US dollar is dying...
I like how you try to obscure your email address when there's a mailto: link right next to your username...
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.